[Barefoot]

There are many previous posts about invisible fencing, if you use the search button above. It is very popular in TV and for us, it works well. Bluedog had good information in his post.

We lived in a Courtyard Villa (purchased for our dogs) for a few years before Fireboy decided he needed a big garage. Since I relucantly agreed we needed a larger house, we moved. I was very reluctant to consider invisible fencing. I always thought it was cruel and inhumane. But that is because I totally misunderstood the system and how it worked. At least the Dog Watch System, I'm not sure how other systems work. I used to think that invisible fences were cruel. But I made a call to Dog Watch of Ocala, and they visited our home and explained the system. I asked them to bring collars for both our big dog and our small dog, so I could try them on my arm and satisfy myself that the system wouldn't be painful for my dogs. It is more of a tingle that gets their attention, than a shock. Our invisible fence surrounds the front yard as well as the back yard.

The most important part of the system is the training process which takes about a week, and trains the dogs to react to a warning beep. You do have to have patience with the training cycle. Evan from Dog Watch visited as often as he wanted to assist us and make sure we were doing the training properly. The dogs are trained on a leash to react to the beep, and the correction part of the system isn't even turned on for the training week! The dogs are rewarded for responding to the beep.

When the dogs are finally unleashed and free to roam, if they ignore the beep, and try to go past the boundary, they get a correction, which is a tingle. It works amazing well for my 10 lb dog and my 70 lb dog. Both my dogs only ever required one correction before they got it! We back on a golf course and ducks will actually waddle up the hill from their little pond and tease LolliPop, my 70 lb dog. Lolli would just love to chase them back down the hill, but she will not chase the ducks through the boundary of the invisible fence.

Even if we are away from TV for a few months, and even without a collar, if the dogs go into the back yard, they keep within the boundaries. As I said, I am a huge fan of the Dog Watch system, and Evan was an amazing help in training our dogs. But it isn't a substitute for a fence. You still need to supervise your dogs when they are outside. Predators can still come on your property. I also think off leash running and play are essential for dogs. And in TV, the back yards aren't huge. So every day we take our dogs to Doggie Doo Run Run for socialization and play. I love that dog park.

I would be happy to show our system to anyone who is considering invisible fencing. We'll be back in TV in the Fall. Just send me a PM and we'll arrange it.