We are about to have it installed next week. We have about an acre and the price is around 2000, so that makes a lot of difference. I must say I've thought hard on this, because with an invisible fence I still don't want to leave Tess outside on her own. The chance that some other dog may come in, or the bobcat that was spotted in my neighbour's garden recently, or just anyone who might take her, scares me. But in our subdivision a normal fence is not an option. But I guess if she just wants to be outside, she can lie on the deck, which is gated. And if we go in the garden to play I'll be there anyway. She will get 4 lessons to get used to the fence, by a trainer from the company.

 

It's a tough decision. I personally would (and did) fence part of the yard with 'real' fence. And the rest we use for leash walks and longline play.

Fenced yards often result in dogs that don't get appropriate exercise (putting the dog out back to exercise himself or play with others doesn't really count as 'exercise time'), dogs get left out unsupervised (because it's convenient).

The real concern with electric fences is that the dog is not as well protected from people, but especially other dogs/animals. If you live in an area where you have neighbors... there has been too many anecdotal reports of increased reactivity in dogs after starting to use an electric/inivisble fence. Kids that may enter the yard are not protected. There is (alway) the potential for equipment failure. Vet techs have reported injuries to dogs. People may unknowingly come into your yard and could get hurt.

A recent student told me about a super friendly and fairly well mannered puppy that would approach the mailman every day when he came. They were best friends. One day a substitute mailperson came. Saw the puppy running up, maced and kicked him. The dog is now very, very reactive. Stuff like that may not be super common...but it's not a risk I want to take with my own dogs.

I did strongly consider it, but every 'reason' for using it came down to a matter of convenience for me... and the benefits of convenience did not outweigh the risks of increased aggression and frustration, let alone injury.

 

Have you considered hurricane fence?

 

Jodie...please explain...what is a hurricane fence?

 

chain link

 

I have an invisible fence and love it! Brady was trained to one at our old house, and when we moved, he accepted the boundaries of the new house as soon as the flags went up.

MacKenzie was just trained 10 days ago and is doing very well too. I don't trust her 100 percent, but I think my trust will come in the next few weeks.

I feel safer with an invisible than a actual fence. To me, an actual fence provides a sense of false security (gates open, they can dig under, jump over, snow drifts allow them to walk over ).

I lost a dog about 15 years that ran out my door that did not shut properly in front of a truck. Fencing would not have prevented this, but invisible fencing would have.

Brady only went through the fence once, and that was the second day at our new house following my husband. We then realized the collar was not on tight enough.

The cons are:

I still take them outside on leash when it is dark, just in case a skunk or something is in the yard.

To take them for a walk, I have to drive them over the boundary.

Brady will react to little flags or cloth blowing in the wind when we are away from home. He also reacts to the beeping sound my car makes when I open the door with the keys in the ignition.

Please be sure to get a professional fence, name brand fence, and it is better to have the company train them.

My husband is training MacKenzie his own way, and because of that, I think she has been zapped more times than Brady was.

I have been zapped myself, and the feeling is equivilent to the feeling you get when you touch a 9 volt battery with your tongue (we used to do that as children ).

 

I personally know 3 dogs who were killed, due to their running through their invisible fence. Two Goldens and a SCW. At least 2 of them I would have considered to be very well trained. Neighbors who saw one dog run through, said he ran through very quickly, then looked as though he were going to come back in, yelped, and took off down the road. All 3 were hit and killed by cars.

I guess if you were always going to be out with your dog, an invisible fence would be fine. I would never leave a dog out unattended, for fear of what could happen.

I have chain link around the house, with top and bottom rails, and a secure gate. I have years and years of living with escape artists The secret is to have that bottom rail, very low to the ground, and to attach the fence to the rail every place the two touch. The only dog who can get out of it is the Crested. She can literally slip through a space only a couple of inches wide, so I am working on that.

The exercise yard is hog wire, and it keeps the big dogs in really well. They can't even dig under it too easily, because the wire does not give.

Around 3 acres around the house, exercise yard and the old farmyard, is fenced with farm fence. I would not trust it to hold the dogs in for an extended, unchaperoned period of time, but they are only out loose when I am out with them.

