Invisible Fencing
I know that people have a concern about invisible fencing containing their dogs, as did I, but after purchasing the official "Canine Fence" brand with our puppy I am sold. (Not the "do it yourself" kits.) We live in a historic town where they won't allow a "frontage" fence and since we live on a corner property we weren't left with any other option. OES's are a perfect candidate for invisible fencing as "stereotypically" they don't run out with the "no looking back" mentality as some hunting breeds & huskies do. The Canine Fence company won't even sell a fence to people with those types of breeds. They come out and do an evaluation of your dog before even providing you an estimate. It has been great. There are all kinds of distractions going on on the other side of the fence (dogs, kids, cats, squirrels, etc.) and Frank sits there like a perfect angel watching what is going on, not trying to get through it at all and I'm not exagerrating. It takes about a month to do the training. And yes, they have to go through a correction period where they do feel the shock (and yes, I put the collar around my own neck to feel the shock) but the small bit of pain is quite a compromise to getting hit by a car. I do have to add that our pup is NEVER left outside unattended, and I would recommend the same as you cannot protect them from other dogs or animals entering your yard or people stealing your dog. I know that a lot of people are against these fences, and you become a battery slave for the collar. They certainly are not for everyone but it is an option. It is nice being able to throw a ball down the yard and not have to worry about him going in the street or have to have a leash on him. Plus Frank gets to greet everyone walking down the sidewalk which is a huge BONUS for him (and the kids in the neighborhood who already love to see him). |
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| That's great that it has worked so well for you... I am however wary of those shock collars. My first oes was a barker, she barked a lot, and loudly. My ex got her a collar, just a wee 6 volt battery in it and began training with it. I didn't like the idea, but neighbors were complaining, so I guess i figured we had to do something....
It did help, she realized when the collar was on not to bark, but when it was off she could. One day my ex whacked my leg with it. He was playing around, but it hit my leg and zapped me. It really hurt. A lot. I was "shocked" to find how much it hurt. I even felt a little shaky and nauseous after. I won't ever use one again. |
| I am not sure what the barking collars entail but Frank has only gotten shocked twice with the collar. Once with the fence trainer during the correction portion of the training and during the first week that he went out of bounds a little to greet someone.
The canine fence collar gives off an audible warning for several seconds before the shock kicks in. The whole training period before the actual "correction" occurs teaches the dog where their physical boundry is by marking it with flags. When they get a couple of feet away from the flags, the audible sound kicks in and you teach them to retreat away from the flags towards the center of your property. Once he was conditioned from the sound that is all it took. The shocking does hurt and it is supposed to. It didn't make me feel dizzy or nauseaus afterward but I won't try it again. I would rather Frank feel a little pain from a shock and have that consequence teach him to not go near the street rather than the pain he will feel if he gets hit by a car. He has been outside without his collar and he has only gotten near his boundry and that is it. He has had many temptations from other dogs to little kids across the street actually calling his name. He doesn't even enter the audible area at all anymore. I think people have to find out what is right for their dogs and I am fortunate to have something that is working out pretty well right now. |
| I also have the Invisible Fence from the original Invisible Fence company.
That type of fencing is ideal for where I live -- there is a historic landmark wall on my property and there are restrictions on what I can build near it so a physical fence would not be allowed. I have used the company trainer to train each of my dogs, I leave the border flags up in the yard, I check the collar batteries once a week, and I reinforce the training once a month. I do not leave the dogs in the yard unattended though I have friends who go to work and leave their dogs out all day. The fencing is a real god-send on those New England wintry mornings where you just do not want to venture outside for very long with the dogs. That having been said, you need to know that I had a sheepdog who was killed right in front of my house after she broke through the IF and was hit by a truck. To the best of my knowledge, that's the only time she broke through the fence, but it only took one time. I was outside in the yard at the time. My deaf sheepie is trained to the fence, and she observes it very well. One of my other sheepies has only broken through the fence on the on the back/woods side when chasing a cat or a deer. A friend's sheepie live here and that dog pays absolutely no attention to the fence and collar -- he likes to go up through the woods to the neighbors' house and no amout of training or shock seems to deter him. My point is that IF of any brand will not work for every dog all the time. It is better than no fence, but not as good as a physical fence. The sheepie who was killed had an extremely strong herding instinct. The invisible fence is on the street side of the historic stone wall and she used to chase cars, bicycles, etc. by running along on the inside of the wall. In retrospect, I should have done more to discourage her herding behavior. Frankly, I don't entirely trust any kind of containment system. Even physical fences can be breached when delivery folk forget to close the gate, etc. I hope that none of you ever lose a beloved sheepie. |
| The IF works for many people, but as already stated, dogs can run through them if provoked then not return when sanity returns as they can't get thru the barrier.
