Thoughts on underground electronic fences?

[Marisa]

Hi, all --

We're considering putting in an underground electronic fence while we decide where (and how) we want to put a physical fence around our property. Our GSP-x puppy is about 4 months old now and needs to be able to run without worrying that he'll go into the street. We've trained him not to, but we don't want to count on that.

Have you used electronic fences? Good or bad feedback? We rarely have stray dogs, only neighbors walking their dogs on leash, so I'm not too worried about other critters getting in the yard. We'd also never leave him outside unattended. This is really to more clearly delineate the boundaries (to him) while we're running around with him.

Thanks!
M

Here's a gratuitous puppy pic:

[Brittguy]

I have two daughters that have them. Youngest daughter has never had a problem and after a period of time she no longer even puts the collar on Sadie when she puts her out, and she never leaves the yard.
Sorry I don't know the brands but the other daughter had a cheap brand at first and it was not acceptable. She then got a better fence and only had a problem once in early training, a wandering Beagle came into the yard and tempted Max out then he was afraid to come back in. That was the only time, but he would have been a handful without the fence. He would chase cars by running parallel to the road without crossing the fence. He loves to swim , they have a river that borders their yard. He never goes in the river but as soon as Terri takes his collar off he will go in the river for a swim,after a while he comes out and the collar goes on. I feel with you being out with your dog there would be no problems.

[Georgia Boy]

Here is my two cents worth. They wont work with my dogs because of their prey drive. In your case they might keep your dog in, but they wont keep anything else out. I would definitely go with the physical barrier of a chain link or other type of fence, then if you wanted to use the underground for a large area while under supervision, that might be OK.

[nj gsp]

With larger and fast dogs, or dogs with a high prey drive as mentioned earlier, an invisible fence is a minor deterrent unless the dog is conditioned thoroughly. Even then, as I was told by an underground fence salesperson that very intelligent dogs also are poor candidates, as they learn very quickly the stimulation only lasts for a couple of seconds.

The other downside is that once out, they won't want to come back in. That's why I have a wire fence. I keeps the deer out too. Mostly...

[mountaindogs]

I have one and it did well. Liked the concept. I do not treat it like a normal fence, do not leave my dogs out while I am gone at all. It surprized me how well it does stop them, even with high temptation. My lab goes nuts chasing the rabbits out of the yard, and the deer always use a path up the field next to the house just outside the fence area. I have to adjust the setting to start correction at 10 feet from the edge, but my collar has a warning beep & vibration just before the stimulation and with training she readily learned what it means and respoects it. She'll chase a rabbit to the edge but not cross.

However, my sister in law has one for her lab and has had lots of trouble. Her lab has less obedience training and is not used to being on a stay through flushing birds or anything, and she just will not be 100% reliable. If she really wants through she will shut her eyes and run. Of course she is a 110 lb lab so... :roll:

Personally I think it has moreto do with training. Spend the time and train the fence, and make sure your dog really gets it. ALSO we both use the "stubborn dog" petsafe brand. Huntin' dogs are tough and need the higher level.

All in all it's an affordable way to have a lot more area fenced, but take the time to do it right and train it. AND remeber it does not keep other dogs out! My sisters in law's neighborhood has alot of wandering dogs and that is probably a big difficulty for her own dog. With other dogs wandering in and out as they please.

[utahmomof4]

We had one for our Airedale years ago, and it worked okay. The only problem was that when there was something (usually a stray cat) that he really wanted to chase, he would bust through the barrier and endure the shock (if he noticed it at all because he was so focused on the chase), but then once he quit the chase, he wouldn't cross the barrier to get back into the yard.

I don't remember the brand of the one we had.