Invisible Fencing/Wireless Fencing

[Autumn]

I'm looking for suggestions/advice on backyard fencing, either underground/wireless/invisible, for my Boxer, Autumn. She is currently 8 months old and is overall a great dog. For the most part she does stay in our yard. BUT....with spring and summer coming (eventually), I'd love to be able to have her outside with me and not constantly worry about her going over to our neighbor's house and such. I'd like to be able to sit on my porch and read my book or just relax and know that Autumn isn't going to go wander. What does everyone use? Have you had any success with it??? Thanks all!

[2manydogs]

Invisible fencing comes in two types. Wireless and Underground. I have tried the wireless before and its a bit awkward. It places a dome over your home, so you need to place the box in a precise location. Also if there is ever a power outage the collar will shock your dog.

The underground fencing is better in my opinion. You select where you want it.

[CaptainJack]

I had a nice garden in the backyard of our previous house. Jack was constantly chewing on and running over my shrubs and flowers, so we got the underground fence system (Petsafe?) and installed it around the garden. The system comes with flags and training instructions, and within a week or so Jack was no longer going in the garden. One problem is that Jack knew it only worked if he was wearing the collar, and they say not to leave the collar on them in the house becuase of the potential for interference with household electronics. So I had to put the collar on every time I let him out. Also, there were a few times that Jack ran through the garden becuase he was chasing a cat or squirrel. In those situations he was totally oblivious to the shock he received. I could see the same thing happening if we had been using the system to contain him in the yard and he saw something he really wanted to chase. In that case, nothing can keep them in besides a fence. So as long as I remembered to put the collar on him, and there were no squirrels around, it kept him out of the garden.

[DandD]

Our last house was on an acreage with no fencing for the "yard", which was huge and would have cost a small fortune to fence, so we did the underground fence. Yes, we had to put collars on everytime they went out, but it became habit. We got the kind with the warning beep, so after the initial training period they rarely got a shock. Daisy was a bit more stubborn and took a bit longer to train with it, but truly we found it worked very well. I would never leave them outside while not being at home, but I could leave them unsupervised outside while I vacuumed or did other housework, mostly I was outside with them but we found it worked well for us.

[BayernBoxer]

We love invisible undergroud wire fencing around our 4 acres of yard. I highly recommend training. Expensive but the training was worth every penny.

You must teach your dog not to run away if and when shocked. Often when a dog is shocked they will want to run away from safety rather back home where they are safe. (dogs that have never been trained will want to run away from your home and if the shock is bad enough can get lost.) And once they are outside the boundaries will not be able to get back in without being shocked again and from there you have a nightmare. You need to teach them to run to the house when they hear the beep (before leaving the perimeter) and then add the shock much later after they have been trained to run to the safety of the house. Again I can not STRESS enough how important it is to have a trainer do this with you and your dog. I have heard of horror stories with dogs that did not understand what was wanted. And who wants their dog to be in pain. Not me!

Our female learned quickly and was only shocked one time. I tested the collar on my arm. It is not as bad the horse fencing my grandad had on his farm. That would cause pain in your arm for days. The shock collar is milder but enough to say. Ouch! I don't wan to do that again. If my female saw the little white flags anywhere she would not go there. And of course if she heard the beep which is precipated by 1/10th of second by a shock, she would step back to the house. he learned quickly. My male on the other hand was a challenge. He did not feel pain from the shock and kept thinking something was stinging him like a bee. He would run around in circles. In an out of the fence trying to find the dog gone bee. Eventually we had to change his beep to coinside with the shock. This helped him to connect the two. Eventually he never wore his collar and never left the yard. He would only follow our female so he was not one that would wander away from our home. Our female was the one that would want to explore but as long as she thought our male was wearing a collar she never left the yard.

I can remember my female urging him to go to the edge to see if he would get shocked. If the fence was down or battery out she would know and try to sneak out of the yard. Naughty girl. He would loyally follow her around the neighborhood. We had to check two times a year to be sure the battieries were working.

Oh and we had a neighbor with a standard poodle that would come over steal our dogs toys and drop them just past the line of fence. My dogs would not leave the yard. My male would give the WHoo Whoo song until one of us noticed the toys and would collect them for him. That poodle was amazing. Eventually his owners asked if we could expand our fence to cover both yards and keep all three dogs in together. It was a genius idea. The dogs loved to play together.

I think the Invisible fence is a great invention and will train my next dog on it.

[Autumn]

Thanks everyone I think I am going to go with the underground fencing and train Autumn on it. The wireless fencing being a "dome" doesn't work with the layout of our home. There are plenty of times we are able to let Autumn out with her collar, and we never put her on a leash. But again, it was early fall when we got her, and obviously now winter. There are quite a few Boxers around here and the surrounding areas that have been reported stolen, so she will not be left alone outside (altho we do live in the suburbs). But I do want to feel comfortable to be able to run in the house, go to the bathroom, do something reasonably quick in the kitchen, etc., without having to worry about her taking off and chasing something or wandering.

[DaveJ50]

One of the best things about the underground version is that you can twist the wire to cancel the signal. This allows you to make little islands within your yard where the dog can't go.

Works great for flower beds if you have a digger.

[LadyAthena]

I think you are right to use caution with the length of time you leave her unattended since it doesn't keep other dogs out.


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[BayernBoxer]

Originally Posted by DaveJ50

One of the best things about the underground version is that you can twist the wire to cancel the signal. This allows you to make little islands within your yard where the dog can't go.

Works great for flower beds if you have a digger.

Wow!!
I have had invisible fences in three different homes...I had no idea that you could twist the wire to cancel areas out. I guess because we always had them installed.

We are adopting a new dog. So excited.. I will post more on that later... And now we want to change the confirguration of our fence. We used to share our fence with our neighbors but now their dog is 14 and our new rescue is 5. We are thinking about changing things. I am excited about having my flower beds off limits.. This could be cool. Thanks for this tip.

[marki.s70]

Only a physical fence can guarantee you can relax and read your book. Wireless/Underground can work to keep your dog in…depending on the dog. It will not keep other dog’s and animal’s out. Some learn the consequence is brief while other’s won’t do it again. Store bought one’s are more affordable but less effective. Hiring someone is a better guarantee because you can increase the pain level (sorry but that is why) but even then some are smart enough to figure out that the collar isn’t on or the fence is off.
A plain old shock collar is the most affordable for what if but that wouldn’t work for the not wanting to worry about it scenario. If they are gone, odd’s are they are out of range.
I would prefer underground and cheap. But I don’t want to throw money away either.
I have had to bring home many dog’s who all seem to make their way to my house and while I don’t know if the fence was off, they have underground collar’s on? If you don’t care about the money, try the store bought. It’s around a grand in my area to pay for a company to come in. Keep me posted…I am trying to figure out what is best myself!