invisible fences do they work? - Page 1

Hi everyone,

I was going to ask this question on my other thread but thought that since it is a totally unrelated topic, that I should make a new one.  So, does anyone have an invisible fence?  Do they work?  what has been your experience with it?  Do you reccomend them?  Appreciate any input before we make a decision on this. 
Thanks.

I don't have one, I also don't recommend them.  The biggest reason is it might and I stress might keep your dog in but it does not keep anything out. If your dog is outside without you, you are still subjecting them to possible dog fights from strays that wander into your yard, or the neighbors cat that has god knows what.  Not to mention it depends on how badly your dog wants what is on the other side of the invisible fence as to whether it will keep them in or not. 

I'm a pretty new poster so I hope it's okay if I give my 2 cents. I've been exploring the site.
I have the wireless fence. 3 GSD's on it. I love ours. It was very easy to train each of my dogs. Took a few days.

I can take their collars off and they still won't pass the line unless I command them to. I should state...I live out in the middle of nowhere so I'm not sure I would trust them solely.

I have the Invisible Fence brand.  Love it!  First tried the do-it-yourself version and that was a disaster.  Invisible Fence has kept all the dogs in & they guarantee it works or they'll buy it back.  I never leave dogs out when I'm not home though, just to be safe.  And as PP mentioned, it won't keep people/dogs out but we're surrounded by corn fields so that's not much of a concern for us.

I would never leave him outside on his own.  Just wanted it so that when I am outside with him I don't have to constantly have him on the leash. The thing that worries me is that I am near a mobile home community which seems to be infested with cats.  When he sees one when I am walking him I tell him to leave it and he instantly turns away and ignores it.  I worry that he may not just leave it if he knows there isn't a leash attached to him.  Again, I wouldn't leave him alone ever, I'm way too much of a worry wart for that.  He has a little pool that I let him go in and cool off in,  but I have to still hold the leash so that he doesn't run off.  That leads me to another question, does it matter if the dog is wet?  I mean, can he still have that collar on? 

Hi rollinginit !! Welcome, I obv didn't ask the question but of course it's ok if you put your 2 cents in!! I'm glad you guys like your invisible fences.  Like I said I never tried one because I was never worried about my guys leaving the yard, I was worried about keeping everything else out of it.  Bernie if you are worried about him not having the leash on the first couple of times you put him outside, put a long line on him.  You don't have to hold the long line just let him drag it.  That way until he gets used to it he thinks he has the leash on, and if you do need to catch him due to a cat you can just grab the long line or step on it so he can't go any farther.  Since I'm fairly new too and don't really know a lot of people yet if you don't mind me asking what is your guys name and how old is he?

Depends on the dog, depends on the training etc.... I've seen people put a heavy coated dog with minimal pain sensitivity in that kind of enclosure.. and the dog basically gritted his teeth and just walked thru it.  Also dogs who run across the yard and are outside the shock area before they realize it, and won't return to the yard for fear of getting shocked.  The Vet I worked for has several acres along a major road, he put in the fencing for his Lurcher (Greyhound/whipet and border collie). It did great for the dog... there was one area where he'd take the dog out to go hiking in the fields beyond, and would pause there and remove the sensor collar, sticking it in his pocket before proceeding thru the fencing....   *WEG* he failed to fold the collar across the contacts however and got royally zapped in the family jewels!! 

Berniemac....It doesn't matter if they get the collar wet. Each of my dog's are a little different. So the adjustment levels varies on their collars. My oldest male is almost 5....and his is set to only beep to alert him he is to close. My female is 3 1/2. Hers beeps and gives a mild buzz. My youngest male is 2..and his is set near the highest level. He does like to push the limit. Sometimes I think he walks along the invisible line to test the weakness. (kind of like the dinosaur's in the Jurassic Park movie) I just make sure I check his battery all the time.

It's not hard to train them. My fence came with a DVD. I made sure I watched that and pretty much followed it exactly.

We use to have the wire one. What a pain. Especially when the the line would break somewhere underground and we had to find it....in 15 degree weather. Our nearby neighbor has that except a company installed his. I think his covers about 7 acres.

There are some that have "run through protection".  If they get through, they keep getting zapped until they go back.

Donnerstorm,
My pups name is Ryder and he is 6 months old.  I was outside walking him one day, and he spotted my male cat which he loves to just lye on top of.  Well, I wasn't paying attention and I didn't notice the cat.  He took off and the leash just flew out of my hand and he chased the cat into the forrest right in front of the house.  I called for him to come and he stopped and looked back at me and then was just looking around for the cat which by that time was no where in sight.  I called again and he came to me and looked annoyed that the cat got away.  I just said, "lets go", and took him into the house.  I didn't talk to him for awhile after that and he kind of looked like he was feeling guilty.  I didn't yell or anything, I thought if I had done that, next time he wouldn't want to come back.  I'm wondering if the fence was there, would it prevent him from chasing the cat or would he just go anyway.  Someone mentioned wireless fence.  Does that actually mean that no wire exists at all?  What is the brand?