# Invisible Fence



## GoldRocksMom (Feb 9, 2007)

I know there are many on here who like and use an electronic fence
system.
I do not and discourage our puppy buyers from it.

One of our buyers after calling me and getting my opinion decided to
go ahead with invisable fence.
The company came out and sent their "trainer" to show how to train
and use the system.
This puppy (6 months) would not go near the line and the "trainer"
kept taking her favorite toys and trying to get her to go after them.
When this was not working, (the trainers and companys thought on this was the dog must know what the correction will be if she goes over the line) the trainer decided to toss the toys up in the air not over the line,
and once the puppy started going for them flicked the toy at the last
minute over the line and the pup tried to catch herself and landed wrong and broke her leg which ended up causing problems with her growth plate.

The owners tried to get the company, invisable fence to pay for the vet
bills and the last update was yeah the check is in the mail.

A much better approach is to boundary train.
For those who are advocates for electronic fence,
please place the collar around your neck and see how
it feels for your dog.
When out in public there will be no electronic fence and
god forbid your dog gets away from you...
Just MY opinion


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## Sunshine Goldens (Oct 31, 2005)

I had a PetStop fence and loved it. My dogs did great on it. I did give myself the correction. It's not painful - it feels like an intense vibration. It's uncomfortable but not painful. I met my pug mix when I ran him over. I know how much pain a dog can be in when they are hit by a car...I NEVER want to see anything like that again. It was horrible. 

We now have a traditional fence and one of my dogs managed to dig out! :doh: I don't believe in any form of containment as a "sure" way of keeping a dog safe. No dog should be left outside unsupervised in my opinion. With both the e-fence and now the traditional fence, I always kept an eye out.


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## crnp2001 (Feb 18, 2007)

*boundary training*

How would you recommend to boundary train a GR?

The reason I ask is because with our first two GRs, we had them on a slip lead and walked the perimeter of the yard, correcting them if they crossed, and major praise when they came back to "our" yard. I don't recall how old they were when they finally "got it," but my husband thinks it was about one year of age. I have done the same with Honey, but she will race out to play with the neighbor's dog (she is only 2 months older than Honey--they didn't have another dog when we had our last GR). The problem is, our neighborhood street is more like a freeway for many people...I won't even allow my kids to be in the front yard.

The invisible fence is to be a "back-up" method in case her boundary training fails. I am sure that our trainer will work with us to give us some more ideas of boundary training, but I am curious as to what method you recommend.

Thanks~
Kim


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## Goldndust (Jul 30, 2005)

This one would be easy for me if I used one, i'd go with the one that trained first for the safety zone, then later applied the correction of the collar so the dog by then could associate it.

You never just hit a dog with a correction from a collar of any type, you train first then later the collar correction is done instead of the lead correction.

I totally agree with the "Invisible Fence" guy.

I myself am not fond of them though, but if used correctly for many dogs they do work but I don't believe they should be used in certain area's. I have two neighbors that use them, and they work for both, but the problems I seen with them here is there in the village where many people and other animals are walking and they have caused the dogs to become more territorial, same as a fence made of material could. But these owners left them out in this fence all day alone and allowed it too happen. I will not walk the dogs on that whole road because batteries have died and they moved out of the fence and I have no way of knowing when those batteries are charged, and when they are not.

Boundry training works for some dogs, but not all! I trained Bianka for the boundry lines here and worked on it one whole winter with her and she done well, but she was also well trained to commands alongside the boundry lines. This wouldn't have worked for Kody or Telly, they would have blown me off in a second over a high distraction since they both had much more prey drive in them then Bianka. Bianka has next to nothing in prey drive.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

I have the IF since I have a fence jumper......Some of the cheaper versions wont keep all dogs in...I went with one at first from the pet store and it didnt keep Hootie in....So I had a IF company come in and install theres... Ours came out install the fence and put the flags up... For the first week we walked him around with the leash on and every time he got close to the line we pulled him away from the line and said no... the second week they came they went ahead and let him guide them around the yard and he went over the line even tho he got his warning and got corrected..... All it took was 1 time ....And he does have a high prey drive. Now mine is set so Hootie has to stay back 6 feet from the fence and in the front yard 6 feet back from the side walk.


