Anyone have experience with electric dog fences?

January 26, 2005 4:32 PM

My dog is starting to roam. Anyone have experience with electric dog fences? How well did they work for you?
posted by atchafalaya to Shopping (17 answers total)

I have next-door experience, and they work really well.

My neighbors have a Jack Russell. Actually, he's the replacement Jack Russell, as the original Jack Russell started running south one day and apparently never stopped. Anyway, they got the subterranean electric fence for the replacement Jack Russell. He knows the limit.

Recently the neighbors moved the fence about 10' out, giving him more room to run. He's a smart, smart, dog, but he still won't cross the original fence line.

So, they work great for the neighbors.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:38 PM on January 26, 2005

Hi!
This is my first post, and I am probably supposed to introduce myself somewhere else, but I couldn't find where to do it.

Anyway, a few things to consider concerning electric dog fences.

1. While they may keep your dog in your yard, they will not prevent other dogs from entering...this can be important if the other dog ( or yours) is aggressive.

2. Power outages can obviously be a problem if the dog is not fully trained.

3. A highly spirited dog might decide that the Zap is well worth the freedom it enjoys.

Hope this helps,
lobstah
posted by lobstah at 5:00 PM on January 26, 2005

This came up in a recent thread. That's just for your information; I'm not calling you out.
posted by TimeFactor at 5:20 PM on January 26, 2005

We've got one for our lab/dalmation mix. We've had it since she was a puppy. She'll be 6 this summer. Bought it at Lowe's, put it in ourselves, works just fine. We don't use it as a fence replacement....if we're not home, she's in the house; but it keeps her in the yard without a chain or a fence.

Realise that it will only keep your dog in, not other dogs out. In our neighborhood, it's not a problem. There are dogs who visit her every day when it's warm out, but they are all aware that they're on her territory.

The only time she crosses the wire is when Mr R is across the wire (and when the battery in the collar dies). We did have to replace the collar -- the reciever was fine, but the collar was beginning to fail after four+ years.
posted by jlkr at 5:34 PM on January 26, 2005

hi lobstah, yeah we don't really have a place to introduce yourself here is fine, welcome!

My Dad has a big dopey retriever and an underground electric fence that works quite well. The dog stays in the yard but can run around outside to his heart's content. I'm not sure what teh training period was like, but he stays in the yard 100% of the time now. Lobstah is right, won't help with other dogs, and, naturally, won't help with skunks either.
posted by jessamyn at 5:37 PM on January 26, 2005

My parents tried one out for their dog a few years ago, but it didn't really work out. Rex (the dog, natch) didn't much care for being cooped up and over the course of a few weeks built up his stamina enough that when he was put out he'd just run quickly through the barrier and be free.

So it seems the key factor (considering the positive comments above) is the dog's personality.
posted by shotsy at 5:47 PM on January 26, 2005

Response by poster: Aagh! I looked, I swear! Well, thanks for pointing it out, Timefactor. And so recently, too.

Hi Lobstah. Is that your art? It's nice.

Thanks for the advice mudpuppie, jlkr and jessamyn. Mudpuppie, your post made me laugh.
posted by atchafalaya at 5:48 PM on January 26, 2005

I know others who have had the same experience as Shotsy's folks. The dog would just get a good running start, sort of ball up through the border part, and then he was a free dog, with *zero* incentive to come home, because it meant going through that wireless fence again.
posted by ambrosia at 5:52 PM on January 26, 2005

Thanks atchafalaya, the artwork is my wife's...I'll pass your comments on to her. Me, I can barely draw a conclusion.
posted by lobstah at 5:54 PM on January 26, 2005

If you're in an area where people walk by your yard a lot and the dog tends to want to 'greet' them, these fences can cause problems. Dog runs to say hi, tail a-wagging, and then just as he gets close to the people he gets a nasty shock. He associates the shock with the people and retaliates. Not good.

Also, some dogs decide that the shock they get when going over the wire to get out isn't so bad, but then the fence becomes something that's keeping them out, since they decide it's not worth the shock just to get back in.

The dog I rescued from the pound was found with a shocker collar on but no ID, so I've always assumed that these kinds of fences wouldn't work on him since they clearly failed once before.
posted by Framer at 6:01 PM on January 26, 2005

Just another echo of shotsy's comment; years ago I was vacationing in Chincoteague off the coast of Virginia/Maryland, and there was a (presumably full-time) residence down the street from our rental cottage. They had an adorable golden retriever/yellow lab mix, and a "fence" of the type under discussion.

However, the dog would just run right through it, yelp as it passed over the wire, and then be out. It roamed the neighborhood all the time. The sad thing is, it was somewhat apparent that the dog wasn't exactly all right in the head...I forget why but we had a good sense that it was at least a little loopy., and we all assumed it was because of the repeated shocks.

So, yea...I'd say it depends on the dog, and if the dog is of the type that will get itself shocked more often than not, you may be doing irreparable harm to it as well! :(
posted by cyrusdogstar at 6:29 PM on January 26, 2005

If you do put up an electric fence, please put up a sign. In a past life I walked through a lot of yards because my job required it for service the homeowners requested. It was never pleasant to be surprised.
posted by sled at 6:48 PM on January 26, 2005

I have a friend who used one of these systems with their boxer, but it works a little different than the ones described.


The system they got just has 1 main "station" in the middle of their house. The station has a knob on it that increases or decreases the RF radius from the station. The collar the dog wears starts beeping when the dog approaches this radius and then will finally give a shock once they have passed the border. This type of collar will keep giving small shocks until the dog returns to the confines of the border.

This system worked great for my friend. It only took a couple of shocks to get their dog to realize that when the collar started beeping, it was time to move back. After a couple of months on the collar, they didn't even have to use it anymore.
posted by JudoGno at 6:27 AM on January 27, 2005

I had a friend whose dog would always go through the fence to come out - the shock was worth it - and would then come home, position himself just outside the fence, and bark until my friend turned it off so he could come in. (/repetitious anecdote)

In my older working class neighborhood, there is a lot of chain link & only one underground fence. The local dogs don't get the underground fence & I think they make fun of the poor hound inside it. Also, they all run in there given half a chance and pee all over her territory, which drives her crazy. I feel sorry for her & so would second what was said above: if it's an oddity where you are, or there are a lot of dogs who might come through it, I would go with traditional.
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:40 AM on January 27, 2005

We've been using an electric fence for years. Even installed another one last month when we moved. Been working great. That and a dog door makes all the difference to this work-at-home-a-lot pet owner. But we don't have problems with roaming dogs like the mygothlaundry said.

Watch the video and follow all directions for your dog's sake.

And if you need more flags, don't buy the official pet ones. Just go to your local home center and pick up landscape flags. Way cheaper. Same goes for cable, though the wire gauge this system uses is very tiny and you may have to search for it at an electronics store.
posted by Tacodog at 9:00 AM on January 27, 2005

Response by poster: Okay, I just ordered a transmitter and collar from the outfit mentioned in the earlier thread TimeFactor pointed out.

I'll let everyone know if there's a shocking turn of events.
posted by atchafalaya at 10:44 AM on January 27, 2005

In the 'follow all the directions' aspect of this, make sure to take your dog out on a leash for several weeks before you let him loose through the electric fence. From my experiences, a dog well-trained to know the limit is less likely to accidentally sprint through the fence (and realize he can!).

Good luck!
posted by onalark at 11:39 AM on January 27, 2005