Wireless dog fence?

[stormborn]

Can anyone who's used one of these systems give me the pros & cons? We've been trying to scrape up the money for fencing for a long time and $250 for an invisible fence vs. $6000 for ugly chain link is sounding almost too good to be true!
TIA.

[russsk]

It is too good to be true. Invisible fences are not humane. Some dogs, when they see something irresistible, will run through the fence but won't come back. There is also a risk that, during training, your dog won't associate the shock with the boundary but will associate it with something else - a car, your neighbor's kid, you. That would be bad. They can lead to aggression problems in some dogs. They also won't protect your dog from dogs on the loose that might enter your yard.

[Mama Mko]

A friend of mine had them and her dogs would dart past the fence and would NOT come back because they didn't want to get shocked a second time. It was really difficult to catch them.

Do you like the look of wooden fences better? I don't know pricing for that - just a suggestion.

[Ola_]

I wouldn't. Not only do they not keep all dogs in, they also don't keep anything from coming into the yard.

FWIW most dogs are happier with having leashed walks with their human than a yard. Add a trip to the dog park or local enclosed baseball diamon every week or two and you're set.

[stormborn]

Oops, I guess I should have given a bit more info. She does get walked about 2 miles a day (in 2 or 3 walks, not all at once) plus playtime with her little pack next door in their fenced yard. We need some sort of fence because:
1~she escapes at least twice a month and I'm scared to death she'll get hurt in the time it takes me to catch her. We have two people in wheelchairs who can't really operate the door and dog block at the same time. Add that to all the kids running in and out and as careful as we are...escapes happen. She's all leg and much faster than my fat a$$.
2~We pretty much live in the yard in warm weather and I'd really like for her to join us outside. She's used to being next to me all the time and looks so sad inside by herself.

I didn't think about it hurting; it was suggested to me by an organization that builds free fences for dogs who spend all day chained up ( chaining dogs will be illegal here soon thanks to them!). I called them thinking they would know of a good deal on fencing material since they buy so much of it.
Anyway....gg chase kids...
can anyone tell me about methods for recall training? I have had no luck in the 11 mos I've been trying to improve her (non-existent!) recall. Then maybe we could do without a fence!

[Conifer]

We lived on a hobby farm and my dad put in one of these invisible fences around 4 acres. It worked well to keep the dog out of the street and away from nearby farms and such. She only crossed the line one time and then knew that the beeping meant to stop. I realize that invisible fences are not good in many situations, but it worked well for us. We didn't live near a neighborhood though so kids and other distractions weren't so much of an issue. My dad just wanted to let the dog have free reign of the farm, but didn't want to fence in the whole property. The result was a dog that had a lot of fun swimming, playing, digging etc without getting hit by a car.

[Sailor]

Here's the thing with invisible fences - if your dog wants to escape, he will. If your dog has a high prey drive - he'll run through the fence line with no issues.

The key with these fences is training. A lot of people get the fence and expect the shock to just work. It's not going to happen that way. The training has to come for most dogs. Training will take a few weeks - at least 2 weeks, with one training session per day.

However, if you have a high spirited dog who has a high prey drive - the shock won't stop him from going after what he wants.

When I was living in upstate NY, I had an invisible fence. I had just gotten my GSD ... so we were in the beginning of training for everything. Nothing kept my dog in. Not the highest intensity of the shock. When he saw something he wanted to chase - he went after it, and the shock didn't even give him pause.

So, this is going to depend on your dog. A chain link fence (assuming he doesn't dig under) would guarantee that your dog doesn't get out. An invisible fence doesn't have that guarantee, especially if you slack on the training for it (not saying you would, but a lot of people do).

In terms of pain - I tried the collar on myself first. It's not that big of a shock. Also, the fence gives a warning beep if your dog comes close to the line. The key in training is to make him listen to the beep - the shock is just the last resort. The beep is what your dog would be trained to avoid.

A lot of dogs do well on the invisible fence, but some dogs - it's like it's not there for them. You know your dog best.

Re: recall - get a 20 foot long leash. Pick a command for him coming to you that you use ONLY when you're able to enforce it. So, say you pick the word "come" - during the training phase, you NEVER Say that word unless you can correct and reinforce. If you have no way of correcting, and your dog is far from you, don't use that word. The reason for this is that if you say "come" and your dog ignores you as you repeat the command - he'll eventually get the idea that the "come" command is optional.

So, you always need to be in a position to be able to reinforce. Again, just during the training period as once your dog is trained, this won't be necessary.

Anyway, get the 20 foot leash. Put your dog on it. Allow him to play, wander off, etc. Then say your command word "come" (or whatever else you've chosen). If he doesn't respond, you say a firm "no" and reel him into you. Once he's by you, you say "good come" and treat him.

Repeat this everyday, 20 times per day. Really. Everyday, 20 times per day. I used to do it 10 times in the morning and 10 times in the evening. It took me 30 minutes for each session.

After a few weeks, your dog's recall will be really good.