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## Goldndust (Jul 30, 2005)

MM, Bianka was fully trained to boundry lines with no electric fencing. This would not have worked for Kody or Telly, there prey drives are too strong.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Goldndust said:


> MM, Bianka was fully trained to boundry lines with no electric fencing. This would not have worked for Kody or Telly, there prey drives are too strong.


I know some dogs can be trained to the boundries, I have a dog 2 doors down that is... In my case Hootie is a jumper and with his drive he and Maggie both would never be able to be boundry trained.... Hootie has NO PROBLEM scaling a 6 feet privacy fence to go after something. He doesnt even have to run to get a head start...he will sit and look at the top of the wooden fence and jump straight up and hook his paws and go from there....


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

I lost a dog 14 years ago to running out my back door and my neighbor running over him. The invisible fence was the only solution for me to prevent this from happenning again. I live on a corner lot with my driveway entering from my backyard. There was no possible set up with traditional fencing that I would be able to securely contain a dog if he ran out my front or back door - I have three children - so those doors are constantly opening and closing. I had a couple of fence companies try to come up with solutions.

The company I used was contain 'n train. I believe the first visit was without the collar, boundary training, then they gradually introduced the alarm and shock. Goldens excell at this type of fencing. I do not think it would have worked with my previous breeds. 

Brady at the beginning tried to go through to chase a couple cats but he came running right back to me or towards the house. The trainers did all the training, while we stayed in the house. We would then leash him outside at various boundaries. Our problem is that he would not use the whole yard, but now after the whole summer of him playing in the yard, he knows exactly how far in yard he has. It is amazing watching him in the front yard as people walk by, even with their dogs, and he knows his boundary. He is so happy to be running around with all the kids in the neighborhood in our yard. I could not possibly ever run as fast as him to give him the heavy exercising he gets running around the house. 

We are having one problem, and that is if we are somewhere else, sometimes he will spook a little if he sees something that looks like a flag. He is also a little wary of his instructor at obedience school when she tries to take his leash with a treat. This is what the trainer from contain 'n train did and I think he is wondering if he will be shocked. The past few weeks we have been working with this, and he is now getting better. By the way, it is not truly a shock but a vibration. Good luck.


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## kalkid (Feb 22, 2007)

I use the wireless radio frequency unit and it's great not to confuse matters. The collar that comes with that unit is adjustable in terms of level of correction from 1 to 6. With 1 being beep only and 6 being a "strong" correction. That system always does warning beeps prior to actually leaving the field and then if the dog leaves the field the assigned level of correction is applied. I know in the beginning it was recommended to go around 3 I believe so the correction was strong enough to get their attention. However it also said some dogs are so wound up or excited if you will that they may need to go higher until they learn the system which basically boils down to hear a beeping noise and stop and get back. It literally only took Daisy a couple of days to learn. We now keep it on 2 and to be honest when I'm home I don't even use it because she knows "where her yard is" so to speak.


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## crnp2001 (Feb 18, 2007)

*thanks*

I appreciate all of your replies. Honey has a huge prey drive and chases after anything that moves...leaves, moths, all wild life, the neighbor's dog, etc. I had a new-found desire for the fencing tonight when my youngest son inadvertently allowed her to slip past him to go outside...

...and she ran straight for me in the front yard, by the aforementioned "highway" in our suburban development...out into the street :doh:...till I dropped all of the mail and recycling bins, running BACK toward the house cheerfully yelling, "COME" and "TREAT" at the top of my lungs...

...all the while praying that her food drive was stronger than her desire to frolic outside, leash-free. After a one-minute zoomie time, she ran inside, got her treat, and my son had disappeared, bawling, because he had left her slip outside.

So...ONE of those companies will get a call, once I make some reference calls to other customers and get some more information. I didn't have to worry about my last GR slipping out...didn't have kids then!

~Kim~


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