Anyone else have an underground dog fence?

[NuclearNed]

We've got an underground dog fence. In case you haven't ever heard of one, there is a wire that is buried around the perimeter of our yard; the dog wears a collar that picks up on a radio signal from this wire. If she gets close to the fence, the collar beeps; if she gets real close she gets a mild shock.

At first, our new dog did great with the training. Even now she keeps away from the wire and seems to know the limits of her yard.

The problem is that everybody else in our neighborhood lets their dogs run loose. When our dog sees others ourside her yard, she runs out to play with them, completely ignoring the shock. Without this temptation, she seems to do just fine.

I think I am going to have to start being mean to the neighbor's dogs. I don't want to start something with my neighbors, but this has me stressed out. We live a couple hundred yards from a busy highway and I feel my responsibility is to make sure my dog is restrained. I think I'm going to start chasing them away and I might even give them a swat or two.

Also, I saw that the company that makes this fence makes a larger collar for "stubborn" dogs. Has anyone else tried this one? Does it shock the dog into a coma or anything? I think it runs about $80, so if it doesn't work I don't want to drop that much money into it.

And finally, my mini-rant: If you are one of the jerks that lets your dogs run free, please consider your lowly neighbors. Not all of them want dogs running through their yards destroying things. I really care for my dog's safety and your negligence has me really stressed.

 

[Linflas]

Irresponsible pet owners give all pet owners a bad name. If you wanted to be a hard a$$ you could call animal control on them since no doubt your community has leash laws. The problem is none of us are looking for a confrontation with our neighbors. We have 2 dogs and they are never allowed outside unless fastened to a leash. Our next door neighbors have one of these fences and it works fine except for the situation you mentioned above. My wife had to chase down their dog yesterday after he ignored the shock to go after a loose dog running around our street. It was the first time we ever saw him leave the yard since they had the invisible fence installed.

 

[NuclearNed]

Actually, our subdivision is just outside our city limits, so there is no animal control of which I am aware - if there was I would probably call without hesitation. But since I live in the county, I am free to discharge firearms... <evil grin spreads across face, and a low, gurgling laugh begins to eminate from my chest> But that really isn't an option either since I do enjoy my neighbors. I'm seriously considering smacking the other dogs with a newspaper. I don't see how they could really complain about me doing this if their dogs are on my property. And I think it would scare the dogs off.

 

[MrBond]

The original &quot;Invisible Fense&quot; had run-through protection on the better models. It was essential for stubbern dogs, cause they kept getting shocked after they ran through it. Most dogs will just put their head down and run as fast as they can to get the shock over with on the models w/o run-through protection. You might be able to trade in your transmitter for one with this option if you have an actual Invisible Fense. They'll probably charge you for it, but w/ the trade-in, it won't be bad. IF products are quite expensive (~$300 for the collar, ack), which deters a lot of people who get the cheaper products. But they're worth it.

My boss has one of (if not the best) IF models you can get. He has to be VERY careful to remember to take the dogs' collars off when they go to the vet. He forgot once, and it didn't take him long to realize what was going on and take it off of his poor dog. He hasn't forgot since

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Have you talked with your neighbors about the situation? If so, what did they say?

I'm pretty sure that animal control is a county office type thing meaning they are there to serve everyone in the county not just those who live in the city.

Talk to your neighbors and if that doesnt' work call animal control. Let them handle it.

As a pet owner they have the responsibility to make sure their animal isn't causing problems and if thye don't , let the officals take care of it.

 

[Raspewtin]

call the pound and say there are dog's loose and they were foaming at the mouth and being vicious and tried to attack you. those dogs will be quarantined, and your neighbors will get the message

 

[maziwanka]

i know this is a little too late, but i am totally against the invisible fence... i used to have one (in fact i still have one), but what happened was that my dog used to just run fast enough through the fence to not feel the shock. of course, the people at invisible fence were like turn up the distance where the dog can get shocked, and we did that. however, we learned that our dog was getting shocked while walking between cars. the worst incident was when he tried to escape but was stuck in the fence. i heard him yelp in the morning, and ran out of bed, barefoot and in my pj's to bring him inside. (btw, this was after we upgraded to the bigger shock collar)....so, given my experiences, i think invisible fence is horrible, but if u already have it and are thinking about the bigger collar, i advise against it, as there be adverse consequences.

my .02 cents.

hope this helps,
ronnie

 

[Antisocial Virge]

We had one for our rotties and it did the job. We had a prob with them running in the woods and killing &quot;quill dogs&quot; and then having big vet bills. They did all the tricks about running through it but in general it did the job. We also eventually backed it up with a real electric fence They haven't had the collars on in over a year but they still respect the boundaries and won't go over the line unless someone is with them.

There is a product out there that has a box that transmits from the house so that the dogs are safe within the range that you set. Once they leave the range of the transmitter they are shocked and there is no safe zone to run too. The only drawback is thats its a circular area.