 

We've thought about invisible for our last dog and this one. With our last dog, he was so much a chaser, we KNEW if we put one in, he'd "grin and bare it" and be off chasing deer (or whatever). And then there's the fact that other animals can get in.

 

Linda, by farm fence, you means wooden like "rail fence"?
Kay

 

No, more like what you see around here with cattle (in tandem w/electric fencing), and even sometimes along the 4-lanes. The spacing is about 4" x 4", and it's a lighter weight fence. It's a barrier but not as strong as chainlink or hogwire.

I had a fence installer put it in, and he did a great job of stringing it up and putting tension on it. Every corner is braced by 8' wood braces with some kind of thing that you can twist and increase the tension. There are metal poles every 8 feet. I had it done about 10 years ago and it was $3500 for 3 acres, plus the exercise yard.

I live on an old farm out in the country, so pretty is not as important as functional

I did know a collie breeder in South Carolina who had a beautiful wooden rail fence for her dogs. She "lined" it with either farm fence or hog wire, and it was a great fence for the dogs. I think her kennel name was something like Azalea Hills, and she had beautiful azaleas lining the outside of the fence.

 

installed my own and just recently buried the wire when the ground was soft enough.
this past weekend was comets first weekend without the training nubs and was zapped a few times. twice he left the yard when not on a leash. first time he was zapped and yelped and was so confused i was able to grab him, second time he ran through to say hi to all teh people in the neighbors driveway, then proceeded to sprint to their backyard since he had "freedom"

need to work on the boundries more. when with me he will bounce back with the tone, but apparently not when left to his own devices. his recall also sucks. which we work on constantly. ugh.

 

installed my own and just recently buried the wire when the ground was soft enough.
this past weekend was comets first weekend without the training nubs and was zapped a few times. twice he left the yard when not on a leash. first time he was zapped and yelped and was so confused i was able to grab him, second time he ran through to say hi to all teh people in the neighbors driveway, then proceeded to sprint to their backyard since he had "freedom"

need to work on the boundries more. when with me he will bounce back with the tone, but apparently not when left to his own devices. his recall also sucks. which we work on constantly. ugh.

It is important to train them that when they hear the beep and/or get zapped, to go running back towards the house otherwise I think they can get confused.

I was very lucky with Brady, his first lesson without a leash, my neighbors cat was hiding in our bushes, we did not know. He chased that cat out of the boundaries, and that was the first time he was zapped, he went running back to the house. He knew from there on not to chase anything out.

 

We have two goldens and three acres but the invisible fence only on one acre. When properly trained, as in ten minutes, twice a day for 2 weeks there is no problem. We have deer and not only do my dogs know how far they can chase them but the deer know how far they can run away from the dogs. It's funny watching them stop and then turn back as if to say "nanr-nanr". We've had it so long that we took down the flags but the dogs know their boundaries and stay within them

It's also a godsend on rainy or snowy days when I don't want to go out with them just to watch them poop. My only problem is I tend to forget to change the batteries. The dogs don't run out of the yard or anything they just kind of go a tiny bit further to do their business and that's when I realize that I have to put new batteries in. But that's my fault, not the invisible fence.

 

There's also a plug in system, no wires, that works on the basis that the dog gets zapped and continues to get zapped until it's back in the 'zone' of the base. It's adjustable and moveable so you can take it camping and ahve the dog remain in your campsite etc... might be an option.

Personally I'd do a smaller dog run attached to the house for the most part, so there aren't landmines and holes dug everywhere on the lot, and then just take them out for runs to chase a ball a few times a day. The invisible fence doesn't keep critters out and I'd hate to have to deal with skunks or other dogs.

Lana

 

I've thought about the plug-in system but my husband says no for the reasons you stated .

We now have part of our property fenced for the dog (wood fence with wire fence attached) and we run Hank in the fields when weather allows. My idea is the plug-in fence would hopefully give some added protection if he would see a deer or other wildlife to chase.

