Electric Fence? Yes or No? Opinions?

[Freedom]

Thanks guys! Hmmm, well I'm not entirely "sold" on the idea of having a electric fence - the idea of it makes me nervous, but Mike insists that it works well. His uncle/aunt had dogs and they had that, and it worked fine - but all dogs in his family were Labs and still Labs today. Half of those dogs do so well off leash that they are always close to you in the yard or in the backyard. I wonder, how the heck do you train a dog to stay with you in the yard and just know you can trust him/her? Mike has Dozer and he is always by your side, no matter what. You let him out, he does his business, then all he wants to do is to be by you and lay in the garage or in the yard. They even let him out and he'll "bark" at the door to be let in. I guess I'm just curious how that works, because I've never had a dog that did well OFF leash! LOL

In my limited experience, that is very dog specific, and not something you train, lol. The dog already has those tendencies, and you put it to command and such.

A wooden fence will be costly, yes. That is why we did the much MUCH less expensive plastic covered wire. You can see it here, with one gate (white) on the left:

Here it is up close, behind Willy:

[Glacier]

I'd never trust one. I'd never leave a dog unsupervised outside with only electric fencing. Of course, I have huskies and occasionally 7 feet of high strength wire, buried a foot underground and reinforced with concrete hasn't been enough to keep them in the yard!

My other issue with them is they don't keep other animals out...loose dogs, roaming cats or where I live bears, moose, wolves, coyotes and foxes! My fence is built as much for keeping the area wildlife out of my yard as it is for keeping my dogs in the yard!

Daisy has an electric fence at her real home...Daisy who has been at my house pretty much daily for 8 years! The shock occasionally stops her from going home, it never even slows her down when she's leaving. I haven't seen her collar on for quite awhile; her owner probably gave up on it or my dogs chewed it off her again!

[wolf_Q]

My friend tried one with her german shorthair, didn't stop her, the shock was worth running the neighborhood. I personally wouldn't use one, at least for my dogs - I really don't think it would stop huskies, they may be good for a while but if there were a cat or something to chase they'd run right through it. I would never ever leave the dog outside unsupervised with one, other dogs/animals could come into your yard and harm the dog. So if you were just using it when you are out with the dog it would probably work okay. I'm too lazy for that, I let the dogs out and they play and run and they let me know when they want back in...I do look out the window and check on them but I don't stay outside with them every time I let them out. I think just doing a smaller fenced in area is what I would do for now when I wanted to leave the dog outside for a bit to go potty then otherwise take them out on a retractible leash until they can be trusted to be off leash with you in the yard (if possible).

[lizbud]

My other issue with them is they don't keep other animals out...loose dogs, roaming cats or where I live bears, moose, wolves, coyotes and foxes! My fence is built as much for keeping the area wildlife out of my yard as it is for keeping my dogs in the yard!

I would never use one for many of the same reasons you've listed, mainly loose dogs and wandering cats.
ps. It's good to know that Daisy is still hanging out with her buds at your house.

[mrspunkysmom]

A former neighbor had an electric fence. It worked great for the Yellow Lab, but didn't keep out the skunk that bit his nose. Fortunately, the dog was fine.

If you can find a way to afford it, get a dog run, not wood, but chain link.

BTW, sounds like to me the people on the other forum made some assumptions that weren't true. I used to belong to a forum that was for wellness but they had a strong BARF contingent. If you didn't feed Bones (ground) and Raw Food, you weren't fit to be a cat or dog parent.

I think you are better off here.

[Glacier]

ps. It's good to know that Daisy is still hanging out with her buds at your house.

She's here right now. First time I've seen her this week! Time is catching up with Daisy too; she's got arthritis in her elbow and shoulders. If it is rainy, she doesn't come over anymore....and it has rained pretty much every day this summer!!!

[robinh]

You know I never thought about the fact that it might keep your dog in, but wouldn't keep other dogs out. In my neighborhood that would be the issue, well not the dogs but the other creatures. Glad I've been following this thread.

