Electric Dog Fence

Murago

I'm currently looking for a house to rent. Right now, my main priority is finding one that will accept my 55 pound mutt. Basically, its pretty hard to find anyone who will accept her, since she's an "aggressive" breed. Anyway, if we do find something, i'm not going to care if it has a fence or not, (though a fence is obviously preferred). If it doesn't have one, i'm either going to take a large iron stake in the ground with a long steel chain to prevent her from running away. OR, i'm looking online and finding out this crap about an electric dog fence.

I guess it shocks the dog when it gets close to the perimeter? Anyone know anything about this or recommend any particular brand? Sounds like a good deal if it doesn't hurt my baby. Thanks for any info you can give .

PorkChopSandwiches

The electric fences you can buy in stores are pretty cheap. Usually the run on AM frequencies and are much more susceptible to interference (meaning - your dog can get shocked for no reason whatsoever.) Professionally installed fences are much more reliable. Check and see if there's a branch of a company called DogWatch in your area. It's more expensive, but more trustworthy. Also, you don't have to lay wire around your yard by yourself.

PorkChopSandwiches

Also, is the dog outside all the time? If so, chained up is a terrible way to go.

DiscGrace

The collar that you use with the electric fence makes a beeping noise (that only the dog can hear) as they approach the boundary, and then they get a shock if they cross it. You have to train your pooch when you first get the fence - guide her to within the beeping area, then lead her away from it (more than once, obviously).

The caveat is that not every dog figures out what causes the shocks. My friend had Yorkies that would just run at full speed across the boundary, panic, run back across, panic, run the other way, etc. If your dog is likely to be running away from the house fast enough not to get the beep until it's too late for her to stop, a stake and chain might be a better option.

blincoln

DiscGrace wrote: »

The caveat is that not every dog figures out what causes the shocks. My friend had Yorkies that would just run at full speed across the boundary, panic, run back across, panic, run the other way, etc.

Some of them do figure it out, and just put up with the temporary pain in order to escape. I would imagine this is especially likely with an aggressive dog.

JLM-AWP

My parents' miniature Schnauzer (sp?) is one tough little cookie, but still gets owned by the collar's higher settings. They make it stronger in the summer because of all the people in adjacent yards. She doesn't even try it. Not even close. It's sorta sad to see her standing in the back yard waiting for my little brother to get of the school bus...the little nub tail going crazy. Hell, they let her out without the collar a lot of the time because she doesn't know the difference.

Actually, she won't go into their laundry room, which has a door going out to the side of the house. She gets shocked if she goes to the right spot of the room. I know I'm being a bit cruel in saying so, but I still giggle when she gets it. I'm going to hell.

My advice is to make sure you show your dog the borders ahead of time. My parents used the colored flag method to surround the yard, and every week would remove half of them (every other one, so the line is still defined). It seemed to work surprisingly well for them.

EDIT: I re-read my post and realized I rambled a bit. Apologies for the slight derailing.