Company Comparison for an invisible fence installer

[rxatkin]

Looking into having an invisible fence installed for our beagle. Looks like there are a couple of major players in this area. Does anyone have any experience with one company over the other? It looks like one uses AM signals and the other uses FM signals.

[John_W]

If you do get the invisible fence, remember it will keep your dog in your yard but it cannot keep other animals out of your yard. If it was my dog, and with the possibility of other dogs getting free and roaming the neighborhood, and coyotes, alligators and even hawks all in TV, I wouldn't trust leaving my dog unattended.

Another problem is strangers will not know your dog's situation unless you post a sign, and they may feel the dog has gotten loose. We have a neighbor that has probably the largest great dane I have ever seen and it's black and white colored. It's head would be to my shoulders and it has to weight 150 to 200 pounds or more. They have invisible fence all the way around the front yard and whenever we walk down Odessa Circle and I see the dog in the front yard free, it still scares the heckout of me and my wife won't even walk down that street when he is out. It looks like this, but bigger and usually stands in the driveway looking out like he is on guard.



http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID39280/images/ezra32506.jpg

[dnobles]

We have had the Invisable Fence brand since 1995 We Love it We just bought our 2nd house in TV and have had installed at both homes . We use Donad 352 275 6663. Tell them we sent you

[dnobles]

We don't leave our dogs unattended but when it's raining it sure is nice to just open the door

[DonH57]

We also use invisable fence brand. I always accompany our dog outside for the reasons John posted earlier. All our neighbors know our dog but others walking theirs may think he's loose or something. Our lab is very friendly and wants to meet everyone. He has never broken through unless I've neglected to change the battery in the collar.

[Patty55]

I saw something on the internet about electronic pet fencing and ICDs. Don't know what to think but maybe you all should look into it.

Life In The Villages Fl: The Effect of Electronic Pet Fencing on ICDs (http://lifeinthevillagesflorida.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-effect-of-electronic-pet-fencing-on.html)

[DonH57]

To my knowledge of the invisable fencing operation is that the transmitter mounted in the garage uses a wire loop around the yard to transmit at a specific radio frequency and the dog wears a collar tuned to that tone setting of tone and shock. I do know the earlier version of the system would warn a dog if it got within 6 feet of the buried wire. Our dog has to be within about 8 inches to get a warning tone with the system we now have. That is a very good thing to consider if you have heart problems and a dog. I would think a person with an ICD would have to be crawling on the ground to be affected if that was possible.

[Patty55]

I don't know, I know that electric automatic doors are a problem, power lines are also a problem. Do the fences set up a magnetic field?

[Barefoot]

We used Dogwatch from Ocala for our invisible fencing. Evan, from Dogwatch, was just great at helping us with the training. Please be sure to always supervise your dog, because even with invisible fencing, predators can come on your property. We use invisible fencing in our back yard only.

The critical thing about invisible fencing is to do the training. Even if it doesn't makes sense to you, it makes sense to the dogs. They learn the boundaries marked by the flags, and then they connect the boundary lines with the warning signal. We turned the system to the lowest level so a correction would be a surprise tingle, not a shock. I tried the collar on my arm before purchasing the system from Dogwatch. Our dogs required only one correction each, and thereafter avoided the boundaries when they heard the beep warning.

And here is (to me) an amazing thing .... After being away for six months, I let the dogs out in the yard because I didn't realize that Fireboy hadn't activated the system yet. And both dogs totally avoided the boundaries, even without warning beeps! Not that I'm recommending that ... it was stupid on my part. But it just shows how they memorize the boundaries and avoid them.

[rubicon]

I tripped over one of those invisible fences the other day

[CaliforniaGirl]

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[CaliforniaGirl]

We have a neighbor that has probably the largest great dane I have ever seen and it's black and white colored. It's head would be to my shoulders and it has to weight 150 to 200 pounds or more. They have invisible fence all the way around the front yard and whenever we walk down Odessa Circle and I see the dog in the front yard free, it still scares the heckout of me and my wife won't even walk down that street when he is out. It looks like this, but bigger and usually stands in the driveway looking out like he is on guard.



http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID39280/images/ezra32506.jpg

You needn't worry about Leo - he's the sweetest dog ever. All bark, no bite. The most he would do is lick you to death. I visit his neighbors frequently, and I always stop to visit with Leo whenever he's out. A gentle giant.

[Opmoochler]

Donnie Ray from Invisible Fence was easy to work with, very helpful, and our lab learned quickly. Within 3 weeks, all flags, but 1 were removed. We have left one by the lanai door to remind him to turn as he goes out the door. It's funny to watch him go down the sides of the house as close to the wall as possible to avoid the boundary as he travels from the back yard to the front!

[dbussone]

I tripped over one of those invisible fences the other day


I got zapped by one when I crossed the boundary. Had my dog's collar in my hand.

[golfing eagles]

I got zapped by one when I crossed the boundary. Had my dog's collar in my hand.

did your spouse put it there?

[dbussone]

did your spouse put it there?


No but I tried to blame her.

[golfing eagles]

No but I tried to blame her.

Of course isn't that SOP, carried on the Y chromosome?

[rxatkin]

We used Dogwatch from Ocala for our invisible fencing. Evan, from Dogwatch, was just great at helping us with the training. Please be sure to always supervise your dog, because even with invisible fencing, predators can come on your property. We use invisible fencing in our back yard only.

