Electronic Dog 'Fence'

[eriknemily]

I'm looking for anyone's experienced advice on electronic fences for dogs. I'm tired of having to chain my dog up all day but no matter how many fence posts I pound into the ground he seems to always find his way out of the fence.

Suggestions welcomed!!

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[eriknemily]

I forgot some info.

He's a 50lb black lab/blue heeler mix. Extremely energetic and naturally pretty smart (ie an escape artist!!!)

 

[dobeman]

so basically he's a yard dog? sounds like he's bored. Are you talking about electric fencing like for cattle? or invisible fencing? If you're having to consider electric voltage fencing or chaining him up all day - maybe why have a dog? Invisible fencing - a dog with enough drive and/or pain tolerance can blast right through it. Plus they have to wear a shock collar that could get caught on the other regular fencing or on something else.

 

[eriknemily]

so basically he's a yard dog? sounds like he's bored. Are you talking about electric fencing like for cattle? or invisible fencing? If you're having to consider electric voltage fencing or chaining him up all day - maybe why have a dog? Invisible fencing - a dog with enough drive and/or pain tolerance can blast right through it. Plus they have to wear a shock collar that could get caught on the other regular fencing or on something else.

He does get bored sometimes. I run him (play fetch) 3 or 4 days a week. The kids also play with him, even the neighbor kids. We have a large back yard; about 50'x100' or so. For a long time we didn't have to chain him up in the back yard. He'd stay put. One day he got out and ever since then, no matter how hard I try to seal up our fence ( a basic 4' garden fence) he finds a way out.

Maybe you have some suggestions on ways to seal up my fence. Right now I have posts about 4' apart and he still seems to nose his way under. In the past I've just let him loose in the back and wait for him to get out in the same spot enough that he wears a trail. Then I pound another post in the ground right there. That works for about a day then he finds another spot of escape.

 

[torpedoman]

he should be able to sail over a 4 ft fence.

 

[pdxjohann]

Hey Erik and Dobe and Torp, you know better than I, certainly. May I offer observations of my city neighbor's evolution with his two Dobies. For a couple years his pooch rested quietly on the back patio chained and happily bored. Then with a new younger dobie added he tried a buried electric / frequency shock collar perimeter which held them in nicely - for six months or so. We saw the dogs wander the neighborhood peacefully there after. Being timely dogs, they returned to their patio or porch by 5:15 every weekday while people returned at 5:30 or so. Finally, I saw their escapes. With a tense grimace and a cocked head they would bolt and launch themselves high and fast paws tucked tight through that pain generating force field only to land with a shake and a skip to be off on the days adventures. Neighbor Chuck (Charles to you and me) never did believe me until I left photos on his door anonymously. I hope those dogs take good care of Chuck.

 

[eriknemily]

It's that easy for him to jump a four foot fence? I didn't think it would be. Maybe I need to reevaluate my containment measures. I really don't want to use a shock collar but I'm getting a little desperate. I hate to chain him up and it seems that a shock collar would be the better solution. At least with the collar it would be his choice whether or not to get shocked. With chaining him up nobody is happy. I don't know. Any ideas on what it would take to train him to stay in the yard? I just don't have a lot of hours to invest in training.

 

[Cougfan2]

It's that easy for him to jump a four foot fence? I didn't think it would be. Maybe I need to reevaluate my containment measures. I really don't want to use a shock collar but I'm getting a little desperate. I hate to chain him up and it seems that a shock collar would be the better solution. At least with the collar it would be his choice whether or not to get shocked. With chaining him up nobody is happy. I don't know. Any ideas on what it would take to train him to stay in the yard? I just don't have a lot of hours to invest in training.

I had a Brittany Spaniel growing up that was 35 lbs on his best day and only about 17-18" at the shoulder (small for a Brittany) and he actually learned to climb our 4 ft. garden fence. We had a 6' chain link fence installed and I remember the first day after we let him out in the back yard with the new fence. He stood by the fence and looked up at the top of the fence; looked at the ground; looked at the top of the fence and started digging. After a couple of times digging under the fence, I went to the hdwe store and bought a bunch of 2' X 3/8" aluminum rods and would weave them through a couple of links in the fence and pound them down every place I saw he had been digging by the fence. I must have pounded 30+ dowels down, but eventually he got frustrated and gave up.