 

I put in a hidden fence last summer. I love it but it is absolutely no substitute for supervision. I still don't let Daisy outside without me. But I do find that for high trigger situations, she thinks first and that gives me time to break her focus. It's working very well for us. We didn't use it all winter, flags were buried in snow but first time out again this year with the collar and she knew the rules changed, she hasn't even tried to go near the boundary.

And I take her through the boundary for walks without her collar on, I just say it's okay and we go. It doesn't appear to confuse her. She knows what the collar means, and when the collar is on she knows all the rules change.

 

I put in a hidden fence last summer. I love it but it is absolutely no substitute for supervision. I still don't let Daisy outside without me. But I do find that for high trigger situations, she thinks first and that gives me time to break her focus. It's working very well for us. We didn't use it all winter, flags were buried in snow but first time out again this year with the collar and she knew the rules changed, she hasn't even tried to go near the boundary.

And I take her through the boundary for walks without her collar on, I just say it's okay and we go. It doesn't appear to confuse her. She knows what the collar means, and when the collar is on she knows all the rules change.

Dogs don't just learn from the flags but also from the beeping. We get lots of snow but we took our flags down two years ago and our dogs know where they can and can't go. The flags are useful in the very beginning so your dogs have two things to notify them, one to see and one to hear. But once they are fully trained, the flags are no longer necessary. I'm sure Daisy doesn't really need the flags anymore. You could probably pull them out a little bit at a time and she will continue to stay within her area.

 

I thought I was convinced with invisiable fencing but the story about the dogs running out, getting scared and being hit by cars really scared me.

We live at the end of a private drive; only 6 houses on our road. There aren't any kids (other than mine), or no other dogs... but we do get several deer, rabbits, squirrels. As of lately, he sits by the doorway starring at the squirrels and birds; so I wonder what he would do if outside, having access to them (even though he'd be supervised).

He's very good and pretty mild but who knows if he'd be vulernable to running thru it. I'd hate to get it and him continuely run thru to chase other animals; does that ever happen, where they're just not trainable with it?... Not assuming my guy isn't, but wonder if it happens.

As for a chain fence; the friend who has invisiable fence and likes it, told me that she use to have a chain fence and the dog would dig a hole under it and escape. She also said that sometimes she doesn't put the collar on and her dog still knows the boundaries (not that she was encouraging that) but even without the collar, her dog knows where to go and where not to.

I appreciate the replies and help!

 

Chain link is not invincible-but I find that a lot of people who say their dogs dig under it, do not have the bottom rail. Chain link on its own will give-not a lot, but often enough for allow a dog to dig and then force its way though. I also had 2 dogs who would just roll up the chain link and escape that way. The worst was the vinyl covered, as it did not seem to be the same strength as the regular chain link. The bottom rail helps tremendously. Also, with any fence, the dips of the yard can be hard to deal with. I told my fence guys I didn't care about the fence looking "even" at the top, I wanted the chain link and bottom rail to be on the ground, or as close as possible. Then I went around the yard and looked for depressions and either filled them in or blocked them with rail road ties or concrete staves (for silos).

It's been 10 years and no escapes so far!

 

Oh, and if you live in or near the woods, and you have deer, you may also have wolves or coyotes. We have both in my area. I just got a call from a gentleman who lost his old Golden to coyotes. I doubt the dog was in a fenced area though. Coyotes will jump a fence to get a small dog but I don't think they would jump a fence to tangle with a big dog.

 

I have had the invisable fence, for a total of 13 yrs., at two seperate homes, i have had very good luck with it, total, of 5 dogs, have used it, only twice was there a problem, spencer , found a place in it, years ago, when he was young, and went through it, but both homes are, and have been, at a safe place, as far as traffic is concerned, and kopper has a place he has learned to go pass, on a hill, he watches cats in a field.

 

My MIL has an electric fence at the house on the Cape. I want to have all three dogs trained (by a professional) so we can use it this year. They really need to be able to run free.

I am worried that Darby will ignore the fence and dive into the lake with his collar on, I am afraid he will get electrocuted (or a really bad shock) at worse he may ruin the collar. Not sure of the cost but I don't want to have to purchase a new one every other day....:doh:

 

My MIL has an electric fence at the house on the Cape. I want to have all three dogs trained (by a professional) so we can use it this year. They really need to be able to run free.

