Invisible Pet Fence

[beady]

[ ???

Do the covenants in TV allow for an invisible pet fence? Our 11 year old english cocker is used to being out on his own. Would be great to have the invisible fence.

[Casual Carol]

My daughter's standard poodle (who is extremely smart) just goes back and forth over the invisible fence!!!!!

[villager99]

i'm not a pet owner but see lots of dogs in the villages behaving well behind their invisible fences.

[sweetana3]

An invisible fence will work for a dog that is fearful and reacts by getting away from pain. A dog that is fixated on prey (people, other animals, squirrels, bicycles, etc) can run fast right over the "fence" and once over it cannot get back. There is the added problem that the "fence does nothing to protect your dog or protect your liability should a person walk on the property and get bitten or hurt the dog.

An invisible fence did not work for two dogs in our neighborhood. They kept getting out and then could not go back home. We got really tired of rounding them up.

It is really scary to be chased by a barking lunging dog and to only hope that the "invisible" fence works. Another person on a forum said their dog was so traumatized by the shock collar that they became incontinent.

I would suggest you try the collar on a local 7 year old first or maybe your husband or wife before you go putting the shock collar on the dog. The collars have been know to fail in the on position and no one wants to do that to their dog.

[villager99]

guess, i'll think differently nexrt time i see a dog confined behind an invisible fence
one approach my friends with very small dogs or cats have used is to buy coutyard villas where the pet can roam free behind their backyard privacy wall.

[beady]

Thanks for all the advise.

I will just give the old boy a walk a couple of times a day. He has very bad arthritis and a ruptured disk so he falls down a lot. I thought the fence would allow him to take his exercise outside at his leisure. I certainly do not want to shock or stun him. He has enough discomfort as it is.

The villa idea is good but I think a bit isolated. Privacy is nice but that seems a bit to isolated for my taste

I had no idea the fences were so "volatile" we have a neighboor who uses a fence for his german shepherd and it seems to work just fine!!!!

Curious why the breed name was cencored in my original message. I guess the computer is very sensitive. I will have to refer to him as an ECS in the future.

[Barefoot]

We have two dogs and for that reason, bought a courtyard villa. In my opinion, absolutely the only alternative if you want to let your dog enjoy your back yard with safety.

I don't think invisible fencing is safe .. dogs can go through it, .. and if you back on water, a Gator can get into your back yard.

I've had friends with invisible fencing that have lost their dogs .. the dogs get excited and go through the fence, get a shock, and can't get back in. So they wander off.

Try wearing a shock collar for a while and see how you like it.

[F16 1UB]

:bigthumbsup: I can't say enough GOOD about the invisible fence. If it fails to work on some dogs it's because the probes on the collar aren't reaching the skin. They come in 2 different lengths. Goes without saying that long haired dogs require the long probes. Also if it doesn't work the battery in the collar is dead. Replacement batteries may be purchased at Radio Shack. Our Irish Setter has been on one for 4 years. There's 2 styles of invisible fence. One that you bury a wire around the perimeter of your yard and plug it an electric outlet. OR you can purchase a unit that plugs into your house and shoots a signal out from your house via your electric wiring. This would be great if you didn't have to worry about your neighbors property. I suggested this unit for my son in laws 2 dogs. I think with 2 collars it was under $300. You can buy it at Lowes or Home Depot. Matter of fact you can get either units. The animals catch on quick and eventually you won't even have to have the collar on them. To have the underground unit installed they want to rob you. Don't be surprised if the cost is over $1,000. I rented a sidewalk edger for a day ($28) and set it to the deepest setting and went around my yard making a small trench. Then I walked along and shoved the wire in the opening in the ground. My cost was about $350 but I used 1100 ft of wire. I did not put it inside conduit. You also should notify the utilities to make sure you don't cut any of their lines. I hope this helps or gives you an idea of what you're up against.

Steve

[beady]

Thanks Steve,
I will give your advise some thought.
My guy is very old and he can't walk very far, so I thought the fence was a possibility. My fear is I do not want to stun or hurt him and some say that the collar will do just that.
I do not worry about him escaping because I would most likely be out with him and he doesn't stay far when someone is with him. I wanted to be able to have the flexability to let him out if it wasn't convienent to go with him.
Hope to be at TV by late fall and we will see what transpires in the fence saga.

[F16 1UB]

Beady,

I took our dogs collar off because I was taking her with me - going someplace. Anyway I walked across the street to the mailbox with her collar in my hand and was holding it by the probes. It startled me when I got zapped. It's the equivalent of rubbing your feet on carpet and getting shocked when you touch something. It doesn't hurt them. Since I got it I know of 4 others by my word of mouth that have also gotten it. It's endorsed by ASPCA. Good luck with your best friend. :)

Steve

[SteveZ]

A lot depends on the dog - not everything works well with all of them. One of the funniest thing I ever saw was a friend's Jack Russell Terrier. A stubborn critter, he kept up the "pressure" on the fence until finally the battery wore out on his collar before his stubbornness - and then he was off to the races!

[Frangyomory]

The reason we wanted a courtyard villa is the full yard for our dog, including the fence. Courtyard villas are the only properties that have full fences around the sides and back of the house. Our dog loves her yard and we love our privacy. You can get up to 3 bedrooms and 2 baths in courtyard villas. We absolutely LOVE our place and never thought once about buying anything else! :bigthumbsup:

[Avista]

:agree: We love our Courtyard Villa. Our 2 little dogs do too.