Best I could think of at the time and a pain, but it worked.

 

[The Quiet Man]

We installed Invisible Fence when we lived in town. It successfully contained our hard headed, never saw a road he didn't want to go down, Siberian Husky. It is "adjustable" to provide the length/amount of "warning tone" your dog needs to remember what's coming if he continues forward. They must be trained on the system over a few weeks, but that is an easy process. He bolted through it once early on and then sat and wondered how he would get back in the yard. As he aged, he figured out that he could drain the battery by moving out to where it gave the warning tone but didn't shock him. Once he got the battery drained, he left We adjusted the warning tone to give him just a second or two before shocking him and that ended that. You can strategically install your underground wire to keep the dog where you want him in the yard. For example, we ran ours so he could use the pet door (on the side of the garage) at will and run in the side and back yard. He could not get into the front yard unless we opened the overhead garage door and let him out the front. We ran the wire about half way across the front yard so he couldn't get down by the sidewalk where people might be walking their dogs. In short, it worked very well, and he was a handful to keep contained. On the downside, it doesn't prevent other dogs, animals, or people from approaching him in his yard. It also requires that he wear a pronged collar when he is outside. For us, it beat chaining him up outside. We would have preferred a tall privacy fence but the local ordinances wouldn't allow it. Have it installed correctly, understand how it works, and train the dog properly. Then you can enjoy seeing your dog freer than most city dogs can be in their own yard.

 

[dobeman]

Hey Erik and Dobe and Torp, you know better than I, certainly. May I offer observations of my city neighbor's evolution with his two Dobies. For a couple years his pooch rested quietly on the back patio chained and happily bored. Then with a new younger dobie added he tried a buried electric / frequency shock collar perimeter which held them in nicely - for six months or so. We saw the dogs wander the neighborhood peacefully there after. Being timely dogs, they returned to their patio or porch by 5:15 every weekday while people returned at 5:30 or so. Finally, I saw their escapes. With a tense grimace and a cocked head they would bolt and launch themselves high and fast paws tucked tight through that pain generating force field only to land with a shake and a skip to be off on the days adventures. Neighbor Chuck (Charles to you and me) never did believe me until I left photos on his door anonymously. I hope those dogs take good care of Chuck.

shaking my head... you don't chain a doberman up outside... well any dog in my opinion.. but dobermans are more my 'specialty'. Then he got another one? people amaze me. Those dogs should be rescued and placed in a responsible home - rant off.

 

[dobeman]

It's that easy for him to jump a four foot fence? I didn't think it would be. Maybe I need to reevaluate my containment measures. I really don't want to use a shock collar but I'm getting a little desperate. I hate to chain him up and it seems that a shock collar would be the better solution. At least with the collar it would be his choice whether or not to get shocked. With chaining him up nobody is happy. I don't know. Any ideas on what it would take to train him to stay in the yard? I just don't have a lot of hours to invest in training.

suggestion for sealing the fence off better.... will take some work but dig down a little and bury chicken wire fence and run it up and attach it to the bottom of the chain link fence... the underground part runs inward so when poochy digs, he hits chicken wire. Or, line the bottom edge of the fence with pressure treated wood of some sort to form a barrier along the bottom. But yeah, 4 feet - he may figure out soon enough he can get over that. Training wise - you could do the invisible fence and collar and use that to train his boundary. Dogs love routines - if he knew he had play time and dinner time same time everyday.. might be motivation for him to accept your training of boundaries and stick around. Is your dog intact or neutered? some males get wander lust when they smell females in heat.

 

[eriknemily]

