Invisible fence comments please, re: Invisible Fence and PetStop brands

    • Gold Top Dog

    Invisible fence comments please, re: Invisible Fence and PetStop brands

    We currently have a Petsafe brand invisible fence in our yard, but are considering trying another brand. We have two Boykin Spaniels: Maren, almost 6 female, and Brecken, almost 1 male. Maren when we installed the fence and we had no problems training her on it. In the 4.5 years she's been on the fence, she has never attempted to cross the line. She will run right up to it, but slams on the brakes when she gets there. However, Brecken is a different story. We trained him for several weeks before even attempting to let him on his own. He will not even go close to the line when he is on a leash. He won't cross the line when he is off the leash unless the neighbor's dog is barking at him. He will walk right up to the line, then bolt across it to play with her. We've trained and retrained, but he still goes over the line when she is out. When he's off the leash, I don't have any way to correct him if he crosses. This morning was the last straw. He ran across to play with her, then ran up and down the street, running from me. The only way I got him back was to lure him inside another neighbor's fence so I could contain him enough to get him. He is a very high energy dog so I understand his need to play, but we have almost an acre and plenty of things for him to play with including another dog and a 4 year old boy. :) I'm looking at getting consultations from Invisible Fence and PetStop brands. Does anyone have either of these brands and can offer some comments on them? Also, not trying to be rude, but I really don't want any comments from those in opposition to invisible fences. I'm solely interested in getting feedback from those who have experience with invisible fences, specifically these two brands. Thanks
    • Gold Top Dog

     Well, my experiences are not going to be much comfort, hate to tell you!

    My boyfriend's parents have an Invisible Fence system, and they had a boxer who would do just what your dog is doing - when something really exciting was outside, the dog would gird herself up and bolt through the fence. She was trained to the fence, she knew what would happen, but to her, the excitement of (whatever) outweighed the punishment of the shock. The worked on training, they had the representatives out to work on things, they upped the shock, nothing worked. The only solution that ever actually worked was the dog getting too old to want to run around the neighborhood anymore. And this family is on 5 acres of land that borders on a wildlife refuge, so it wasn't like the dog was being really tempted by things super nearby.

    I really think that there are some dogs that do fine with an electric fence, and some that just don't. And I'm sorry to say it sounds like your Brecken is not going to be safely confined by the electric fence system, no matter what you do. It will always be a risk.

    Do you have any other options for him? Is fencing in the yard with "real" fence an option? Or getting him a long leash and tying him out in the yard? (I certainly wouldn't tie my dog out all day, but for an hour or so when you're nearby to supervise, it can be a good thing.)

    Sorry I don't have a suggestion for a magic fix for you - I wish I did!

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    • Gold Top Dog

     First, envy, and you have two Boykins.  Beautiful dogs.

    Second, the reason I wont use an e-fence is there is no protection for my dog. Anybody can come in.  I watched a neighbors Springer try to beat the e-fence by searching for a weak spot.  She would crawl on her belly  slowly to different places until the shock hit her, then regroup and try a different spot.

    I don't have a fence, so I watch Piper when she is out-she has an excellent recall.  I watched a car drive by the front of my yard, see Piper, turn the corner and come up the alley, stop and the driver get out behind my yard and walk toward Piper.  Then he saw me, got in his car and left. 

    If you are going to trust a fence, it needs to be real.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I have three dogs trained on the Invisable Fence and have been successfully for over 6 years.  My 140 lb Swissy, My VERY prey drive Catahoula and my Pug.  Training is key and if he is still bolting are you sure it works?  My dogs hear the warning and say NO WAY not one of my dogs has ever crossed the fence line, ever!  The invisable Fence has three stim setting and adjustments to and from the border (3 feet to 6 feet) and 3 hight adjustments (for dogs who think they can jump over it).  All my dogs are set on minimal stim and shortest distance to stim.  All stim adjustments are done at the collar, not the fence.  The fence itself is the correction so if he is running thru it he needs a higher stim and more training.   Sorry its not working out, I would consult a company like Invisable fence and train, train, train!  We trained each dog for two months and then proofed for 2 weeks before we allowed our dogs roam.  Each dog got stimmed only once and that was enough for them.