[villagerjudy]

Our dog went easily from 75 acres to an invisible fence. He is not "fearful" of pain (lab setter mix) but responds actually to noise (there is a beep as a warning first). Besides the probe length there is also a shock setting on both Invisible Fence and the radio transmitter one to find the the right correction. We also had a courtyard villa before a large back yard, so we tried both. A dog door to the outside (actually it takes 3 doors for him to go outside LOL) and no more dog walking just for "bathroom needs" just for mutual exercise. An advantage to the Invisible Fence is that the front of the house doesn't have to be enclosed so neighbors can walk up without 65 lbs of happiness greeting them. It is a great thing!

[Talk Host]

May I make a comment about dogs and invisible fence? As a walker/runner, I have absolutely no way of knowing if a dog is restrained by an invisible fence (it's invisible). When a dog comes running at you barking and snarling, it is frightening. I don't know that it is going to stop. I don't know there is an invisible fence. I believe that if there is such a fence, it should be marked all the way around the perimeter, but then that would defeat its invisibility, wouldn't it. Please tell me how I should know that a dog is going to stop at the property line.

[BUC]

It seems crazy to me that a person can't install a tasteful looking fence for pet control , and please don't restrict my purchasing chooses to a villa. Oh that's right I can chose to shock my dog. Most dog owners love and care for dogs and the dogs are an important part of families. My wife and I want to live at TV and have been dreaming of this for several years, but I will not be force to chose between my little dog that I love and trust me, and a house.

[F16 1UB]

I too am a walker, bike rider, jogger. The last thing I want to do is come up against a vicious critter. I admit those dogs that are temperamental need to be more closely scrutinized by their owners. Our dog is only out long enough to take care of business. Once familiar with the area I guess you know which one to watch for. That still doesn't justify a free roaming barking dog in someones yard that wants to eat you for a snack. The only solution for that would be to confine the dog to the sides and back yard - away from the street. I realize most yards are small and owners want to give their pets as much freedom as possible but the pet owner should also be responsible. And if you believe this I've got some land...... :duck:

Steve

[nickdebbie]

Am I not understanding something here? I have not moved to TV yet (in the process), but during our previous visits, we were told that no pets over 40 pounds were allowed there, and no outside pets period. So there would be no barking, snarling dogs (I am a bicyclist too) to worry about, night or day. Was that just a bunch of sales talk? Are people allowed to have outside dogs (especially) running around loose, i.e. no restraints? We were told "The Villages does not want your pets scaring our wildlife, and we don't want our wildlife eating your pets." Was that just a cute saying?

[Talk Host]

Am I not understanding something here? I have not moved to TV yet (in the process), but during our previous visits, we were told that no pets over 40 pounds were allowed there, and no outside pets period. So there would be no barking, snarling dogs (I am a bicyclist too) to worry about, night or day. Was that just a bunch of sales talk? Are people allowed to have outside dogs (especially) running around loose, i.e. no restraints? We were told "The Villages does not want your pets scaring our wildlife, and we don't want our wildlife eating your pets." Was that just a cute saying?


99.9% of the pet owners in the Villages have their pets under complete control all of the time. .1% allow their dogs to walk without a leash, but the owners are usually near-by. In four years, I have seen fewer than 5 dogs roaming unattended. There are strict leash laws in both the Villages and the counties, but .1% of the people are above the law.
There is nothing for you to worry about. In my case, I am always overly reactive to those few people who believe the laws are for other people. The Villages has no police department or enforcement personell. The most they can do is send somebody from the Deed Restriction office to the owner and tell them to leash their dog. If they do not comply, it is up to YOU to call the sheriff, if it becomes a problem.

[BUC]

Why not let people install a tastefully built fence a portion of they're backyards.

[JohnZ]

Tasteful fences? First, you'd have to define tasteful to everyone's liking and then write it into the convenants. Seeing how TV manages things, every dog owner wanting a fence would have exactly the same kind of fence and one more thing to enforce. But a major drawback of fences in this community, IMHO, is that fences would detract from the open feel here (save for Courtyard Villas which I recommend if you have a critter).

[LG]

It is against the deed restriction to have a PET outside that is not on a leash. But if you insist on not following the rule, PETCO has a new version, one that you do not install a wire, but works off a radio type frequency that you set the radius for your pet, and when they approach that distance it beeps then if they go farther ZAP. It installs on a wall.

[beady]

Okay LG,

I get it. The dog has to be on a leash and therefore I would be breaking that law if I had an invisible fence and he was out on his own . Guess it's a Villa or take the poor old guy out for a walk on the leash. Thanks for the clarification. As I said before, the last thing I want to do is shock him into submission.
Beady

[Frangyomory]

The no fence rule is a good one. We have lived in other communities where everyone had a different fence and it looked like a badly put together quilt! The Villages prides itself on the appearance as well as the lifestyle. We only looked at courtyard villas because our 10 year old mixed breed is our baby an we wanted her to have a good "retirement" as well. She had the run of a very large backyard in Virginia and has never been allowed to roam about without a leash when not behind the fence.

I don't think it is appropriate to have any animal outside without the owner regardless of invisible fence or not. It just isn't neighborly. Just because we love animals doesn't mean that everyone has to be subject to our likes and dislikes.

I also cannot abide people who walk their dogs or "walk" them with the golf cart and then don't clean up after them. These animals are our responsibility, not our neighbors.

Again, I am glad about the fence rule and we accepted that when we decided to retire here. We elected to handle it with the purchase of a corner lot and courtyard villa. We believe we have the best of both worlds an don't feel restricted at all. We have met almost all of our neighbors and many of us bought here for the same reason.

Good luck to all and remember, part of our pride in TV is that we aren't a mishmosh of lawn ornaments and various types of fences! You also won't see a neon pink garage door or a car on cinder blocks and I am all for neatness!!!

[Avista]

:agree: