Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Do It Yourself Invisible Fencing



I have used Invisible Fence brand electronic collar fencing on my three working terriers for 15 years and have had less problems with this kind off fencing than the "hard" fencing I have used in the past.

A dog cannot dig under or climb over an electronic fence, there are no gates that can be left open, and there are no boards that can spring loose or fence wire that can be ripped!

How does an e-collar dog containment system work?

Basically it's a small radio transmitter that sends a very weak signal though an underground antenna wire. The dog wears a collar fitted with a small battery and a capacitor. Once the collar gets within 15 feet or so of the wire, the collar is triggered, and a shock is delivered to the dog.

How powerful is the shock? It is no small zap -- it's a lot of volts, but almost no amps. Because the amps are so low, there is no danger to the dog, but because the volts are so high, the shock is more than enough for the dog to realize it does not want to do get that close to the fence line again!

Is an Invisible Fence "cruel"? No. In fact, after the first week, most dogs know enough to never get zapped again and even if they are not wearing a collar, they will toe the line.

Invisible Fence and other e-collar dog containment systems are endorsed by both veterinarians and humane societies because, unlike regular fencing, they rarely fail due to an open gate, a dig out, or a jump over.

Most e-collar system can be adjusted so that the shock can be dialed up or down, and the reception field can be made wider or tighter.

Do electronic collar pet fencing systems work?

Very well, thank you.

It's worth remembering that 4,000-pound farm bulls are routinely kept behind electric fences without a problem. If a bull can be kept out of the milk cows one field over, your dog can probably be kept back from the neighbor's cat -- provided you follow directions.

This last part is key -- following directions.

From what I can tell most of the people who say Invisible Fencing did not work on their dogs did not read the directions that came with their product. As a consequence, the collar was put on too loose, or they did not train their dog sufficiently prior to turning it outside with an e-collar on.

Here's a hint: an Invisible Fence collar has to be on pretty tight, and the contact prongs have to be the right length for the dog's coat. A dog with a lot of fur needs a collar with longer contact prongs.

If you can easily slip three fingers under the dog's collar, it is too loose. The proper degree of tightness on an e-collar is about the same as for a man's shirt collar when his tie on. If it's fine for a man all day at the office, it's fine for a dog all day in the yard!

Here's another hint: There is a training period with an Invisible Fence collar.

That means you need to flag the perimeter and walk it with the dog, pulling the dog back HARD with a choke collar when the beeper on the collar goes off.

An Invisible Fence collar is simple operant conditioning, but the first part of that conditioning is getting the dog to understand that when the beep-tone goes off, it means "Go Back NOW!"

Most dogs whose owners claim their dogs are so tough they "bull through" the shock collar are simply mistaken. More likely, the collar was put on too loose and no contact was made with the skin, or else the dog was not trained and ran forward in fright from the shock because the owner did not bother to train the dog on how to respond to the tone and the shock.

Is an e-fence dog containment system right for you? That depends on where you live. If you are in the countryside and have small dogs that may get predated on by coyotes or attacked by feral farm dogs, an electronic fence will not keep out these animals. Of course, neither will a regular fence most of the time. Your best advice is to keep an eye on your dogs and make sure they have a "defensible space" (such as inside a dog house with a small door) for those times they are outside on their own.

Another issue is that a tight collar can wear on the fur line of a show dog. Though this wear mark will be nearly imperceptible to the average pet owner, if your passion is showing "Lassie" collies, an e-collar dog containment system is probably not right for you.

Finally, if you have a very aggressive dog, an e-collar pet containment system will not prevent dogs and children from coming into your yard, and so it is the wrong system for you. Instead, you probably need both a hard wood fence and an electronic collar system to serve as a "belt and suspenders" precaution against a predictable problem.

Along with excellent containment reliability, one advantage of an e-fence dog containment system is that is generally cheaper and easier to install than hard-scape fencing.

Putting wooden fencing around even a small yard can easily cost well over $1,500, while an e-collar pet containment system will cost around $300 and can easily contain a dog in a space of 25 acres or more.

