INVISIBLE FENCES?? - Page 1

A friend of mine has asked me about the pros and cons of invisible fencing. I don't have any experience with it, so I thought I would ask for opinions on this site. Have any of you used this type of control, and if so how did it work (or NOT work, as the case may be?

I have used an Invisible Fence for 12 years for 2 GSD's. The first broke through a few times chasing a cat. I was with him and he came right back when I called. Just closed his eyes and took the schock on returning. We then had his receiver "beefed-up" and that prevented additional escapes. Blitz has never intentionally challenged the fence. He will not go into the field for even a beefsteak. Donwsides - some dogs just take the shock and go. It really depends on the dog and the owner. You must train the dog correctly. The receiver and transmitter must be strong enough for a big dog and the battery must always be fresh. The collar needs to be kept tight enough so the contact points touch the skin. My first GSD was a coat, I kept his neck trimmed. Other animals can wander on your property and an invisible fence does not prevent people from coming into your yard. I would never recommend buying an underground fence at Tractor Supply and installing it yourself. Pay the Invisible Fence people to do that. They help you train the dog and will work with you no matter how long it takes. The dog must never be outside alone; even in the middle of winter one of us stands on the deck and watches Blitz while he's taking care of business. Altough he has never challenged the fence, we still do not ever allow him outside on his own. Bltiz is not at all dog or animal aggressive, so he shows little interest in what's on the other side and if another dog does come on the property he is wanting to play with it. He doesn't go nuts when he see people walking on the street either, he could care less if they are not on the property. My first GSD was very dog aggressive, he would try to kill any and all other animals in HIS yard. There are few upsides IMO. I far prefer a physical fence. An invisible fence is less expensive than a physical fence. We have one because we are not permitted to have a fence over 4 feet in the development where we live. An invisible fence with a GSD is much better than a 4 foot fence and an missing GSD or no GSD at all. Hope this helps.

We have a 4 ft vinyl 3-rail fence with plastic coated wire mesh between the rails as well as an invisible fence at it's base. The combination works excellently for our large GSD which does have a higher than usual tolerance for pain. I'm sure the invisible fence alone would not have proved adequate deterrent for him if the provocation from the other side was high enough. Bottom line ... Blitzen's comments about the invisible fence are right on the money. It depends on the dog, the power in the battery and the wisdom of the training.

That's a great idea, lonewulf. I should have done that for my first GSD. I know he could have and would have jumped the four feet. With the additional correction from the invisible fence, he might have tried it once, but I'll bet he would not have tried it twice. One more thing I forgot to mention, if you have an Invisible Fence installed, make sure you know where the wire is buried. I have cut this one several times with a lawn edger. If you know where it's cut, you can repair it yourself. Otherwise, you need to call the installer to find the break and make the repair. I'd recommend having a warning beeper installed on the transmitter. That way if the circuit breaks you will hear a very loud beeping sound. If you don't have this warning device and don't check it every day, the line could be broken and you might find out too late.

Königtum, the success of the fence will depend on its quality, transmitter/reciever capacity and the drive and pain threshold of the dog. Remember that even a low- to medium-drive dog may ignore the fence in a moment of extreme prey drive if he sees something to chase. I personally do not use these fences, but know many people who do for all types of dogs. Training the dog to live with the fence is extremely important. The only real caveat that I will add is that while the fence may reasonably keep your dog in your yard, it will not prevent other dogs from entering your yard and causing trouble. Follow the advice of Blitzen and supervise the dog while he is outside. Bob-O

It works great for kids, too. Put one on a 4 yr old and the little bugger never leaves the yard.

Blitzen We had the same problem with ourlandscaping guys slicing throu the wire when the were using the edging tool. I finally got several 50-75 foot sections of garden hose and threaded the wire thru the hose which I then buried 3-4 inches below the turf. No more cut wires after that.

Why didn't I think of running the wire through a hose. Duh......

As said above the key to the invisible fence is training. training and more training. They can work. I have used them before and the only problem I had was run through and once on the other side they cannot get back without getting shocked. I ussed another type that was wireless. the dog had to stay within the range of a transmitter or it got shocked. This worked well as they could not run through as it continued to shock when they got out of range of the transmitter so they had to return to the safe zone. I don't use them anymore as I am lucky enough to be on 6 acres so it is hard for them to actually get off the property.