Another consideration is other animals are not deterred. Locally we had a case where a dog was killed by a stray that entered the yard and the home boy couldn't escape. The owner was emptying the car and had just stepped inside for a few minutes. Fritzi is right, don't trust any containment; IF, fence, etc. I have a 10 year old bitch who still challenges me to keep her in the yard. When the wander lust strikes (thankfully not as often anymore) she will move Heaven and Earth (and has LOL) to get free. |
| Fritzi, I am so sorry to hear that your dog got killed that way. I agree it really depends on the dog and I am so fortunate that this is my 3rd dog at this property that has not had an interest in going into the street, no matter what could attract them from the other side. But you are right, all it takes is one time, and my husband is a lot more comfortable with taking his eyes off of him than I am. |
| my border collie mix easily leaps our 4' chainlink, so i got a radio fence system and she doesn't jump the fence anymore. This is a dog with a very high prey drive (she jumps off the ground and catches birds), and if a bunny runs over the line, she'll follow right up to the line then hit the breaks. i don't even put the collar on her anymore, or i just have it on "beep." All it takes is one beep.
but it definitely depends on the dog. my new house has a 6' fence and she's plumped up a bit, hopefully the fence height won't be an issue and i can stop using the shock collar. |
| We just got an IF installed because Truman jumps over the 4' chain link fence with ease. The company also provides a training video and hands on training (which is scheduled for tomorrow). We looked at several options including tearing out the chain link and installing a wrought iron fence. If this doesn't work, we may have to go with the wrought iron. Geez! I sure hope not, that will mean more money on fencing than we spent carpeting the entire house! Wish us luck! |
| I have a lab and an Invisible Fence System. It has worked perfect for three years. As of last week, she has decided to endure the shock and started chasing cars. She was gone for three days last week. She is chasing cars all the way to the main road over a mile from our home. We are at a loss for what to do now and we can't fence our property. We have adjusted the collar, changed the boundries, put in new batteries and ... nothing is working. I was SOOOO thrilled with my fence because she NEVER escaped UNTIL recently. Now, she has figured out the shock stops after a few seconds and she will NOT stay in the yard. It is 10 degrees outside and we have spent hours trying to keep her in with NO luck. As soon as we drive out the driveway, she bolts down the road. Just a heads up to other people considering this method ..... it is possible they will learn to ignore it (even after three years of perfect behavior). |
| Have you contacted the fencing provider for any helpful hints they might have? |
| Good idea Ron to contact the provider.
You might also want re-do the training again while keeping your dog on a leash so that she receives the correction. |
| I am one of those non believers in the invisible fence plus the thought of shocking my dog makes me ill. However, I think its important for a dog to be able to roam the yard with you and play catch without a leash always around his neck. If no fencing is allowed, and you are out with your dog at all times, I guess I'd rather have the slight shock than my dog hit by a car.
People on our block have the original IF and their two Nuffies get through it all the time. I almost hit one myself and now go super slow past their house watching out for one just in case. I have the wrong iron around the front of my house, with six foot shrubs in front of it. We did 6 foot PVC privacy on the sides and back. Cost me almost as much as the darn house did! LOL...But now we have just under an acre fenced in so the doggys can play and I can sit on the porch and watch instead of running them myself. Priceless  |
| You are fortunate that you live in an area where you are free to physically fence your yard. |
| VerveUp, you can come and play any time We are on Long Island! |
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