If you have (or have had) an invisible dog fence, what is your experience with it? Pros and cons.
We just bought a wireless invisible fence. I hate training the dogs, but feel like it's our best option for our situation. Thanks for your input.

We bought one a few years ago and have dug it up and moved it three times and we wouldn't be without one. It seems that sometimes when it rains, there is a short in the wire for some reason but the dog won't go across where she knows the wire should be when it works. At first, at each new residence, she tests it but once she gets to know where it begins to start the shock she backs off and we have not had any problems at all with her jumping/running across the wire.

I would recommend it if you don't want/cant put up a fence, it has worked well for us!

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My daughter just laid the wire on top of the ground but her dog is easily traumatized and when the collar is on her, she refuses to leave the house. You can push her out the door, but that is as far as she goes. I'm not sure what brand it was and whether it was set too high. My daughter said it is at it's lowest setting. I think whether they work depends a lot on the dog. Had a neighbor a few years back with one, and her dog would run through the shock to get out, but then would not go back home. I would drive by and see the dog pacing and whining just outside their yard.

Next door neighbor has one. Works great, Sophie knows her perimeter.

dl

Thanks! DH checked around and somebody at the hardware store told him about the wireless. You just plug it in and set the perimeter to fit your yard. It is a perfect circle and can't be altered shape-wise. He was sold on it because he didn't have to do any digging. It was about twice as much as the wire kind, but he said it was worth it.

I think it's inhumane.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

Just keep in mind that the invisible fence won't keep other animals out. My area sometimes has a problem w/coyotes, so small dogs out in the dark in an electric fence yard are just plain trapped.

Also, don't forget to only use the collar when the dog is outside. I've seen people who had them around their yard, kept the collar on the dog and then drove through the electric field w/the dog in the car - then wondered why the dog was so stressed about getting in the car!

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Jujubee I could not agree more with you, we instead have a totally fenced in yard all around. I would never ever use one of those invisible fences for our pets.....Peace.. Catherine

Not the same thing, but we always had electric fences in areas where we had cattle (not the entire fence by any means, but in a few places here and there).

My memory of the shock (when you'd touch the fence) was that it wasn't painful - just uncomfortable and worth avoiding. If it took you by surprise (like if you touched it thinking it was off when it was actually ON) that was never pleasant, but it certainly never hurt.

I've always assumed the dog fences were similar.

What seems inhumane to me is crating. It may just be that the person I know who was hugely into crating seemed to leave her dog in there all stinkin' day and night. She was always so pleased that he felt so at peace in there, but it just didn't seem healthy.

I'd much rather see a dog running around a yard with an invisible fence than stuck in a crate.

I hate crating too.

I wouldn't use any training method with a dog that I wouldn't use on a toddler. Real fences are the best solution if you need to be able to let your dog out unattended. If that isn't feasible, I'd either take my dog for lots of walks or admit that my lifestyle wasn't appropriate for having a dog.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

Oh boy do not get me started with cages, why have the animals at all, terrible I do not like them at all.........for me they are dangerous, I came home one day from work when Sunshine and Simba were puppies, Sunshine tried to fit through the holes and was near death , she managed to get her nose and whole mouth, into one hole and it was literally under her mouth, she was going to die, I clearly remember calling for help on the phone, waited was putting oil and soap to try to push her back in, desparate for help, I ran to my neighbor who had these huge jaws of life shears, thanks to John , he saved Sunshine's life, never ever again.......Peace. Catherine

I'm also against crating, especially when the dogs are kept in crates in the garage or a room away from the family. Dogs are pack animals they need to be with their pack. A person who is not familiar with dogs and their ways should really study up on it prior to getting one. How you treat a dog makes a huge difference in their behavior and their social interactions with humans and other dogs.

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Thanks Anna so much, loved what you wrote, for me personally my animals are my like my children, they know us as mommy and daddy and brother and sisters , they love being with us, I could never ever lock them up in a cage....Peace. Catherine

Why would you crate an animal if you are so against them, and have the poor thing near death? Did you not love your animals then?

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

I think she meant that when they were puppies she crated them when she was out one time, and came home to find one had been able to fit his head through the holes and was choking to death. Since that time, she has been against crating.

I don't think it's awful to have them in crates at night, or even during the day when you're out running errands if a dog has been conditioned to feel safe and at home in one. But I've had a friend or two who would go out of town for a week or more and just have someone come once or twice a day to let their dog out long enough to eat and do his business, and then he'd go back inside the cage until the caraetaker returned to do the same thing the next day.

The dog never seemed upset (I actually was the caretaker a couple of times) and in the grand scheme of things, nobody died, and the dog was fine. I guess if your dog really was trained to love the crate and you couldn't afford expensive boarding fees, it might be the alternative that worked best for your situation... but for us, thankfully, there has almost always been a place for our dog at our in-law's house when we go out of town, so we haven't been in that position.

Pet care for when you are out of town can really be pricey. We love our pets and our pets love us, and we can certainly afford their food and occasional vet care, and they have a great life. But I don't consider them equal with the humans in our household, and don't want to spend hundreds of dollars in doggy babysitting and have to cut a vacation or trip to see the grandparents short because we didn't have the funds since we were paying the boarding place through the nose. Our family's activities and enjoyment come before pampering our pet or worrying about his 'psychological needs'.

The time or two the in-laws couldn't take our dog, we had a neighbor's teenager come put him outside on his chain for the day (our backyard isn't totally fenced). In the house, we do shut things off so he's limited to rooms with hard surface floors and can't piddle on the carpet.

I just don't like the idea of literally 23 1/2 hour crating when we're out of town like our neighbor friends do.

