Invisible Fences Make Good Neighbors
From her yard, Amber watches the neighborhood traffic. Passersby often switch sides of the street to avoid her as she paces the sidewalk and barks hello. To the casual observer, Amber appears free roaming, but she is protected by an invisible fence that encloses her yard. She resists any temptation to enter the street.
Kerry Stark, a Dogwatch Hidden Fence dealer based in Shamokin Dam, has been installing hidden fences in Snyder, Union, Northumberland, Montour, and Columbia counties since 1991. He explains how the hidden fences work. An insulated wire is buried along the boundary of the yard, which connects to a transmitter. The dog wears a special collar that receives the FM radio signal emanating from the buried wire.
“As the dog approaches the wire, an audible warning tone is activated at the collar. If the dog fails to head the warning tone, a mild stimulation (correction) is delivered through the collar.” Mr. Stark says the strength of the stimulation is comparable to a static electric shock that you might experience by dragging your socked feet across the carpet and touching a metal surface.
Tammy Lawton used an invisible fence for her two golden retrievers, Riley and Bubba, with mixed results. Ms. Lawton reports that when she started training, “Everything went fine for a while, but as time went on, the dogs realized that once they broke the barrier of the fence, they no longer felt the correction.”
Ms. Lawton tried turning up the correction levels on the collar, but Bubba would stand at the fence boundary and, “You could see him shake his neck and he’d stand there for a few seconds before he went through.” Bubba and Riley, apparently, will do anything to reach the neighbor’s compost pile.
Despite Bubba and Riley’s tolerance to the correction, Ms. Lawton says, “I enjoy the fence and think they work good – just not for my dogs.”
When speaking about his products, Mr. Stark reports, “Dogwatch systems are considered to be over 99% effective for all breeds of dogs.” However, the invisible fences are not recommended for aggressive dogs.
The fastest way to ensure your dog fails to obey the fence is to not train the dog at all, according to Mr. Stark. In other words, sending the dog into the yard for a surprise stimulation short circuits the training program and leads to problems.
Proper training occurs over days and weeks. Pick up any pet containment system owners manual and the basic training program is familiar. Mark the fence boundary with flags. Introduce the dog to the flags with the collar off so the dog establishes a visual boundary. Then allow the dog to hear the tone. Next, let the dog receive a stimulation.
“Most dogs can be allowed off leash within four to five days,” says Mr. Stark. However, the recommended training methods vary from one containment system to another. Reading and following your system’s training plan is important.
Sidebar: Pet containment systems at a glance
Unlike traditional fences, the boundary of a pet containment system is invisible. Dog owners have two main options when choosing a system: buried wire or wireless.
With a buried wired system, the wire forms the fence boundary. A transmitter sends an FM signal across the wire that activates the collar when the dog gets close to the boundary. The wire easily forms a boundary for rectangular or odd-shaped yards.
Wireless systems require less installation in that they do not use a wire. Instead, a transmitter sends a signal over the air to the dog’s collar. When the dog reaches the boundary of the invisible fence, the dog receives a correction. The wireless systems form a circular or oval boundary.
Originally published in the Daily Item