invisible fence for dogs

Dargo · Apr 1, 2006

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Yes, invisible fences are useless for Great Pyreness and other guarding dogs. Here is a pic of my two Pyrenees. )</font>

I cannot comment on a Great Pyrennes (beautiful dogs by the way) because I don't have one, but with the Invisible Fence brand of invisible fence, I can drop a Mastiff on his can and make him never dare challange the area again. I would more see it as certain breeds or, probably more correct, certain dogs will be harder to train than others. I've had my Invisible Fence for about 12 years and I've had 2 dogs it really didn't work well on; one was a little Peekapoo and the other was a Shetland Sheep dog.

The stupid little Peekapoo (I can say that; he's my dog /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif) will just freak out and bolt when he gets hit with a 'correction'. After months of training, I gave up on the stupid little mutt! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif The Shetland Sheep dog was (she died last year) really smart, but very hard headed. She knew she was going to get the crap knocked out of her, but she also figured out that if she jumped up in the air like a deer when crossing the line, the shock was less. She looked like a darned rabbit when she would make a big run at the fence and then, right at the wire, make as high of a jump as possible.

Anyway, I tried several of the "off brand" models before I bit the bullet and bought the Invisible Fence brand. With the off brands I could not adjust the size (distance from the wire that the correction happens) of the electrified field, or the intensity of the collar. To make matters worse, with the off brand setups, if there was a thunderstorm anywhere in my county, my system would get fried. Then, the manufacturer would not cover lightning damage. They told me that it was my responsibility to unplug the system if lightning was possible. What?! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif Where I live, lightning is "possible" darn near every day; especially when it just had to be anywhere in the area!

I've never unplugged my Invisible Fence brand system in 12 years now and it has never been damaged or quit. Right now I have 2 ninety pound German Shepherd Dogs in a 12 acre area and they do not leave. I did turn it up in both intensity as well as the electrified area from a small dog. I can't say that I have ever put a collar on my neck and tried to run through the system (believe it or not, I'm not quite that dumb /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif). But I have had a collar in my hand with the prongs making contact with my palm and accidentally walked over the line since my system keeps my dogs from being able to get on my driveway - and run over there by the UPS guy who drives 60 mph in my driveway. Holy crap man! How do they get all that zap in those little batteries that look like a half of a AA battery?! I thought it knocked my hand off. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

So, based on about a dozen years of use, I'd say that it is not a correct statement to say that an Invisible Fence system will not work on larger dogs; it will. I'd just say that some dogs are more stubborn, smart (my jumping dog), or stupid (my little dog) to be properly trained with the system. I would never try to keep vicious dogs contained with just an invisible fence system. As long as your dog has half a brain (unlike my wife's little mutt - get the idea I don't like that little dog /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif), or isn't too smart to figure out how and when to jump high, the system should work for 95% of the dogs or more.

450EXC · Apr 1, 2006

Ut Ohhh,

Won't work for Pyrenees ? I was planning on putting one in when the weather broke. We have 2, Grace and Moses. Grace is pretty whimpy and I thought it would work for her, not sure about Moses.

I was leaning towards the Innotek brand with fence and training in one.

Is there such a thing as a whimpy Great Pyrenees?

Does anyone have experience with the Innotek brand?

SnoFalls · Apr 1, 2006

I tried the stuff in an area with our setter. I just knew I couldn't trust it to keep him in unsupervised, so also had a 8x30 dog run made up when he needed to be put out of the house.

The "training" you have to do with the invisible fence takes a considerable amount of time to get the benefits.

I eventually just removed the shock collar, and just trained him with positive reinforcement to respect our boundary. Since he's now gone, I've done the same with our longharied german shepard. I can generally ignore her, and she'll stand at the end of the drive knowing she isn't allowed to cross.

Give normal positive reinforcement training a try (better yet get the yougin to do it). Territorial breeds take to this well, and so do "herders" (our shepherd once herded a friends 3yr from going outta the boundary, was hilarious to watch).

hvac1 · Apr 1, 2006

I've had an invisable fence brand fence for over 15 years, 2 german shepherds. I don't know how well the other brands work, but I do know mine works great. It sure did cost a lot more to. I didn't like the cost or looks of a conventanal fence,plus if you ever relocate,which I did 3 times, you leave the wire in the ground and take the controls with you. I have a very smart dog but I wouldn't rely on training to keep her in the yard with out a barrier. Plus nobody knows whether your dog can leave your yard or not, which keeps people on there toes.

bher · Apr 1, 2006

Thanks for the complement. The female (right side) is a 2-year-old rescue dog, and the male we got as a puppy. He is only 7 months old in the picture. We will be at the Pyr event in Lancaster in April also. Maybe we will see you there.

bher · Apr 1, 2006

All dogs are individuals, but I would never trust an invisible fence to contain my Pyrenees. They can be very hard-headed and have an instinct to patrol and roam. Their high tolerance for pain is well known. A shock or pain would not stop my male Pyr unless it physically knocked him out. It might work on the female, but I doubt it. Hope this helps.

mushrock · Apr 1, 2006

I bought one of these a few years back. The brand I got actually came in two versions, a standard and a deluxe version. I called the company to find out what the differences were and I was told that with the standard version the collar beeped when the dog got close to the fence before it shocked the dog. With the deluxe version you had the option of turning off the beeper. When I asked if that was a good thing they said yes that they had found that some dogs were smarter than others and they would go close enough to the "fence " to set off the beeper and then just sit or lay down until the battery in the collar went dead and the beeping stopped. They were then free to roam. Also, check the type and cost of batteries. Some collars take standard inexpensive batteries while others take expensive batteries. I think mine were about $10 a piece. As far as burying the line, it really doesn't need to be very deep, I buried mine using an edger to cut a trench.

wushaw · Apr 1, 2006

I have the Innotek brand with lightning arrestor around @9 acres and it works for my Brittany.
I put it on my little Jack Russell one day whe she was running into the road...after about three hits she was not liking life, I have not put it on her since and I haven't had it on my Brittany for more than a week in the last two years, she is not fond of electrical current in her neck so she understands her boundaries.

Jagmandave · Apr 3, 2006

With some dogs, the thickness of the coat keeps the contacts away from the skin, so the shocker doesn't work, you have to trim the fur back where the collar sits, which is kind of a pain.