To GG have you not read all my posts and all my previous posts about animals I am a huge animal activist I am also a vegetarian and if you do know me from fb, you will see how much I post about animals and the true love I have for them. Like I said they are my children, yes WOW they were little puppies at the time and left them in the crate while I was working, thinking they would be fine and protected, again will never make that mistake again.........Peace. Catherine

Just wondered why such an animal lover that is so against cages would do such a thing is all. Most people love animals, BTW.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

My cat comes before my vacation. When we plan a vacation, the first thing I do is call the pet sitter. If she isn't available, we pick another date. No big deal. I wouldn't have a good time on vacation if I thought kitty was miserable.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

GG read this clearly, this is was the first time I used a cage, I honestly thought it was the safest way to protect them when I was at work.....do you understand now, do not try to twist things around, you will never fully know the full level of love I have for my children pets. I did it once and never again.......Catherine

Not us - but I guess I can't think of a time we've ever left our pets in a situation where I'd think they were miserable.

Our cat always gets the place to herself as long as we're gone. A neighbor boy comes and puts in the mail and checks on her and feeds her. He's apt to let her out during the day and put her back in at night, weather permitting. She likes to snooze on the deck.

The dog is the one that requires a little more finagling since he doesn't use a litter box and can't just be left alone all day.

We used to put them in crates at night when we went to bed. They knew that was "bed, they had blankets to sleep on. I'm not talking just any old blankets, FLEECE blankets only. Nothing but the softest for my pups.

They weren't tucked away some where, they were in the back of the living room, so they saw the crates and were around them many times a day.

They were also used for when we went out and they weren't "trustworthy" yet. Once they were "trustworthy", (under a year, maybe 9 or 10 months?) the crates were used just for bed.

Now they have bigger crates, with the doors taken off. They use them as beds and several times a day you'll find one or both of the dogs asleep in there. They love going in there when they want to be left alone. I'm not sure about all pets, but dogs definately NEED their own space, their own area to where they can retreat if they want to.

Nuttin' inhumane about any of that.

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Not twisting anything.....just curious. It is no great deed to love your children and animals....most of us do. We are supposed to.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Curious. Okay I will take that, but I did explain it was the first time and totally thought from the comments taken from the place I purchased my shelties, they would be securely safe, which did not turn out to be true. All it took for me was one time and never ever again . To jujubee I totally agree with you, I would never go away not knowing, that our beloved pets are not comfortable or being properly cared for we have been lucky. We have used the same person for almost 18 years now a lovely guy named Don and his wife Louise, they run the pet willow hotel, at this point, after all these years, they have come to love our shelties so much. So that we may go on vacation with a clear mind, knowing our babies are safe and secure. Peace.. Catherine

Mine was a long way of saying that I'd never put my cat in a kennel. She would be miserable. We only have a couple neighbors with children and those kids are idiots, so I wouldn't trust them to feed the cat.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

Oh - gotcha. Makes sense and I agree - I'd never kennel a cat.

I was a kennel cleaner as a child, and guess I never really thought much of the fact that the animals were not all that enthused to be there. They did meow and bark like crazy when they were first dropped off and put in their cages, and always went berserk when I'd open the door to the room and turn on the lights in the morning. Once they were used to their space, though, they just napped most of the time. This was back in the dark ages when people generally didn't think of their pets as equal to humans and weren't all that concerned that Fido and Fluffy have all the comforts of home. They just needed a place for them to be fed and out of the elements until they could return home.

Once we had kids, our cat just became a cat, but prior to kids, we definitely had an emotional investment in whether our kitty seemed 'happy', etc. Interestingly, we really don't have those concerns about our pets anymore (other than not wanting them to be in pain - for the first time in nine years our dog had a fairly significant health issue this summer and I think we've about got it conquered!)... but I think our current pets (dog and cat) are probably 'happier' than the cat we had when we were kidless and doted on him.

Our current pets have a lot more 'highs' in their day when our kids come and go from the house. With all of us coming and going throughout the day so many times, they've always got something to look forward to within the next half hour. lol

We had a Blues hockey player living across the street many years ago. They would leave their aging German Shepherd alone when they were on the road. They had hired an assistant from the Blues organization to stop in on her way to work and again when she got home to let the poor dog out. I timed her once. She was in the house less than 3 minutes. One day she decided to let the dog out for the day in the backyard. I learned later it was because the dog was destroying their very nicely and newly finished basement. That poor old thing was so lonely that he chewed through their wooden fence. I saw him out and he was obviously distressed. I coaxed him back into the back yard and attempted to fix the fence. I talked to him and petted hm for a while to calm him down.

I waited to see the caretaker so I could tell her about the fence. I also left a note taped to the front door which was still there all the next day.

Later the second day that the note was still on the door, I stepped out on my front porch with my little dog to let him sniff around the front yard while I got the mail. The GS came tearing across the street and tried to kill my dog. I got the Shepherd off of my dog and a trip to an all night vet emergency hospital and $1000 later he was good to go, (the next day).

The hockey player wife got home the next day and I went over and had a little talk with her. We had never met before and we never met again, except when she brought over the check for the vet bill. With all the destruction in their basement, (the dog ate two sofas, tore up the walls and doors trying to get out), the fence, and the vet bill for my dog, a kennel would have saved them a lot of money and me a lot of stress and my dog a lot of pain and their dog a lot of stress. They also never used a pet sitter again, at least as far as I could tell. He got traded shortly after and they moved back to Canada.

So you can pay a pet sitter, but you have no idea what they are doing while they are sitting. Dogs are social, they need people and/or other dogs. If you are going to be gone more than a day, I think a kennel is a better option. You can find one with play times, and with heat and a/c. You can take their favorite bed, toys and treats.

And my cat sitter story is for another day. Yuck it was.