Invisible Pet Fence
 

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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.

Re: Invisible Pet Fence
 

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.

Re: Invisible Pet Fence
 

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.

Re: Invisible Pet Fence
 

: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

Re: Invisible Pet Fence
 

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.

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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!

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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:

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

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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!

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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.