Electronic Dog Fence

[Quillan]

I don't know if anyone can help me.

We are having a few problems with one of our dogs and I have just investigated the cost of fencing part of my garden and its very expensive. As an alternative I have been looking at something like THIS which involves digging a shallow trench and installing a wire back to a control unit, placing a collar on the dog which initially gives of a tone followed by a static shock the nearer it gets to the cable. Does anyone have any experience of one of these or seen one in action?

[Benjamin]

Yes, I have.

I'm no particular animal lover (although I would never harm one) but the two dogs I saw contained were as miserable as sin. The owner had installed it after being threatened by the gendarmes for letting his dogs roam.

One was a rotweiller and the other an alsation cross and they were both as daft as brushes but they became sullen and very very miserable. The owner eventually spent the money to secure his boundary.

Don't do it Q!

 

[suein56]

[quote user="Quillan"]Does anyone have any experience of one of these or seen one in action?[/quote]

Yep, both of the neighbouring dogs - separate houses - have these collars. Although it might seem cruel at first look in each of these situations it was an absolute necessity.

Previously one dog - an adorable golden retriever - escaped from the well-fenced/gated garden regularly, and was returned with regular monotony by the gendarmes, at quite a cost and no small amount of finger wagging. The crunch came when said dog went for a long stroll, was spotted by a couple in a camper-van who decided they loved him and wanted to take him home, contacted the gendarmes who returned him home with the advice to the owners that the next couple might just bundle the dog into their van and say nothing.

The other dog was an inveterate investigator of bins with the result that the local population were up in arms about having their bins and gardens raided in such a fashion, and said b**ch was becoming so rotund that walking was becoming difficult for her.

Wire and collar in place and peace reigns; both dogs are intelligent and resourceful but each one has only decided to make a bid for freedom once since having the collar fitted.

Perhaps in the case of the dogs Benjamin has seen the strength of the power delivered was too high. In our neighbours situations the power has been turned down to an absolute minimum, but I don't think either dog realises that.

Neither dog is miserable. Neither dog is wandering.

Sue

[Quillan]

Sounds similar to one of our dogs. Both came from the SPA as puppies, one, Max is two years old and has not been a problem. The other, Paddy, is only seven months old and is a bit of an escape artist. Two sides of our garden have a fence and gate so there no problem, the other two sides border the river but one side has almost a cliff so that's no problem but at the bottom the land goes down to a beach and the dogs enter the water here go along two gardens then come out of the gardens along the road back to the house (we see them at the gate trying to get back in again). One has also nicked a cabbage and you know what it's like in the country, they guy might shoot him or something. It's strange because until the youngster arrived the older dog never bothered, it's like the youngster is leading the older astray. The garden at the point they enter the river is about 400M wide so a fence is going to cost mega money so I viewed this as an alternative and of course much cheaper.

Then I have a moral thing, I hate cruelty to animals and the thought of giving them an electric shock fills me with horror although reading the information it's more of a static electricity type shock and there is a bleep first, followed by a vibration and then, when they get very close, the shock. I read that after a while you don't need the shock just the tone and vibration is enough.

I have to do something quick because we are only 60M away from a main road and a dog was killed there last month so I am very frightened for the safety of my dogs. I was wondering ( question for Benjamin really) what the situation was with the dogs he saw, were they 'outside dogs'. My problem is the dogs are 'in dogs' but love to go in the garden so it's not as if they are locked out of the house and having a couple of acres and the fact they play so well together I don't want to keep them in and only let them out with a human present. In short I want them to enjoy their freedom without worrying if they have escaped or not. Hope that makes sense.

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

My girlfriend in the States has this system and it's worked very well for her lab. he knows the boundaries and never goes near.

In fact one day, the socket it was plugged into had a fault and the system was inactive. We didn't notice for three days, yet the dog never wandered beyond the boundary.

For her, this is the only solution as in her neighbourhood, fences are not permitted.

[dave21478]

A friend of mine used this system.

He has a large amount of land, which due to the terrain and fencing on three sides, formed a natural barrier for the dogs. The driveway and a some land to the side was unfenced and the dogs would wander off every now and them.

He bought one of these systems and laid the wire on the surface in the required area, with it inside a bit of hosepipe where the cars would cross it on the drive, intending to bury it at a later date.

The dogs very quickly got the message and even though the system is now inoperative and the dogs have normal collars, they refuse to cross this line.

[idun]

Our dog used to climb quite high fences that were made of 'wire'. And at friends searched and found a little gap forced her way through it even though it was not at ground level. Their own dog had never done such a thing.

We had thought of getting one of these systems, but didn't in the end.

[tonyv]

Some friends of mine have this system for their terrier, who is a natural roamer. It works fine, with one exception: if a cat enters the garden, and is pursued by said dog, he hurtles at full speed towards the boundary, ignores the beep-beep, staggers a bit at the electric shock, but keeps going, and eventually gets out of range. Won't come back, of course, as that involves running the gauntlet.

In all, I'd say it's effective, with caveats, but is no substitute for proper fencing.

I had half of my 4000m2 fenced with chain-link this year for €500, I imagine the electronic version isn't going to be a lot less. Personally I'd recommend fencing any time.

[cooperlola]

Personally, I prefer ordinary electric fence because it doesn't have the problems Tony describes above.  The problem with the collars is that they can produce totally neurotic dogs as they don't always associate the shock with the fence since it is invisible (the fence not the shock!).  A friend of mine once forgot to take his collar off his dog and put him in the car, whereupon the poor tike got a good jolt as he was driven away from the house.  He wouldn't go near a car again.

