Hi all! We live in a subdivision and it is really not feasible to put up a traditional fence around our property. We are contemplating an invisible fence to help contain our 10 wk old Victorian Bulldog. Any opinions on this-good or bad would be appreciated. Also is there an danger in using it with a puppy? He is about 11 lbs now. Thanks!
Invisible Fence Question
- Thread starter magsmommy
- Start date
While I have an Invisible Fence & love it I have to say I live in the last house of 5 on a dead end long road with no traffic, no pedestrians, no stray dogs, etc. My dogs are never outside if I am not home and I do keep an eye on them out the windows when they are out. I found the people at I.F. very willing to answer any and all questions I had so I'd suggest giving them a call.
While one may keep your dog in your yard it will not keep out any stray dogs. It has successfully kept my 2 standard poodles in the yard even when they are at a full run chasing all the squirrels, etc. but if I lived on a street with regular traffic I would not trust it to keep my dogs safely in the yard. In that situation I would be much more comfortable taking a portion of my yard and using a conventional fencing to try to insure their safety
While one may keep your dog in your yard it will not keep out any stray dogs. It has successfully kept my 2 standard poodles in the yard even when they are at a full run chasing all the squirrels, etc. but if I lived on a street with regular traffic I would not trust it to keep my dogs safely in the yard. In that situation I would be much more comfortable taking a portion of my yard and using a conventional fencing to try to insure their safety
When your dog is 6mo and you decide that a invisible fence is the way to go remember you get what you pay for.
Alot of the cheaper ones will give stimulation till the dog gets past it far enough but when it returns will start giving stimulation again. Therefore the dog is punished for returning home. You want one that will continue to give stimulation for a 1/2 mile radious untill the dog returns. Also that stimulation should get stronger the longer the dog is off its property or perimeter.
Alot of the cheaper ones will give stimulation till the dog gets past it far enough but when it returns will start giving stimulation again. Therefore the dog is punished for returning home. You want one that will continue to give stimulation for a 1/2 mile radious untill the dog returns. Also that stimulation should get stronger the longer the dog is off its property or perimeter.
I agree with Lizze. My in laws got an invisible fence, and it was set at the highest setting. The dog found a weak spot in the fence, and would escape and of course the excitement of leaving is in no way comparable to coming back, and just the thought of a dog returning and getting zapped is silly.
I like the base fences when it comes to this stuff.
There's a base transmitter, and your dog wears the receiver. You set in the parameters of your yard or where you want your dog to stay, and the WHOLE time the dog is out of those parameters he is getting a shock. So the dog quickly learns his boundaries, and as soon as he's back in the yard, the shocking stops.
But I agree that you shouldn't be doing this with a dog until it's a bit older.
I like the base fences when it comes to this stuff.
There's a base transmitter, and your dog wears the receiver. You set in the parameters of your yard or where you want your dog to stay, and the WHOLE time the dog is out of those parameters he is getting a shock. So the dog quickly learns his boundaries, and as soon as he's back in the yard, the shocking stops.
But I agree that you shouldn't be doing this with a dog until it's a bit older.
This is the first time I heard someone say you should wait a year to train a dog on the invisible fence. Ours was trained at 4 months. She does great, she knows her boundries, and doesn't even go near enough to set off the alarm. She also knows that when we take off her "shock" collar and put her on a leash that she's free to go across the fence. I was pretty amazed at how well the fence worked and how well she has responded to it. BTW, we live on a Golf Course and are not allowed regular fencing
I don'' like invisible fences at all. Too many things to go wrong. The shocking system could blitz, the power could go out, other creatures and people can still get to your dog, among other reasons.
Also think of the breed of dog your getting, a bulldog. Bulldogs are known for having a remarkably high pain tolerance thanks to thier heavily muscled necks. Plus they are very stubborn. Trust me, even on the highest setting, if your dog wants to leave, he will, plain and simple. I would not recommend you go this route by any means.
Also think of the breed of dog your getting, a bulldog. Bulldogs are known for having a remarkably high pain tolerance thanks to thier heavily muscled necks. Plus they are very stubborn. Trust me, even on the highest setting, if your dog wants to leave, he will, plain and simple. I would not recommend you go this route by any means.
Thanks for all your thoughts. Just to clarify, we were not thinking of putting the puppy out and leaving him unattended. We were just thinking it would help with boundaries as he moves very fast and can get away in the blink of an eye. We are starting puppy training in a couple of weeks so hopefully this will help with the taking off. We have started putting him on a leash but he really doesn't like it and we practically have to drag him along. He won't do his business on it either so we do have to let him off to get that done. I guess this type of system may not be the best solution for us. Thanks again!
Wow, that's freaky. How sad. Yes, they can associate punishment with all kinds of things which are going on at the same time. It's not always perceived by the dog to be only the fact that he left his boundaries. He could see something or someone at the same time that he gets shocked and pair that thing or person with pain/punishment. I know many people seem to have success with them, but I also can see that there could be a risk of making certain dogs neurotic.
When he shows that he doesn't like it, how do you react? If you drag him, he definitely won't learn to like it. Have you tried enticing him with a toy or ball, a treat, a silly voice....like it's going to be loads of fun....a game? Do you reward him with his favorite treat if he takes one step along with you nicely? You can drop a treat every few steps, just to get him started. But don't use bribery for long. Switch it to.......he has to take a step first, then he'll get rewarded. Gradually, space it out so he has to take more than one step to get rewarded. Start out with reinforcing baby steps in the right direction and make it more fun to do what you want than not. He'll get onto it if you reinforce the behavior you want.
I also recommend that under constant supervision in the house, that he spends a few minutes here and there throughout the day, dragging the leash around. Again, praise him and treat him for this. This way he'll get use to it better and find out that neat things happen when he's wearing a leash. Don't take your eyes off of him though as leashes can get caught on things and strangle the dog. (I don't mean to be giving advice to the less gifted, but I'd feel responsible if something happened after I suggested to someone to leave a leash on their dog)
When he shows that he doesn't like it, how do you react? If you drag him, he definitely won't learn to like it. Have you tried enticing him with a toy or ball, a treat, a silly voice....like it's going to be loads of fun....a game? Do you reward him with his favorite treat if he takes one step along with you nicely? You can drop a treat every few steps, just to get him started. But don't use bribery for long. Switch it to.......he has to take a step first, then he'll get rewarded. Gradually, space it out so he has to take more than one step to get rewarded. Start out with reinforcing baby steps in the right direction and make it more fun to do what you want than not. He'll get onto it if you reinforce the behavior you want.
I also recommend that under constant supervision in the house, that he spends a few minutes here and there throughout the day, dragging the leash around. Again, praise him and treat him for this. This way he'll get use to it better and find out that neat things happen when he's wearing a leash. Don't take your eyes off of him though as leashes can get caught on things and strangle the dog. (I don't mean to be giving advice to the less gifted, but I'd feel responsible if something happened after I suggested to someone to leave a leash on their dog)
Thanks for your thoughts on the leash training. We have tried to entice him with treats and lots of praise but he is quite stubborn. We have found that if either me or my husband walks 5 or 6 steps ahead he is more likely to walk on the leash. This is great if we are both home, but if we are by ourselves it makes walking very difficult. He doesn't mind walking on the leash in our yard, but once we try to get him to go off of the property he freezes. We are starting puppy training next week, so hopefully this will help.