The critical thing about invisible fencing is to do the training. Even if it doesn't makes sense to you, it makes sense to the dogs. They learn the boundaries marked by the flags, and then they connect the boundary lines with the warning signal. We turned the system to the lowest level so a correction would be a surprise tingle, not a shock. I tried the collar on my arm before purchasing the system from Dogwatch. Our dogs required only one correction each, and thereafter avoided the boundaries when they heard the beep warning.

And here is (to me) an amazing thing .... After being away for six months, I let the dogs out in the yard because I didn't realize that Fireboy hadn't activated the system yet. And both dogs totally avoided the boundaries, even without warning beeps! Not that I'm recommending that ... it was stupid on my part. But it just shows how they memorize the boundaries and avoid them.
Any idea of what it cost you to set the whole thing up? As I understand it, the batteries in the collar are an issue as well. Do you find yourself having to be constantly changing out batteries?

[rxatkin]

If you do get the invisible fence, remember it will keep your dog in your yard but it cannot keep other animals out of your yard. If it was my dog, and with the possibility of other dogs getting free and roaming the neighborhood, and coyotes, alligators and even hawks all in TV, I wouldn't trust leaving my dog unattended.

Another problem is strangers will not know your dog's situation unless you post a sign, and they may feel the dog has gotten loose. We have a neighbor that has probably the largest great dane I have ever seen and it's black and white colored. It's head would be to my shoulders and it has to weight 150 to 200 pounds or more. They have invisible fence all the way around the front yard and whenever we walk down Odessa Circle and I see the dog in the front yard free, it still scares the heckout of me and my wife won't even walk down that street when he is out. It looks like this, but bigger and usually stands in the driveway looking out like he is on guard.



http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID39280/images/ezra32506.jpg
Thanks for your pointers. We've got a beagle so she isn't too imposing. Up until now, she's always had a doggie door to get out into our yard which has always been fenced. This is a whole new concept for both our dog and us.

[rxatkin]

I got zapped by one when I crossed the boundary. Had my dog's collar in my hand.
So, I guess you have to remove the dog's collar when you take them out of the yard, for a walk, for instance?

[rxatkin]

Donnie Ray from Invisible Fence was easy to work with, very helpful, and our lab learned quickly. Within 3 weeks, all flags, but 1 were removed. We have left one by the lanai door to remind him to turn as he goes out the door. It's funny to watch him go down the sides of the house as close to the wall as possible to avoid the boundary as he travels from the back yard to the front!
Did you compare one brand or company to any other? Why did you pick the company that you did?

[blueash]

Had a beagle who loved to roam tail a-wagging. Got the invisible fence and trained the dog. She learned that there was a big shock coming if she got near the boundary, and she would slink to the line, whimpering, ears down and you could see her get the jolt, then she was happily beyond the wire and away. It was worth the shock, fully turned up, to get out and go visit the nearby elementary school to play. Smart dog. Fence failure.

[dbussone]

So, I guess you have to remove the dog's collar when you take them out of the yard, for a walk, for instance?


Yes. What we were told to do is determine a good spot to walk your dog out of the yard and use that spot every time. As you approach the spot, but before your dog comes into contact with the antenna signal, remove the collar. That way the dog is supposed to associate associate removal of the collar with safely leaving the yard.

In practice some dogs reject going across that perceived barrier even with their collar off. Thankfully our pet is under 20 pounds so we just pick him up and carry him across when he refuses.

[CFrance]

I tripped over one of those invisible fences the other day
:laugh::laugh:

[CFrance]

Yes. What we were told to do is determine a good spot to walk your dog out of the yard and use that spot every time. As you approach the spot, but before your dog comes into contact with the antenna signal, remove the collar. That way the dog is supposed to associate associate removal of the collar with safely leaving the yard.

In practice some dogs reject going across that perceived barrier even with their collar off. Thankfully our pet is under 20 pounds so we just pick him up and carry him across when he refuses.
Our first golden was one such dog. He never did get the "magic door" part of the training.

The e-fence worked very well with him, though. He often chased something up through the woods behind our house. It was an escaped farm turkey that harassed our MI neighborhood for an entire year. Both the dog and the turkey knew exactly where the fence line was.

[dbussone]

The only good turkey is a Thanksgiving turkey. They are nasty birds.

[CFrance]

The only good turkey is a Thanksgiving turkey. They are nasty birds.
You can say that again.

[dbussone]

You can say that again.


The only good turkey is a Thanksgiving turkey. They are nasty birds.

[CFrance]

The only good turkey is a Thanksgiving turkey. They are nasty birds.
;););)

[Barefoot]

The only good turkey is a Thanksgiving turkey. They are nasty birds.
You can say that again.
The only good turkey is a Thanksgiving turkey. They are nasty birds.
You two should go on the stage together. :bigbow:

[Barefoot]

Any idea of what it cost you to set the whole thing up? As I understand it, the batteries in the collar are an issue as well. Do you find yourself having to be constantly changing out batteries? I can't remember the price in 2009, heck, I can't remember what I did yesterday.
We change the batteries every six months. But even without collars, the dogs never go near the boundaries of the lot.
Ducks waddle up the hill from the ponds to taunt the dogs, and the dogs ignore the ducks.
Note: We never, ever leave our two dogs outside, unsupervised.

We spent a long, long time on the training process, and to me that is the key to success.
When we finally turned on the current, we had it at the lowest level, and one correction was all it took.
Dogwatch helped a lot with the training.

[dbussone]

You two should go on the stage together. :bigbow:


Just for Thanksgiving though. (US, not Canadian)

[dbussone]

The approximate cost was $1100. The antenna (buried in the ground) was about $1 per foot. The collar and receiver were about $250, and the transmitter was about $250. The batteries are replaced every 3 months and cost about $40 (for the year) on Amazon.