[Freedom]

While a dog run may be your solution, do consider this. I love being able to open the back door and let the dogs out. If I had a run, I'd have to harness and leash them up to get them out to the run, and then again to get them in again. Tasha takes off if she is free, she doesn't need an excuse like a squirrel, lol.

[mrspunkysmom]

While a dog run may be your solution, do consider this. I love being able to open the back door and let the dogs out. If I had a run, I'd have to harness and leash them up to get them out to the run, and then again to get them in again. Tasha takes off if she is free, she doesn't need an excuse like a squirrel, lol.

Sandie, I never thought of that. My neighbor has an indoor/outdoor dog. She put up a chain-link fence over a small area that attaches to the back of the house. That means that she can just let the dog out.

That plastic covered wire fence of yours looks interesting.

[moosmom]

No bashing here.

We had two Airedales growing up. We had a fenced in yard, but Tinker's Terror was ALWAYS getting out. We put up a fence and he always managed to get out. My Dad put up an electric fence. He only turned it on ONCE. Just enough for Tinker to get the idea that everytime he tried to get out, he'd get zapped. Tinker did get zapped once and that's all it took. My Dad turned the fence off and never used it again.

That's may be all it'll take. I don't like those "invisible" fencing things, as your dog could be a target for other animals that don't have the electronic collar.

Good luck. Let us know how you make out!

[buttercup132]

We do want to protect our dog, because it's family.

Then don't get one, it will not keep other animals out and the chances of it keeping your dog in are slim given he is mixed with a hound.
I really don't blame the other forum but hey thats just me and I'm a very blunt person.
Get a chain spot or a cable run to keep him contained.

[Varga]

I'd never use anything that emits an electric shock on my dog. I've heard countless horror stories where the device gets faulty and shocks too much or gives continues shock. Really any kind of shock collar would not be safe to have on the dog when he's not supervised - just in case it malfunctions - so where is the use of an electric fence then.
I also admit that I personally HATE the feeling of getting an electric shock (like when I get static shock etc.), so I am biased for sure. It just is one of the worst pains imaginable for me - yes, despite that it doesn't last that long - so I just could not justify doing that to my dog when I know for sure that can't stand the pain myself.

[buttercup132]

I'd never use anything that emits an electric shock on my dog. I've heard countless horror stories where the device gets faulty and shocks too much or gives continues shock. Really any kind of shock collar would not be safe to have on the dog when he's not supervised - just in case it malfunctions - so where is the use of an electric fence then.
I also admit that I personally HATE the feeling of getting an electric shock (like when I get static shock etc.), so I am biased for sure. It just is one of the worst pains imaginable for me - yes, despite that it doesn't last that long - so I just could not justify doing that to my dog when I know for sure that can't stand the pain myself.

It's not a shock it's a high level of vibration.
The lowest setting would feel like a phone vibrating.

[Pinot's Mom]

First, just to be clear, you're talking about an 'invisible' not an 'electric' fence - correct? I just want to make sure, because my answer would be very different.

The only exposure I've had to an 'invisible' fence was the Shepherd across the way. There are very strict covenants regarding fencing in our neighborhood, and they could not have a fence. The German Shepherd, Jasmine, did quite well with it; BUT, after the family moved away, we talked to Sharon, who owned the dog, and she discovered after they moved that Jasmine had been blind for some time and they didn't know it. It seems Jas knew the property/house so well she didn't need sight. So, I don't know how much of the behaviour modification was the fence and how much was the blindness.

Sorry; that probably didn't help much, but it's the only exposure I've had to an invisible fence.

[Varga]

It's not a shock it's a high level of vibration.
The lowest setting would feel like a phone vibrating.

Yes, that might be. But for it to be effective the dog has to at least once feel the pain of the actual shock which comes after the vibrating. For most dogs I imagine they would have to feel the pain several times before they get the message and heed the vibrate only.