Invisible fence

[neilly2]

Any thoughts on invisible dog fences. There are several manufacturers. They all seem basically the same except for price and range.

Prices go from $80 to $280, but the cheaper one has a larger range. Am I missing something?? Ranges are from 1/2 acre up to 100 acres.

Thanks in advance.

 

[neilly2]

That HTML link was inadvertent. In fact I have no idea how that happened.

 

[Dargo]

I have 12 acres fenced in with an invisible fence. I went through 4 different makes of "invisible fence" before I found one that worked. With every make except the "Invisible Fence" brand, every time there was lightning anywhere in my county the controller got fried and was ruined. Also, only the "Invisible Fence" brand had a collar that was programmable via an EPROM that was able to stop one stubborn dog I have. If I would have spent the money to start for the "Invisible Fence" brand, I would have saved about a thousand dollars. I have now had my "Invisible Fence" brand fence up with 3 dogs contained for 5 years and it works perfectly. I've never had a single problem and I've never unplugged the fence during a thunderstorm. Unless there has been huge changes (which I doubt), this is a case where you really get what you pay for. The "Invisible Fence" brand setup cost me almost $1200 through a friend. Off brand models claimed to do the same thing for around $200. I should have known that for that price difference, there is a huge difference in the quality. Trying the "cheaper" off brands cost me a small fortune. I'd highly advise against them. And, in case you are wondering, no, I have no affiliation with the Invisible Fence product. It's just a sore subject with me since I wasted so much money with the bargain brands! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

 

[Junkman]

There is a lot of good old information here.......

Need advice on Dog Fencing

Yet Another Fence Question: Keeping in the dogs.

invisible fencing

Need advise on electronic pet fence

Dog fences, wireless or buried?

Dog Containment Fence

installing invisible fence

 

[mathey]

We used Dog Guard for almost 10 years and as many dogs, but had an issue with a Dobe puppy that the shock didn't phase him. the cost to upgrade was basically the cost of a new system. We decided to go with a new Radio Fence/Pet Safe system instead this time, basically because of the shock strength and adjustability. Needless to say, the Dobe doesn't go thru anymore!

 

[gsxr1100]

They have pro's and con's on their use.

 

[Ken_CT]

Electronic fences do not keep other dogs out. They also do not keep kids out. If the dog somehow gets on the other side of the fence (power outage, toughs-out the shock to chase something, etc.) it cannot get back in. We put up a chain link fence around a good size area a number of years back. It was expensive, but it was well worth it. Just let the dogs out. They have plenty of room to play, and we have no worries about a roaming dog, either ours or someone elses. Just make sure you put in a large gate somewhere so you can get your tractor out. A neighbor had an electronic fence with a past dog, and he got free on many occasions.

 

[getut]

RF fences are only as good as the training, but there are still differences.

I researched many different ones and wanted one that doubled as a training collar. I found a couple different ones and what at first seemed like the best option was a gotcha. Everybody seemed to carry the Petsafe model that had a training remote, but it turned out that the remote only functioned if you were inside of the containment fence. It also said the containment fence could go to 50 acres. It did. But the training collar function would only function if the containment area were less than 2 acres.

I ended up with the Innotek Deluxe Contain-N-Train. It was previously called Contain-N-Train for Stubborn dogs. It works fine on my idiot (black lab). Even if a female in heat walks by and he tries to run through, the final stage shock knocks him out for 30 minutes till she is gone /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif I'm joking of course, but it handles the large stubborn breeds just fine, plus works as a trainer ANYWHERE. I can go on fishing trips and take the remote with me and train while we're gone. They aren't cheap though, retail is $349, but you can usually find them around $300.

Its been in for 1 year now with no lightning damage. At my other house, we tried cheaper ones and popped them like popcorn. You get what you pay for for those things.

 

[neilly2]

Were you able to buy the Invisible Fence products yourself??

It seems that you have to hire one of their installers to get that system.

 

[Dargo]

Back when I got mine, the internet was still relatively new for businesses to be online. However, I did do a search and got the names and numbers of several Invisible Fence dealers. I called them and simply bought from the dealer with the best price on what I wanted. I installed it myself, and still have the setup I made with my sub soiler and a brake line to lay the wire underground with my tractor. I layed over 3000 feet of wire in less than an hour all those years ago, and it still works fine.

I get a kick out of people that come over and say that their dog will run through my invisible fence. If no contact is made, or poor contact is made, with the dog's neck, any dog will go through the fence. If you follow the instructions and shave the dog's neck where the collar probes contact the skin, (some suggest even using a light coat of petroleum jelly) and train the dog properly, I don't see any dog leaving. As a matter of fact, I'd say that after a few beers in the guest house, I've had about 4 or 5 guys claim that the collar wouldn't stop their dog. Each time I've had them hold the dog collar in their hand (remember, the dog has it on his neck) and run through my fence. Yeah, paint that picture in your mind! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Afterwards, the conversation generally is about how they get that much punch in a little dog collar or how can a dog survive with that much of a jolt to their neck. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

They obviously will not keep other dogs out unless they just happen to be wearing an Invisible Fence collar, but a chain link fence would be positively out of the question for where I live for numerous reasons. You buy for your need. My need was to keep my Shelties from wondering off. The Invisible Fence brand containment system has worked just fine for me. With my German Shepherd Dog, I used my Tri-Tronics Field 70 training collar for one single day of training when he was a puppy 2 years ago, and he has never left my property since. For him, I don't need a containment system.