# Basil jumped the fence...



## Maddie'sMom2011 (Apr 26, 2011)

& she kept doing it. We have a dog door & they have always gone in & out at will. DH bought an electric fence & I guess we're installing it. I don't like it, but we live in town on a busy street & it would break my heart if something would happen to her. 

Am I a bad dog mom?


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## Tucker's mommy (Nov 9, 2011)

We have an invisible fence, and we LOVE it. Tucker is now almost 18 months old, and we still have it set on the "puppy" setting, which was enough for him to get the message from the get-go that that tingle just doesn't feel very good. And trust me - he has many temptations, as my kids are constantly playing on the cul de sac, just out of his reach, not to mention his best bud next door who runs to and from our yard at will. I have never felt that we were abusing our dog with the fence. 

With that said, we went through a professional company with the help in training after install, and we are so glad we did. It's probably why we have never had to go above a very low level for our dog to stay within his boundary. We also are constantly working on recall with him, so if something should happen, we're pretty sure he'd stick close to home. 

Don't feel bad about it - I think you'll really like it. Another quick note - you really can't ever leave them outside unsupervised with these fences, as any other animals or people are free to come and go from your property, and it's a huge liability concern and safety concern for your dog to leave him unattended.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

No, you are not a bad dog mom. First and foremost our job is to keep them safe, even if we have to protect them against themselves.

If you don't want to go with electric collars, you could try putting a topper on the fence. We attached pieces of lattice at an angle inwards at the top of our fence to stop my small dog from jumping the fence. Once we got all the corners covered it has stopped her from jumping out.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

My experince has been once a fence jumper always a fence jumper( not always the case for all).....I bought a If fence- pet safe, it didnt keep my dog in, I had to have a company come in and install theres.Once there's was in , he never jumped the fence again. I had them install if 5 feet away from the fence.


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## Maddie'sMom2011 (Apr 26, 2011)

Thank you! We can't put a topper on the fence since it's our neighbor's. I just don't like the idea since I don't have any experience w/ one & I really don't want to. Our backyard isn't really that big, but now that she's done it a couple of times, I know that I can't trust her. I guess you have to do what you have to do though. We have to keep her safe.


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## RShea (Sep 17, 2012)

It's all about keeping them safe. If that means fences electric or wood/metal I'd say go for it, but make sure you understand how to train to the fence.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Love, love, love our invisible fence. We installed it and trained ourselves. It has been the best investment we've ever made on behalf of our dog. I wish we had installed it when Maggie was alive. The collar that came with the original kit had 4 correction levels, beep only, easy, normal & stubborn. After the initial training period with beep only, then moving up to easy, it stayed on easy. Hank never crosses the boundary. We've had it for about 2.5 years. 

Better for them to learn by getting a static correction a time or two than being lost or hit by a car.


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Many people in my area have and are happy with electric fences but I'm not a fan of them. A neighbor has 2 labs, one of them honors the electric fence, the other will run right through it if he sees a person, dog, truck etc. in the street. They've increased the shock to the max and it still doesn't work for him. As mentioned above they do nothing to keep other dogs and animals out of the yard but may inhibit the collar wearer from returning if they escape.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

We love our professionally installed Dog Watch invisible fence. Even if I had an above ground fence, I would still have an IF. It also prevents the dog from digging under the fence, walking over from snow banks, running out the front door into the street and running out gates that weren't shut properly.


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## penparson (Sep 19, 2010)

We have a fenced area in the back yard, but I'm thinking of fencing the rest of the yard with an invisible fence next year so Wake has more room to run. We have too many wild animals around here to rely solely on an electric fence at night. Anything to keep them safe.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

penparson said:


> We have a fenced area in the back yard, but I'm thinking of fencing the rest of the yard with an invisible fence next year so Wake has more room to run. We have too many wild animals around here to rely solely on an electric fence at night. Anything to keep them safe.


This is our set-up, works great. When we're outdoors, Hank loves having a large area to run & play. At night, for potty breaks or when we can't be out there with him, the fenced backyard is used.


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