Dog Containment Fence

[TerryinMD]

We installed the Contain and Train system from Innotek. As long as the collar is on and working, the dog understands the boundary, and the dog is not a bonehead, it will work.

Be prepared to spend a some money to install the system. We have about $350 into it. If you go with the Innotek system, purchase the warrenty. We haven't and have had to wait for a new collar after ours went faulty.

Installation note: I used my middlebuster to trench the perimeter. We installed about 1500 ft of invisible fencing in two days. Be prepared for some work.

I have had two breaks in the fencing. One caused by a contractor pushing a tree across the fence line and the second by me dragging my toothbar across. The first was easy to find. The second took some time as I was grubbing the property in many places. To troubleshoot, you buy a RF choke at Radio shack (.99 cents) and attach it to the lines. Tune your radio to AM 600 and track it down. Took my girls less than 10 minutes to find the problem. Add a splice with underground connectors and the problem is solved.

Good luck.

Terry

 

[MReeter]

I bought a 2500' roll of a coated 16 gauge wire from our Electrical Supplier for about 100 bucks,a lot cheaper than the 500' rolls that the Fencing Co. offers,and just as good or better material also.Another plus is no splices.We also have a GSD who is very protective of her domain,nothing is sacrid around here.Anything that moves is fair game;birds,frogs,snakes,you name it.But since the initial training she has never made an effort to cross the boundries.She will run as hard as she can till she gets close to that line,then she puts on the brakes.

 

[rmorgan]

Brian--

I too don't think it has much to do with "timidity." Different dogs have different behaviors. We have Aussies which are absurdly fearless dogs, but they are working dogs like GSDs and are extremely pleased to have a perimeter to call their own. Hounds and other hunters are harder to train to an invisible fence, I think, because their nature is to roam. We have had very good luck with Invisible Fence systems at two houses (we moved the boxes when we moved), both times I installed the wire and the boxes myself but the good thing about working with a company that has a local presence is if there does come up a break that you can't find--they can. We paid about $40 a couple months ago to have a stubborn one found where a piece of equipment had snagged the wire and buried the break. They also replaced a transmitter that got fried by lightning for free.

 

[kevincook]

"These dogs are quite smart and they have a little crazy streak in them"

I think is a huge understatement. We had a couple of German Shorthairs when I was a kid. They are a fantastic dog but they are absolutely NUTS.

We have a Golden Retriever now and I am planning on installing a radio fence this spring. We have used an indoor version and it works extremely well. I think the biggest reason for a system to 'fail' would be the lack of training or a dog that is difficult to train. It helps if the dog is retrained on a regular basis....which they will be if you use the system on a regular basis. I am fortunate and have a dog that is easy to train.....I can not use the indoor system for 6-9 months and then just place the transmitter in a doorway and show the dog and she knows right away to not try to go through. She doesn't need the collar on or even the transmitter plugged in.

 

[Wal]

<font color=red>She will run as hard as she can till she gets close to that line,then she puts on the brakes</font color=red>

Mike,

That is exactly the same behavior as our GSD. She will charge down the hill to the invisible fence boundry with her tail in full "helicopter" mode. She then stops on the preverbial dime at the last possible moment /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif. Its usually Mr. Squirrel she's after. Problem is, Mr. Squirrel knows the boundry just as well /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif

 

[bigrazor]

I have the wireless version and it works well.

The advantage over the wired approach is that once the dog leaves the area, the dog is shocked until it returns. There's no jumping over the wire tricks. You can also take the controller and collar with you if you have to travel.

The disadvantage is that the controlled area is smaller. It can be set to a radius of up to 80'.

 

[wrinkled]

It seems from these posts that the invisible fence system works reasonably well. (My brother - in - laws dog finally bit down hard on the bullet and just powered on through the pain to get out.) I'm not sure what he does now to keep his pooch in.

With that said, there is one thing the electronic fences don't do, and that is to keep other creatures out. We have smaller dogs, (terriors) and my concern is the odd animal that would do them damage. We ended up with a wire fence to solve the problem.

Just my .02cents

dave

 

[Wal]

<font color=red>there is one thing the electronic fences don't do, and that is to keep other creatures out</font color=red>

Wrinkled,

That indeed is the main disadvantage, assuming you have a dog that is trained to stay in the boundries. Although it has never happened in the the seven years we having been using the "invisible fence", I am still fearfull of the day an aggressive, large dog picks a fight with our GSD on her turf. It would not be a pretty sight.

 

[Mosey]

If one of the boundaries is out in the middle of the yard, how does the dog know where the boundary is? Do you have to mark it with flags or something?

 

[Inspector507]

Danny,
The initial training is done with the flags and then the dog 'learns' where his boundry is. Except for mine, he isn't learning very well.