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When our first beloved sheltie was hit tragically by a car, we then invested in an invisible fence. We live out of the city with 5 mowed acres. We found it would be much more expensive to chain link the whole property, so we placed the fence around 3 acres. We live in Missouri & it cost about $1,500.
Since shelties are very smart (however active & love to herd everything), they are also quick learners and easy to train. With just a few lessons (actually 2) they learned very quickly what their boundries are.
We have had it about 5 years & it is really worth the peace of mind we now have.
You can adjust the settings on how wide you want the field, and adjust the amount of correction needed to stop your dog. Of course stronger willed dogs will need more correction & a little more work.
As with anything, it only works if you are willing to put in the proper training that it takes.
The owner of the company was very knowledgeable and if you follow their direction hopefully work out fine for you.
Hope that offers another option for you...
Last edited by Murphysmom; 02-02-2009 at 08:50 AM..
I had an Invisible Fence at my previous home. I will never have another one for several reasons.
Although the cost may be initially less than another type of fence, you need to look at the long term costs that you may incur. Also, there are other factors to consider.
1. The battery in the collar unit needs to be replaced approx. every 3 months at a cost of $15-$18 each. You don't know the battery is dead unless you test it.
The Receiving Unit on the collar is only warrented if you use the manufacturers battery. Using another battery can damage the unit. (They look similar but there are very tiny differences.) The replacement cost for the Receiving Unit is over $300 for Invisible Fence.
2. Vet bills that you may incur if/when another dog comes onto your property and hurts your dog.
3. There have been some instances of dogs being burned by the collar unit when they weren't adjusted properly. This is a rare occurance, though.
4. Each dog is different. Some will adjust to the Invisible Fence while others will regularly "test" the system and try to escape. You will not know what your dogs will do till you get the system. It's a shame to spend that $$$ on something that may/may not work with your dogs.
5. Power outages. When the electric goes out, so does the electric fence.
6. Neighborhood kids can and do come into a yard to check out a dog sometimes. I lived on a corner lot and sometimes kids wanted to pet my dog. The visible barrier of a real fence can deter this. Kids often don't think about whether a dog is friendly or not.
7. Even the most well-adjusted dog can become very fearful during a thunder storm and can escape the yard in an effort to escape and "hide."
That's how I lost my dog. She was fine with her boundaries till a storm brewed, then all bets were off. In my case, an unanticipated storm came through while I was running errands. I got home as soon as I could but she was gone. When I found her 3 days later, she was dead at the side of the road.
Even barring what happened to my dog, I found it to be a pain to make other arrangments for my dog when I was at work and I knew the weather would be bad since I knew she was a "runner" when she was afraid. I hated locking her in the garage till I could get home, even if it was for her safety.
I learned a hard lesson and will never take that chance with my dogs safety ever again.
Every situation is different. We have rechargeable collars, so the battery issue is moot.
Yes, the fence will not work during a power outage, but for us at least, those are rare.
We do not leave our dogs outside without supervision, so the storm issue is also moot.
Our property is multi-leveled. If we opted to use a physical fence, we would have to select a much smaller area to do so instead of giving our dogs the run of 1.5 acres. I think the key is to know your dogs, and your neighbors. We are in a neighborhood of 34 homes, but over 100 dogs. If a dog enters our yard, chances are very good my dogs are familiar with him. Kids entering our property is not an issue, we live at the top of a hill, but again, if the dogs are out, so are we.
Invisible fencing may not be the best choice for everyone, but it works for us, and many of my neighbors. If it is a case of leaving the dogs out all day while you go to work, I agree 100% that invisible fencing would not be a smart pick.
does anyone have one? Could you give me some feedback...good and bad! I have 3 dogs, one is a giant breed, and I was wondering if anyone had some advice to share!
Thanks!!
They couldn't pay me to have one. We have neighbors with one in their front yard. The dogs run toward people snarling and barking. The people don't realize that the dogs will stop at a certain point. I watched an elderly woman get so frightened she fell. Also it will not keep other animals away from your dogs.
There was an attack in Charlotte a few years back where a child went into a yard with an electronically fenced dog. Fences keep out kids and if they don't at least you have demonstrated due diligence.
I would ONLY have one if I were out there with my dogs while it was on and I have boundary trained my dogs without a fence - it is easy to do. but I only trust them with me out there. I am saving my money to buy a real fence. [we just moved and had one at our old house] Once a dogs drive is engaged - e.g., other dog, deer, etc. - many will ignore the pain.
Most dogs, especially larger breeds and terriers, have a high pain tolerance and quickly learn that if they run at the invisible line they can break through it fairly quickly and painlessly.
The other problem is that while it may keep your dog in, it won't keep other dogs or wild animals out, which could result in serious injuries or death to your dog.
I live on 10 acres in rual NE GA and put one in around the house for my JRT, it worked great. It was for hands free unloading stuff and doing work around the barn so I could keep an eye on him and know the deer etc. would not tempt him to run off.
I would never use it and leave him out un-attended, but they are handy for certain cercumstances.
Like everything else, everyone has there opinion, however what works best for one, doesn't always work for others.
We are responsible pet owners, and are generally outside when our dogs are out. I am also able to look out the windows to see where the dogs are in our yard if I am not out.
They are NEVER left outside all day unattended, or left out when we leave our home.
It eases my mind to know that when I am outside in the yard, they are near. It is also used as a tool when they need to get a quick potty break outside, I know that they are not running into the street.
We also don't have small kids as neighbors, or other dogs that live nearby. Two other neighbors have them as well, and they have large dogs.
For us, it is an awesome investment!
Resurrecting this thread - what brands to you all have? We are thinking of getting a dog. We have already had several but they are gone now and we are thinking of getting a puppy again. But we would like to get a fenceing thing in place before getting one.
We also have issues where our yard has several levels - think terraced... would this be an issue do you think? I have heard this.
What brands if I. F. do you have? We have seen some on ebay stores that specialize in them that seem like a good deal. We would install ourselves.
And YES - we know we should never leave the dogs out alone. We never did as our breed of preference are wiener dogs. they are too small to ever be left out alone even for a minute. This I.F. would be in case they escape ever - as one of ours liked to do - during parties when there is a lot of "in and out" of the doors.
They work great, but you must be willing to take the time to train the dogs to it. For the most part, once the dog is used to the fence, it doesn't always need to wear the collar because it still thinks it will get a correction anyway.
As far as messing up your yard to install it..it just requires a slice into the turf with a shovel along the wire line..not a big trench.
There is the occasional dog, my son has one (a male lab) who figured out that if he really wants to get out of the yard he just runs out really fast and it only hurts for a second. Of course, as another poster said, it doesn't keep other dogs from getting in, but this is usually not an issue with most people.
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