For the record, I do not use an Invisible Fence brand system because it is the cheapest, but because it came with my house.

Though Invisible Fence invented and patented the first e-collar fencing system in 1969, the Invisible Fence patent ran out in 1991, and other comparable products are now on the market for a fraction of the cost.

A web site called Dog Fence Do It Yourself sells a wide variety of competitive systems and also gives advice on installation. Check them out!

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12 comments:

Jonathan Setter said...

I have 2 russell bitches that I love dearly, but that detest each other. In your experience, will shock collars be able to stop their fighting? they fight every time they get a gap so are always in separate yards.

PBurns said...

No, I do not think it will help -- it might make it a lot worse.

Have your tried muzzling both dogs (really well with basket muzzles) and letting them be in the same area with each other (under supervision) so that they get used to being around each other? Give them a treat whenever they seem to ignore the other?

There is a lot of "flight or fight" going on with some dogs and I am told this sometimes works as they learn that it's not always going to be "kill or be killed". I have not (luckily) had to resort to this yet.

P

Retrieverman said...

I find that when bitches fight, it is far worse than any fighting you get from dogs.

The most dog aggressive dogs I've been around have all been bitches.

That's why I laugh when I read that females are much more docile than males. Maybe, but it depends on the situation.

I seriously doubt that these dogs will "work it out on their own." Sometimes, you will have these little disagreements between dogs, but this sounds far more serious.

I think you need to get a professional. I don't think giving treats for good behavior will work.

Some JRT's are better when they are worked a couple times a week. I knew one that if she didn't work groundhogs a couple of times a week, she would work the golden retrievers over.

Jonathan Setter said...

Fair comment. One works, the other is the house terrier. I think it is jealousy over me that sets them off. I am going to try the muzzles and see how it goes, even if it means that I have to muzzle them at night when they are all running around so I can have some peace of mind. Couldn't agree more about the fact that bitches are worse when it comes to fighting. I have bled many times breaking these 2 up and it really upsets me when they get at each other. Ill post back if there is progress.

Viatecio said...

I will side with Retrieverman on this. Interbitch aggression can be far more serious than what even the boys get into. Even spaying is not a guaranteed fix. I've seen bitches that get along beautifully together, and then there are those who just don't play well at all with each other. Pro definitely called for, and I'd not use treats to fix it either...

As for the invisible fence, topic, I have HEARD of it not working...but I've yet to see that happening in my neighborhood. The only time anyone has had a problem was when my neighbor across from us tried it on his Golden. Even with the shock dialed back as far as it could go, the dog was still too sensitive. The fence is in remission now, and the dog is trained to stay in the yard (but it will wander if given the chance). My old psych professor's dog broke through, and the iFence people installed a 2nd wire, so now the dog gets "caught" between them and can't go back into the yard.

We have a yard that is really not conducive at all to invisible fencing, so we have perimeter-trained using visual boundaries. It's basically the same concept, and I'll probably just do that as long as I can until I meet a dog who absolutely needs some kind of physical fence. With all due respect to those who DO have physical fencing, I just don't like my yard looking like a giant playpen. Unfortunately, that mode of thinking will probably get me denied by many rescues...unfenced yard = bad dog owner HOW?

Oh, and not everyone supports iFencing...especially where "shock" collars are poo poo'd as 'cruelty' and 'painful.' The sheer list of what constitutes a "good dog owner" at this rescue is just scary. Mindsets like that just make me shake my head and be glad I live in a place where I still have a choice of tools, even though others might disagree with them.

Heather Houlahan said...

There are two things I do NOT want to come up against as a trainer --

1) True, severe separation anxiety. (Which is fairly rare, overdiagnosed.)

2) Two bitches in the same household who want each other dead.

Neither situation has a good prognosis even when the owners do everything I ask of them, and do it perfectly. Make those bitches a couple of game terriers, and you have a real situation.

If you go the muzzle route, be absolutely sure the little gyps cannot get the muzzles off. They can be very resourceful.

And start it on walks, with plenty of space around, and lots of forward motion to occupy their minds.