I am worried that Darby will ignore the fence and dive into the lake with his collar on, I am afraid he will get electrocuted (or a really bad shock) at worse he may ruin the collar. Not sure of the cost but I don't want to have to purchase a new one every other day....:doh:

My collars are waterproof. I don't think that is anything to be worried about. We have had Brady play in his little wading pool with his collar on.

 

I know my sister and her husband tried an electric fence for their lab. It didn't stop him. If the kids across the street were outside playing, he would stand at the edge of the yard, psych himself up for it and jump right through. For him, it was worth a shock to be able to go play with the neighbor kids.

 

I couldn't bring myself to trust a hidden fence. It just seems to me one bird or other animal would be enough to get them past the 'threshhold', and once that's done away they go.

To be honest, 8k to 15k to fully wood fence (I'm assuming it's the standard 6 foot post/picket type) doesn't sound bad. My 1/8 acre back yard plus a smaller inner kennel cost me over 7 grand a few years ago. Fencing a full acre is one hell of a lot of wood.

 

That's what I'm afraid of; chasing a squirrel, a bird or deer.

Yesterday I counted 8 young deer crossing through the yard. Our guy is submissive, so I don't know what he'd do about deer but I know he'd love to chase squirrels and birds. I've been stressed about what to do because I need to decide so that we can get started; with the weather changing, I want him to be able to play outside.

Still undecided.

 

Here's an idea. This is what my Mom did back in the 70's when she raised GSD's...

Don't fence the entire yard. Put up a 8 foot chain-link fence say 25' wide by 50 or 100 feet long. Or bigger. Poles at top and bottom. Nice big gates so you can get mowers, poop-wagons, etc... in and out.

Butt it up against the house so a house door opens up into it if possible. That way you can put in a dog door to give him more freedom.

And lock the gates. Every dog I've known has been born with the "Gate Opening" Gene and it's no challenge for them

 

LOL just today my roommates dog escaped our chain link for the first time. It does have a bottom bar, but one section of the fence came undone from it somehow and we had no idea it was loose, she just slid right under!

Funny part was he thought I was crazy by saying to never let my dog out unsupervised in the yard, he leaves his dog out there unsupervised for HOURS! Well not anymore as she's surely testing for her freedom after having the time of her life playing with kids and dogs in the park behind our house LOL.

Chain link makes a cheaper alternative that's great for supervised outdoor play!

 

Your roommate might want to go over the bottom rail and, rather than the typical attached only every 6 inches or so bottom rail, attach the bottom rail to the chain link every place it touches-about every inch or so. It seems like overkill unless you have had dogs who would take that 6 inches and unravel the chain link-and I have had those dogs! My Mason kennels are attached that way, and none of the dogs have ever, in 15 years, gotten out of them. When the fencing is attached that way, there is not enough space for the dog to any kind of hold to force them apart.

 

I use to have an electric fence for our last golden. Kept her in but not the irresponsible neighbor's dog out.
In the fall we put up a small enclosed area to do the winter with a welded wire fence. For now it is up with the green posts in the ground. Once it warms up here we plan on making this much larger & using a wooden post every so many feet with the green metal posts in between. We will do the stretcher bar to get it tight & double post the corners with braces. We will probably close in about an acre. Must less expensive than the chain link or privacy fence we looked at. I think 100 feet ran us about $50 for the fence & about 10-12 metal posts at about $3.00 each. The wooden posts will run about $5 each but will only use them every 3rd post. You can find instalation videos online. I forget the brand, "Red" something. It is the best thing we have done since we lived here. It is nice to let them out without having to walk them on a leash or worry about the neighbor dog. Now when the neighbor dog poops in the rest of our yard, my husband picks it up & throws it back in their yard because we are absolutely positive it is not our dogs. For the record, we have asked every way we can for them to please keep their animals in their own yard.

 

we added a 12 inch strip of 2x4 welded wire to the bottom of our fence, laying flat on the ground. we staked it down with tent pegs every 2-3 feet & mow right over it. no dog yet has figured out that they have to move a foot back from the fence to dig.