We installed Invisible Fence when we lived in town. It successfully contained our hard headed, never saw a road he didn't want to go down, Siberian Husky. It is "adjustable" to provide the length/amount of "warning tone" your dog needs to remember what's coming if he continues forward. They must be trained on the system over a few weeks, but that is an easy process. He bolted through it once early on and then sat and wondered how he would get back in the yard. As he aged, he figured out that he could drain the battery by moving out to where it gave the warning tone but didn't shock him. Once he got the battery drained, he left We adjusted the warning tone to give him just a second or two before shocking him and that ended that. You can strategically install your underground wire to keep the dog where you want him in the yard. For example, we ran ours so he could use the pet door (on the side of the garage) at will and run in the side and back yard. He could not get into the front yard unless we opened the overhead garage door and let him out the front. We ran the wire about half way across the front yard so he couldn't get down by the sidewalk where people might be walking their dogs. In short, it worked very well, and he was a handful to keep contained. On the downside, it doesn't prevent other dogs, animals, or people from approaching him in his yard. It also requires that he wear a pronged collar when he is outside. For us, it beat chaining him up outside. We would have preferred a tall privacy fence but the local ordinances wouldn't allow it. Have it installed correctly, understand how it works, and train the dog properly. Then you can enjoy seeing your dog freer than most city dogs can be in their own yard.

What brand of invisible fence did you use?

suggestion for sealing the fence off better.... will take some work but dig down a little and bury chicken wire fence and run it up and attach it to the bottom of the chain link fence... the underground part runs inward so when poochy digs, he hits chicken wire. Or, line the bottom edge of the fence with pressure treated wood of some sort to form a barrier along the bottom. But yeah, 4 feet - he may figure out soon enough he can get over that. Training wise - you could do the invisible fence and collar and use that to train his boundary. Dogs love routines - if he knew he had play time and dinner time same time everyday.. might be motivation for him to accept your training of boundaries and stick around. Is your dog intact or neutered? some males get wander lust when they smell females in heat.

We emasculated the poor pooch last year. Hasn't stopped him from trying to mount every chick he sees I know I need to get into a routine with him. I did a good job for the first year or so but over the winter and spring I haven't done so well. I lose my patience with him far to easily and I hate myself for it. I guess I've gotten complacent and need to shape up

 

[The Quiet Man]

What brand of invisible fence did you use? ...

Invisible Fence Invisible Fence ® Brand

 

[Cougfan2]

If you are just invisible fencing your back yard this probably won't be a problem, but if you decide to fence your front yard as well, please remember to turn the fence off if you are taking the dog to the vet.

When we lived in MN, we had a friend that had two Labs that were boundary trained with an invisible fence all around their lot front and back. When they were taking their dogs to the vet, they still had their shock collars on and they forgot to turn off the fence. When they got about 3 ft from the end of the driveway they had two highly distressed Labs trying to crawl over them and get thru the windshield!

 

[PBinWA]

I had a Weimaraner/Lab that would take the hit and keep on running if he wanted to chase something. I put up a 4 Foot Field fence just to slow him down enough that he would have to take several zaps before he could get over the fence (never trained him to jump ). The combo worked like a charm - although they did seem to know when the batteries died.

Dogs are a constant battle. I spent an hour cleaning up a crate diarrhea explosion this morning. Stupid dog just had to eat that dead field mouse and wash it down with deer poo.

 

[Cougfan2]

I spent an hour cleaning up a crate diarrhea explosion this morning. Stupid dog just had to eat that dead field mouse and wash it down with deer poo.

OH, MAN. Been there and done that. I am convinced that god made dogs loveable so we wouldn't kill them.

 

[gtivan]

Had a electric fence. The heeler stayed in, the golden just bowed his head and ran through.

If he is going under, the cicken wire would work. I have also used old brick and block buried 6 incehes in the gorund. The golden didn't like digging. Could also use large stones. If you have a quarry near you, would be easy to pick up some 5-6 pounders to line the fence with. Make sure to get some under ground so when he starts digging they are discouraged.

if you do go for an electric fence, some training is required. Make sure the whole property is not enclosed. meaning okay to exit out front door or something. otherwise a well trained dog will freak if you make them go near the boundary. they assume the fence is on and you are taking them over to get shocked.

 

[eriknemily]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Funny thing is my wife said the hound was well behaved today. Didn't leave the yard. He must know that I'm fed up with his escapes

 

[claypigeon]

One of the best things you could do is take him for a walk in the morning. Even just a half hour would burn some energy. I take my dogs out every morning before they get breakfast. It sets a schedule and if done proerly (you leading the walk) it sets you as the pack leader and makes for more obedient dogs. He might be more inclined to stay at home if he already walked the nieghborhood, burned up some energy and has a full belly. Sounds like nap time to me!

 

[talntid]

die his hair hot pink, that way if he leaves, all the other dogs will make fun of him...