[Polly]

I am 100% against such devices. They can upset the dog's natural reactions as the animal can't understand what he's doing wrong, and learn from it. Can you not fence just a small part of your garden, by the house, so that they can be outside unsupervised, but not roam?

I see you run a B&B, surely another of your concerns must be that the dogs don't bother your guests?

Do you also exercise and work at training them, and are they/ will they be (7 months is young) neutered?

[Quillan]

Thanks for all the replies.

We have been out looking a fences today and have a few things to try first before we go down this route. I am very nervous about these collars which is why I wanted to ask people who have some experience of them.

When in local contact with either myself or Mrs 'Q' there is no problem because they are easy to control, its when your back is turned that we have problems. It's like dealing with kids but at 7 months I guess that is exactly what you are dealing with.

He gets the 'two brick' treatment on the 19th if all goes to plan.

As a side issue, when I went to make the appointment I was asked, in an indignant way, why I wanted him 'done'. I asked why are they asking, they replied that in France they normally 'do' the females (I hope they were just talking about cats and dogs). I pointed out that this was clearly untrue as both my dogs have come from the SPA and the place is full of unwanted dogs and that perhaps if they 'did' all dogs, both male and female (unless there is a clear intent to breed) perhaps there would not be so many.

[idun]

No they meant women too! It isn't that easy for women to be 'done', but who on earth would consider giving a man a vasectomy hein!!! Better for women to have major surgery than approach a man's tackle with a scalpel for a minor op.

[Quillan]

[quote user="idun"]No they meant women too! It isn't that easy for women to be 'done', but who on earth would consider giving a man a vasectomy hein!!! Better for women to have major surgery than approach a man's tackle with a scalpel for a minor op.[/quote]

Unfortunately when it comes to men I am told that its a blunt scalpel and usually a woman surgeon, they smile under their mask, whistle jolly tunes and are generally very happy in their work, I wonder why? [:'(]

[Polly]

I am really surprised the vet asked you 'why'? Maybe it's time to find a more modern vet?

At 7 months your dog is worse than a kid, he's an adolescent! Expect any basic training to go out of the window as he pushes all the limits for a few months, even when he has been done.

If you have any particular behaviour problems you could ask Polly-Ann Lloyd for advice (http://www.dog-shrink.com).

For anyone interested in dog behaviour, this book is an excellent read: ‘Think Dog’ by John Fisher ISBN: 1844031209. It's out of print, but shop around and you should be able to find a copy online

[Benjamin]

In fairness I should add that the two dogs I referred to in my earlier posting were confined in quite a small space for two large dogs. But they did look so bl**dy miserable.

[pachapapa]

Close by there is a Breton Spaniel which always barks when I pass. The other day as I passed it suddenly rushed around in small circles making a strange noise, I thought it was being attacked by hornets. I was later informed that it was wearing a collar which gave it an electric shock every time it barked. Funny I havent seen it since....then again Epagneuls Bretons are not the brightest of animals.

[Patf]

We bought an electric collar for one of our collies who had a terrible habit of chasing cars. Not used in association with a fence, but with a had held shock provider.

He didn't wear it all the time, that would have been impossible to organise. But even when he had it on, the old instinct sometimes took over, and he killed himself eventually.[:(]

We still have it, and if our other collie is "naughty", you only have to show her it and she becomes submissive.

I would say they should only be used in really serious situations - our dog could have caused an accident where humans were killed.

[Chancer]

I was laughing out loud about all these hapless dogs getting zapped and not really understanding why, a bit like the aversion therapy in Riotous Assembly by Tom Sharpe.

Taking this a bit further one could place the inductive loop cable across the loins of a bitch on heat or the armchair leg that your mutt has taken an amorous shine to! [:-))]

Or even every lamp post [:D]

I was saddened though by PatF's posting.

[Quillan]

[quote user="Chancer"].

Taking this a bit further one could place the inductive loop cable across the loins of a b itch on heat or the armchair leg that your mutt has taken an amorous shine to! [:-))]

[/quote]

Well funny enough in Gemm Vert in Carcassonne they actually have one, its a collar that goes on the b itch and one on the male. Should the male get within range he gets a quick zap.

[just john]

[quote user="Quillan"] Well funny enough in Gemm Vert in Carcassonne they actually have one, its a collar that goes on the b itch and one on the male. Should the male get within range he gets a quick zap.[/quote]

Ker r r i p e s!, that doesn't bear thinking about if she is following him round[:-))]

 

[Quillan]

[quote user="just john "]

[quote user="Quillan"] Well funny enough in Gemm Vert in Carcassonne they actually have one, its a collar that goes on the b itch and one on the male. Should the male get within range he gets a quick zap.[/quote]

Ker r r i p e s!, that doesn't bear thinking about if she is following him round[:-))]

[/quote]

Mrs 'Q' smiled and said we should get one. I pointed out that we only have males, she pointed out that it might be handy when I come home from rugby having had a few beers with the lads. [;-)]

[Lancashire Lass]

Our French neighbour who hunts with his 18 months old English setter bitch has bought one of these collars that you ping a button and you can choose either a loud noise, a vibration or an electric shock when the dog in question does not obey a command! In our neighbour's dog's case, it is the 'viens' command she ignores and flies after whatever unfortunate game she has in her sights! The collar worked well at first but now she seems to have become used to it and it does not work even turned on full!

My Field Spaniel used to be somewhat of an escape artist when he was below two years but now at the ripe old age of three he stays put - thank God! Now our land is fully fenced in and securely most people would think but he used to tunnel or chew through the grillage! Fortunately for us he was always to be found tongue hanging out ogling the English setter bitch through their grillage!