In the next couple of weeks, I will be moving to the environment of my dreams, 5 acres with a barn. Though I will have 3 fenced acres behind the barn/kennel, I want to contain an adult male in a yard area around the house. Axel is a permanent house dog, and will need an 'exercise' (pooping) area.

He will have run time with the other dogs in the fenced pasture, but I need to confine him for early morning and late night exercise close to the house. The dog is microchipped and obedience trained. He has little experience with coons and possums, and none with coyotes. The sellers have mentioned coyotes, but not qty/frequency. I have occasionally used a bark collar on Axel and it is effective at the moderate level.

I have not been a fan of the invisible fence in suburban environments, but it may be a good fit for my new location. Please respond with your experience/knowledge/opinion of the instant electric fence, which does not require a wire to be buried. The one I have seen in supply house catalog just plugs in, and has a 90 foot radius. My specific areas of concern are containment effectiveness and training time req'd for a 3 yr old who's used to a physical fence. He's very intelligent but somewhat independent. (sounds familiar, eh?)


thanks in advance for your replies.
- krista

I have seen the wireless electric fences fail too often to ever trust them with something as precious as my dog's well being. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Most high drive dogs can/ will learn to accept a small correction to get what they want past the fence's barrier zone, especially when they learn that the correction is stopped simply by running further away from the fence.

I've seen breeds ranging from Min. American Eskimo's to Great Danes all beat this type of fence. I don't believe that any working GSD or Mal would stay 5 mins in the fenced area, if there was something interesting outside of it's range.

http://leerburg.server294.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=147;t=000640

The problem with the fence in two fold in my opinion.

1. If the the value of the reward for leaving is stronger than the fear of the shock, the dog will go. Usually, the drive to return is not so great and the dog will not reenter.

2. It does nothing to keep out strays.

DFrost

I've never had a problem with my dog escaping the fence. She's a pit/chow, and LOVES to chase cats and squirrels, but has not once left the boundary of the fence. It has a lot to do with proper training. You can also get collars that are for more bull-headed dogs, and deliver a stronger correction. Still, the dog must be trained to accept and respect those boundaries.

Having said that, let me also say this: At my next home, I will have it professionally installed. There will be none of this buying it and installing it myself crap again. I've had nothing but problems with the system (it's a Radio Fence by PetSafe) since I got it. I've had to replace the collar umpteen times, and the wire twice. NEVER again.

These fences are good only if you have No other choice. (there are neighborhoods that only allow this type of fencing, in which case, I wouldn't live there, but other's choice's aren't mine). They do not keep other animals out, like Coyotes. These canines do travel in packs, and will not hesitate to kill an intrudor in their territory. They also can carry all the canine diseases our dogs can get. If you are going to be out with the dog anyway when he's in this area, you are better off using your remote E-collar. (less work, no setup :^)

Just my opinion

Tina

My friend had one of these fences for his Lab. Lives on marsh in Fla and "wanted to be able to see the scenery and not block it with a fence, blah, blah, blah..." Late one night when the kids forgot and let the dog out, it got a wind of something and took off for the marsh, determined to catch it. Dog was so focused, the collar was a joke, and he was GONE!

An hour later the dog came back (in one piece) and sat on the OTHER SIDE of the fence, howling because he could not get back in. Friend was out, middle of the night, in his skivvies trying to get the dog back, cursing the whole time. What a visual!

He finally put up chain link, I believe. And I agree about keeping the unwanted out - he never even thought about that til I asked him about the gators... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I'll go with the majority here: in my experience, wireless fences are pretty much useless. They don't keep out other animals, and they don't keep in a determined, or, more important, a scared dog--but they will prevent it from returning.

As an adjunct to careful surveillance, it might be worthwhile, but as a stand-alone, "let the dog out and forget it" solution, it's a definite no-go, IMO.

We have a dog out in the shelter right now with an invisible fence collar...

Needless to say it didn't keep the dog where he belonged.

Though they are obviously not as secure as a heavy duty physical barrier to keep everything in as well as out, I know a few people they have worked extremely well for. Everyone I know that they have NOT worked for has been for the following reasons (and like what many people do with training):

1) The directions were not READ and followed. The old 'my dog is smart and I don't have to go thru all the pages of the manual', (can we say 'shortcuts'?) mixed with the

2) 'I am a very busy person and can't spend the MONTHS doing the training that is required with the fence.

The fact that a HUGE area can be 'fenced' in with the invisible fencing. And that if one lives in a rocky area the cost and time of putting in a real fence over the same area is prohibitive makes them worth trying in many situations.

These fences are NOT an immediate fix to keep your dog in the yard the way a real fence is. You make the trade off with time/training you have to put in for the fact you paid a very reasonable price to have a potentially large area 'fenced' in for your dog. I know people with dopey hunting Labs living in the deer/squirrel/turkey filled woods that the fence has worked for. As well as people with GSD's in the same distraction filled environment.