I don't like them as I don't use negative reinforcement; why would I WANT to shock my dog???

I know of only 2 people who used electric fence. In one case, the dog ran through it chasing a squirrel, was hit by a car and killed. In the other, a neighborhood dog got loose, came IN to the yard (nothing to stop him) and killed the family dog. So from the only 2 people I knew directly ( mean, not online friends but folks I know and knew the dogs) it was a disaster in both cases. A "real" fence is the way to go.

You can put it in yourself; you don't HAVE to enclose your entire yard if that is too costly. And depending on your dog, there are things you can do that are less expensive. We used the plastic coated fence, works fine with my pups. I did have to put in small plastic fence along areas of the bottom as mine tried to scoot UNDER it.

And if you do a 'real' fence, don't go cheap and create a nuisance for yourself. We put in 2 gates, one each end of the house, and thank goodness! I use both regularly, when mowing, fertilizing, water sprinklers, checking the house after storms etc. It was worth it for the extra gate.