# Electric Fence



## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

By "electric" I'm assuming you mean an invisible fence that is buried under the ground and the dog wears a collar? We went through invisible fence and they help with the training, but I know all electric fences are different. Charlie started his training at about 16 weeks - but the invisible fence trainer turned the correction level way down for his training. He is a very sensitive dog, so the lower level is still sufficient for him and he stays in the yard great. I'm not sure that all systems give the option to lower the correction level though and I would not be confortable with a dog that young on a higher level.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

I think they recommend not before 4-6 months. I recommend going with a professional installation. They provide the training and teach you how to continue the training. We've had it in two houses (where physical fences weren't allowed) and it has worked perfectly for us. And for the way you want to use it.


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## ktkins7 (Jul 20, 2013)

Its the invisible fence. The one that I'm looking at is a wireless one by Petsafe. A family friend has it for their golden retrievers and they said it works perfectly. It has multiple settings so you can turn it down and everything. It says for a minimum of 6 pounds, which she definitely weighs more than that. I wasn't sure whether I could go ahead and get it setup and use it with the lowest setting or if I should wait until she's a little older. I think the family friend trained their dogs around Ella's age, but I'm not sure.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

I'm not familiar with the Petsafe fence. We have the "Invisible Fence" brand fence. We have to get our batteries from them and the collar strenght adjusted by them as well. I believe we only had 2-3 training sessions as Charlie got the hang of it very fast. We are now going 6 months between changing batteries as he's not getting near the line and wearing them down at all. Different dogs have different correction levels so I'd say start very low. Charlie did well on a very low level, however my friend's german shepherd started his training between 3-5 months on a different system and needed a very high correction. 
I wouldn't leave the puppy out alone for quite awhile unattended though - while the electric fence may keep them in it doesn't keep any other critters out and I know that always made me more nervous with a puppy. Charlie has been on his fence almost a year and hasn't left the yard at all.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Know your dog and its drive.... I had a pet safe fence and my dog would take the hit if his tennis ball went out of the fence. I ended up having IF company come and install there's. He never ever tried to leave the yard with the IF.


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## GinnyinPA (Oct 31, 2010)

Many of our neighbors use an IF. One thing to be careful about is to test the fence and the collar on a regular basis. They can short out after a thunderstorm. The battery can also go dead. Or the fence can go bad. One neighbor has had to replace his fence three times in the past ten years. Another just trusts that the dog will come back when he goes through it on a regular basis. So far, so good. He wanders, but not far. 

We tried an Invisible Fence that was in place when we moved in to our house. At first, Ben's response was to refuse to go outside. The shock was really low, since the previous owners had a small dog, but he really disliked it - or the buzzing noise perhaps. Then a couple of times he just ran through it, and I guess he decided the small shock wasn't such a big deal. We never used the collar again. We just use a long 30' leash.


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## USAFWife74 (Jan 13, 2013)

We had an invisible fence. I'd go with the pros. They know how to teach the dog in a fun way. It'll help with a young dog to prevent confusion. Ours had an alarm if the line got cut. I never left my pets unsupervised. 


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## readmeli (Apr 10, 2013)

I have an underground fence, and have trained several dogs to the fence. I started training my puppy at 6 months - but first, I taught her simply the 'natural' boundaries of her yard. Then at about 6 months, I installed the "white flags" and for 6 weeks, we walked around the yard 2-3 times a day, and if she got close to the white flags, I said "oh no!" and turned and ran the other way. She did the same. This teaches them FIRST to see the flags and realize they should go the other direction.

Then, we turned the fence on, and for a month we carefully trained our pup to the "BEEP". (have them on a long line). If she got near the flag, and paid no attention... and then the beep.... we "Oh no!" and run the other way. This trains them Flag - go other way -- beep - go other way!

Now, if they dont get it after all this, only 1 or 2 actual "corrections" are all they need. My pup has had maybe 2-4 corrections and knows what is going on now.

And yes, you must test the collar often, in case you have a dog that tests the boundaries! Like my Setter, who would stand there and listen to it beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppppppp..... She was a stinker!


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

We did Invisible Fence (professionally installed) in Penny's first yard. Unless you know how to train for it, I suggest you pay the extra and have them do it.

We did the Petsafe (self installed) in this house because she already knew about invisible fencing. We put the flags in but didn't have to retrain her.  She was 5 when we moved in here.


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## Michele4 (Oct 28, 2012)

We have used the wireless Pet Safe fence for years now, used the underground one before that, Have trained all my dogs by myself, With Murphee we started training him when he was about 4 1/2 months old(by the advice of my vet) first 2 weeks was on a leash showing him the boundary with the flags. None of my dogs ever escaped the yard, I would never leave them unattended though. I keep it on the lowest setting but I probably don't even need to put the collars on them, they just won't leave the yard. In a perfect world I'd rather have a fenced in yard but this works great for the property I have.


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## Michele4 (Oct 28, 2012)

Also adding that my dogs only ever received under 3 corrections to be trained, me on the other hand have gotten shocked about 5 times.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Ya, I think Penny didn't wear her collar after the first couple of years in the other house or after the first month in this house.

It's perfectly fine to train the dog yourself. Invisible Fence guys gave a lesson every 10 days or so; 3 lessons total. They never let the dog get shocked more than twice in a lesson. After the second shock, lesson over. Penny's first lesson lasted about 2 minutes. After that I did the 'homework' until the next lesson. 

The handler really has to tune into the dog's body language to notice the 'alerts' to the beeping and how to handle it from there. Sure can be done, especially if the novice handler has a mentor to help.

We kept Penny's setting on beep; then buzz and had a full 'warm zone' at first...plenty of space between beep and shock so she could back away from the boundary.

We will be teaching Mr. Darcy ourselves with beep and buzz only. Like your Murphy, he will never be out by himself.


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