My electronic fence works to keep my dogs away from my chickens! One zap and they’re vegetarians.

Oh yes indeed! I used to have one of the above ground ones on top of my fence around my vegetable garden to keep the neighborhood cats from using my wonderful organic soil as their litter box. The nice thing is once they all learned it was something to avoid I was able to turn it off unless there was a new cat around.

Oh, one thing – if you are using a metal tape measure in your backyard, be sure the current is off before you measure things near the fence – bzzzzzzzzzzzzp! It will certainly wake you up! LOL :-)

When I worked for Corporate Comcast, I received an exceutive complaint call from a customer that one of our technicians dug in her yard to lay cable and destroyed her invisible fence. She went further to state that when she told the technician that he had just destroyed her invisible fence, she said that he laughed and her and said, “Lady, how do you know I ruined it if it’s invisible?” :) I had to call the tech in question and explain what an invisible fence was…. yes we paid for her fence and the dog was found a day later at a neighbor’s house safe & sound :)

Sorry this had nothing to do with your original question but as you are the chief story teller, I thought that this was cute to add to your repertoire SMILE

Do electronic fences really work?

yes

Is it humane to do this to a dog?

yes

I would have said they work until I saw a Rottweiler charge through one, get his shock and keep coming. Unfortunately he bit my son. A second Rottweiler yelped and stayed inside the boundaries.

It must depend on the dog, perhaps something like whether one taser stops a person or not.

I was wondering about this topic myself. I had heard stories about dogs so intrigued by something beyond the fence line, that they run across the boundary, get shocked and then refuse to return because they associate the fence line with pain. Can anybody elaborate on this?

Yep they work, but don’t keep your dog outside during a lightening storm. Lightening has a very bad tendency to short circuit them and can cause some serious harm to your pup, or so I’ve been told.

Also, I’d not use it in a front yard. Just cause your dog can’t cross the boundry doesn’t mean that some other dog cant. Can you imagine your doggy trying to get away from another dog and not being able to because of the stupid fencing

Yes unless the dog is extremely stubborn….

yup. Works Great and humane too!

Actually, what “works” so far as the system itself is concerned is the shock the dog gets from the collar. The “fence” is a wire which is really an antennae. It broadcasts a weak signal that triggers the shock collar as the dog moves closer to the wire. At first, the collar emits a beeping noise. If Rover continues, then current is fed to the skin between 2 electrodes in the collar; weak at first, then stronger. The collar is adjustable both as to fit and shock force. Collars are powered by special batteries which last about 90 days. The radio signal is maintained during power blackouts by a battery backup.

Animal behavior is established by marking the wire path with little flags or any objects which clearly establish a perimeter. With the system OFF, mount the collar. Then introduce the dog to the perimeter, show a marker, and say “No! No!” or whatever command means that. Walk the dog around the perimeter, pull up a marker, slap it on the ground, repeat the command.

Energize the system, let the dog roam, but stay nearby. As the dog approaches a flag, issue the “NO” command or a warning voice. The dog will continue until it hears a beep, then, zap! With the system operational, repeat this training as necessary, perhaps 3 days. Our 3 dogs learned in about 30 minutes. Eventually, you may remove the flags.

So, what REALLY works is the training.

Hope that helps.

We had an high end electric fence installed. I sold it on eBay after the dogs got out. Smart dogs.

The fence was perfectly good at getting healthy bids on eBay and getting us a little cash to build a stronger fence (chuckles here)

No, I do not recommend selling (or shopping) at eBay anymore Bonanzle does rock guys

I installed one almost 20 years ago. We took the “cheaper” way out and installed it ourselves to cut the cost in half. Other than the fact that it took all day (and I got pretty dirty) it was wonderful.

We trained our cocker spaniel almost overnight and never had a problem with it. Of course you do have to worry about power outtages and the battery in the collar, but other than that it’s wonderful.

Your question is timely because my daughter is in the process of preparing a paper for a psych class on conditioning and chose to use the invisible fences as her topic.

Yes they do work,my friend keep her large dogs in that way.

Hmm…I don’t know, don’t have, but I think maybe if you would touch it yourself YOU could probably experience what the dog would? Let us know how the experiment goes, ok? :)

yes and believe me also with humans lol

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My experience has been with large dog breeds. Unless they are trained as puppies, they will “break through” the buried fence. Also with the buried fence, other dogs wander in and leave gifts for you and your family to discover at inappropriate times.

They work for most critters. However, upon seeing a truck worth chasing, my sister-in-law’s Pomeranian decided it was worth the shock to pursue it.
It was a fatal decision.

Penni

I think it depends on the intelligence of the dog. Yup, you read that right! They “get it” a lot quicker than, say, our Basset Hound. A lot of training is required before making it fully operational. (I believe the suggestion of mfr. is two weeks of training)During the training the dog has to absorb a lot of things…what the flag means, what his human means when he yanks and says “NO”, what that little tweak of electricity means…and how they all go together.
Perhaps it also depends on the intelligence and tenacity of the “HUMAN”! WE failed miserably! No consistency of training (“no, I don’t feel like doing it today…YOU do it!”, etc). So, here we sit with buried cable, a box in our basement, little flags here and there…and a dog who will “book it” at every available opportunity! Fortunately, she has moved with her master (our son), and now it’s HIS problem!

this is very interesting I have only seen such a thing one time

Well my Brother in law put up a invisible fence for his dog and it is so funny to watch the dog. He stands back and take a running start and goes right through the invisible fence and does not come back until later the afternoon.

This is what i think the dog is thinking, he is thinking well i will take the hit on the way out, it will take me all day to get over the shock. I will go home later and get some food at the house and rest until tomorrow and start all over again. LOL

as with any training device for animals; you have to take the time to teach your dog the boundries. depending on how smart your dog is this can take anywhere’s from1 day to 2 weeks. you must be vigilant in the recommended training regime, Our 2 dogs are well trained and wn’t even enter the 5 foot warning barrier that beeps 5 secs. prior to a zap. BUT all dogs are impulsize; there will be times that they will rum through it; as in if a T-bone is tempting them or a long lost family member.

Two of our neighbors have used underground electronic fences to train their dogs to stay on their property and it has worked very well for both. One is a black lab and the other is a collie. These dogs learned quickly and thoroughly where they should and shouldn’t wander because they no longer have to wear the devices on their collars and they never roam outside of their boundries.

As far as being humane, I’m not so sure. I would have to put the device on myself and feel the zap before I could answer that question honestly.

Many people think an invisible underground wireless electric fence is the best way to keep their dog in their yard. However, they are simply not as effective as you might think. Statistics suggest that invisible wireless electric fences are only about 70% effective.
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