THE  NON-VISIBLE  FENCE

NOT A REPLACEMENT FOR A FENCED YARD!!

Many people ask me about Non-visible fence pet containment systems. These are my opinoins on the subject.   An non-visible pet containment system works with two components-an underground wire (antenna) around the boundary of the yard and a collar (transmitter) that your dog must wear.  The collar senses when the dog is approaching the boundary wire and emits a warning beep.  If the dogs continues on closer to the wire-the collar will administer a mild electrical shock.  This method trains the dog not to cross the yard boundary set by the underground wire.

The method is not a replacement for a standard "fenced" yard for the following reasons:

1.  The wire needs electricity and the collar requires a good battery to work properly.  If the power is out or the battery in the collar is dead, the system will not work.  Now granted, once the dog is trained, this may not be a major problem.

2.  This product DOES NOT prevent any other animals from coming into your yard. If Mr. MeanTough dog from next door wants to come fight (or court)  your dog, the underground fence will not stop him.  If a hungry stray wants to raid your garbage cans or your dog’s food bowl, the underground fence will not stop him either.

3.  This product DOES NOT stop anyone from coming into your yard, crossing your property, or stealing your dog! Believe it or not this happens everyday even from regular fenced yards.

4.  IF your dog, for some unknown reason, gets on the "outside" of the underground fence, the shock from the collar will deter him from coming back into your yard.  This happened to a MD and his family's terrier.  For reasons unknown, the dog got on the outside of the fence , but  when he tried to reenter the boundary, he was shocked by the collar.  Terrified, the dog ran into the street and was killed. This horrible scenario all happened in front of the family  before they could get to him. It was only a matter of minutes from the time the wife had let the family’s "house" dog out to potty until the dog’s death.  They  believe that the little terrier was chasing a squirrel and just got past the "fence", even though he received a shock going out.
 

There are, however, some good situations for this products:

1.  To border off areas inside your regular "fenced" yards to prevent destruction of your flowers, garden, or chewing of electrical wires to the pool pump or a/c unit.

2.  To border your regular fence to discourage "World’s Greatest Digger or Climber".  I placed a Beagle in a home that had both a regular fence and an underground fence.  The family owned a steak house and the back gate opened to the rear of the steak house.  The Beagle started digging under the fence to try and follow them.(I am sure the smell of steak had nothing to do with his escape attempts.!)  They put the collar on and turned on the underground fence  and the digging stopped immediately.  The last time I spoke with the owners the only problem they were having was attempting to train the Beagle to close the french doors behind him!!  He had learned  to paw the handle and open the door to let himself out!!!

I am sure the  non-visible fence works very well in a number of situations, but you must always be
alert and watch your dog with this system.  The non-visible underground fence is NOT a replacement for a regular fence so that you can leave your dog  unattended in the yard.
 

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