    These fences are very popular in my area since we have farms and property that is to expense to fence and everyone I know has great sucess from cattle dogs to little dogs.  In most cases when I read on forums dogs that it dosen't work for, training (lack of) is the issue.  Sounds like your doing lots of training (maybe not enough proofing?) but your dog isn't afraid of the stim so my only guess is that the stim isn't strong enough of a deterant.

    • Gold Top Dog
    Good point about the fence not working well. I know I've had to patch it several times over the past 5 years, so maybe the signal is very weak in some spots. We have the stubborn dog collar on him at the highest setting and he yelps when he gets popped. Sometimes when he runs through it he does not yelp, so I can only assume he doesn't get the stim. I was thinking about laying a new wire when the ground softened up a little, but was just curious on opinions of these systems before I get out and do the work myself. How do you train the dog when he refuses to even get close to the line when he is on a leash? He will only cross it when he is unleashed, and at that point, it's too late.
    • Gold Top Dog

    That is weird that he respects the line while on leash and not off leash.   The training is about treaching him to respond to the warning beeps.  You should be walking the line (while on leash) and allowing the dog to get close enough to hear the beep - when he does you RUN HIM BACK INTO THE YARD!!  LIKE HIS LIFE IS ENDANGER.  There should be no stim during taining.   Just over and over and over again walking the line and res ponding to the beep by running into the yard.  You need to do this for a minimum or 2 weeks.  Once the dog learns what he should do when he hears the warning beeps you will see him respond apporpriately - give treats and praise.  Do you have flags?  You need to flag the line too so they have a visual of where there boundries are.  The second part of the training  begins once you are confident that your dog is responding properly to the warning beeps.  Then turn the stim on and while still leashed  (long leash)  you allow the dog to wander at the line on his own, while someone is on the other side, do not coax the dog over the line, that is not the purpose. This is to proof, so you are creating a situation where the dog wants to cross the line (but hopefully does not).  If the dog starts to approach the line, the person on the other side should be shaking a flag and telling them no or ett ett (sometime negative) to show the dog he should not cross.  If he pushes the warnings and does get stimmed the leash holder should run him back into the yard like a crazy person saving his life.  I would suggest you do this at the point in his boundry that he tends to run thru it.  If he continues to want to cross the line during training (with the stim), go back to square one and keep training.  Like anything dog, it does take time and effort to train - this is not a magic ZAP, the dog has to learn what to do at the warning.  My dogs got stimmed 1X and never attempted the line again as fact, they stay clear of it.

    I used this same training (without the fence) to teach my dog not to jump on cars coming in my driveway.  I lost 20 pounds doing it cause I would run him onto my porch each and every time a car came into our drive way.  Now, River barks as he is running to my porch when cars come down my drive and does not go by them. 

     Remember.  The fence and the stim are only a backup to your training.  You are training boundries and the fence is the reasurance.  Good luck.

    • Gold Top Dog

     i have a friend who uses one and her dogs respect it but I don't know which brand she uses. They spent the winter in the FLA house with a real fence and now came back to NH to their E fence so I'm going to be curious to see how her dogs transition to going back to not having a visual.

    I can't have an e-fence. I have problems with a neighboring dog attacking Molly when she's out and he sees her (she's usually on a leash). e-fence would do nothing to help with that problem. Molly luckily isn't a wanderer and as long as we are out with her she has no desire to see if the grass is greener on the other side. 

    • Gold Top Dog

     You may have an issue additionally that you have habituated him to the shock. If you've amped up the power on it over time, you've let him get used to it. This may or may not be one of your problems.

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