Please do not get a couple of shock collars and start zapping. You are almost guaranteed to make it worse. A skilled trainer who has a lot of experience with e-collars might use this tool on one or both of them, but it will be done very differently from what you think.

But really, I'd recommend that you find a really skilled and experienced balanced trainer to help you. Not just anybody. And not any of my friends, because they'll have my head.

Jonathan Setter said...

jeez guys, thank you all for such good feedback. Heather, your second point is very candid about the 2 things you don't want to come up against as a trainer and I have serious doubts that I would be able to find a decent enough dog trainer down here anyway, much lesss one who understands the warlike nature of my Jacks. The last thing I would do is get shock collars and just zap them(I'm a big softy to my dogs and this thought was a last resort). Even if they can never be in the same yard, I guess that this is a situation we will have to manage constantly for the duration of their lives and maybe the muzzle issue will give at least some temporary respite if we add it to our fences. This is a hard situation to live with,but not impossible.

Heather, can you help me with a definition of true severe separation anxiety, there is a dog in my rescue at the moment that behaves very strangely and this might be something I can look into for him?

Thanks again all of you

Jonathan
Cape Town

ArdenwoodPatti said...

Bitch fights are the worst.

Two bitches that truly hate each other will fight until they have done serious harm.

But getting back to Invisible Fences. As I stated in a comment on another of your posts, I had a dog that would take the punishment, if the reward on the other side of the boundary was worth the pain. His collar was tight. The prongs were long enough. He had been well trained. He understood the location of the underground wire, and the implications of crossing the boundary.

But he loved his golden retriever gal pal, Palamino. He was willing to take the correction in order to go romping with Pal & her human when they went jogging by. He NEVER left the property or tested the Invisible Fence, except to join Pal & Kelly.

Of course, this was the same dog that would launch himself face first into briars and brambles in order to push a pheasant out the other side. If the reward was great enough (bird or babe), he would take the pain.

A second observation - even if you don't have an aggressive dog, you must keep in mind that dogs and other creatures can enter your property and interact with your dog. That might result in dog fights. A roaming romeo might visit your girl that is in season. A hungry coyote might see your smallish dog as a tasty appetizer (or a main course.)

Jonzie said...

I used to have a dog that figured out where the wire was and played by the wire just enough to keep the collar beeping without getting himself shocked until the batteries went kaput. At that point, when there was no power to get a shock, he would go for the wire and chew it. In several places.
Needless to say that the invisible fence did not work for him.

Linda Kaim said...

Electric fencing can be a wonderful management tool for the thoughtful, observant owner. As a trainer, many times I see dogs that are introduced to it wrong, or ignored while they are in the back yard by owners who use it too much as a management tool as opposed to the containment device it was designed to be.

I am an ecollar trainer so I am not opposed to their use, but all too often I see dogs that have developed some pretty serious aggression issues from being left in an electronically contained yard pretty much to their own devices.

It doesn't take too long for them to assimilate the presence of a biker, auto or dog-walking pedestrian as the harbinger of their frustration and as another poster stated, it certainly doesn't prevent interlopers into the yard.

Using an ecollar on a dog to prevent a behavior runs the risk of making the behavior worse if the collar is not used correctly. I have used ecollars on many aggressive dogs, but not as a deterrent to aggressive behavior.

Control their actions while you learn to control their impulses. easier to say than to do, but with the guidance of a competent trainer you should be able to manage them better without losing one to injuries.

sassanik said...

Our neighbor has an invisible fence and it is a problem. They only put the fence across the driveway and rely on standard fencing around the rest of the property. Well their lab will jump the regular fence, or go under it. The problem is he won't just go home when he gets loose because he remebers getting shocked going in through the front driveway.

He finally figured out to come over to our house, scratch at our door and we would take him over to the fence where there is a gate and let him back home.

If a dog gets loose with an invisible fence there can be problems with them going back home.

Kharl said...

the Invisible Fence system is safe for dogs of all sizes, breeds, age and temperament. The featherweight Computer Collar (R) is small and light enough to be worn by even the smallest breeds such as Yorkshire Terriers, Pekingese, Dachshunds, Chihuahuas and Pomeranians.

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