We are in the process of building our new house and we just discovered that our HOA won’t let us put up any type of fence except for an invisible fence :no:. I am not comfortable with the idea, especially if I’m going to be gone for the day (dogs will have access to the yard via dog doors) so please put my worries at ease! I’m also concerned that someone could just steal them right out of my yard without the added security of a fence. I’m probably overreacting, but the dogs are my kids and I can’t imagine something happening to them. So, what are your experiences? Are there brands that are better than others? Training programs that work better than others? Also, can you give me a ballpark price for a half acre lot? TIA!
You don’t want to do invisible fence if you are not around. Not only can someone just swipe your dogs, other dogs CAN come in and attack/hurt yours.
The lady I work with has two JRT mixes and she put one in last year, she loves it. It took about 2 months of training but they don’t cross it. Since they’re JRT’s, that’s saying something 
Maybe the invisible fence and hiring someone to let them out a time or two a day when you’re not home?
I have had invisible fences in 2 homes over the past 15 years. We were not in a development and have at least an acre of land. Mine too have access to the yard by a dog door. My suggestion to you is have the fence professionally installed and strictly follow the training instructions. If the dogs are not trained correctly you have wasted your money. I have trained a beagle, 2 lab beagles, a lab boxer and a rat terrier mix. The youngest one was 3 months and the oldest one was 10 yrs. and have had no issues. If someone wants to steal your dogs I doubt a barrier fence would stop them any way. I went with Pet Safe brand. I think they have since bought out Invisible Fence. Ball park figure would be around $1300 depending on how many receiver collars you need and where you are located. I actually had them come back and run it through my front flower beds. Got tired of coming home to my flowers on the sidewalk and the dogs lying in the holes they dug in the mulch! Best of luck!
I wouldn’t let them have access if you’re not home, but then I wouldn’t let my dogs have access to a fenced yard if I wasn’t home.
i had it with my 2 JRT’s and they did very well with it. BUT never leave them out when you are not home. train them properly- ON LEASH. until they understand to come toward the house when they hear the warning beep. Keep a handful of extra batteries and test them regularly.
All that said, it makes me angry when HOA won’t allow fencing. That is awful. it’s YOUR home.
I tried it once. I used the best company in our area and religiously followed the training. The trainer came back and was impressed. It worked - most of the time, but for something really exciting my dog would run right through. The trainer came back out, we turned the collar up, we shaved his neck, and he ran through it again. I don’t trust the invisible fence. Many neighbors have it and all of them went through professional companies with all of the training. All of their dogs have gotten out at some point. They also leave dogs vulnerable to theft and to being attacked by other dogs. It might be useful for when you are outside with your dogs, but I would never let anyone convince me to try it for leaving dogs out all day while at work.
It is a last resort fence.
Can you get a permit for some dog kennels off the dog door?
I wouldn’t trust them. I’ve seen too many dogs get loose despite a working system and the highest settings. Some dogs are so driven that they just blow right through whatever jolt they get from those collars. Yesterday, a guy showed up at the dog park looking for his loose dog, a yellow lab. Thing went after an animal and went past the Invisible Fence like it was never installed.
I used to leave my dogs out (for years!) in the yard with no perimeter fence and just the invisible fence. We did have a couple of issues with the Collie at first during training, but after we made adjustments she was good. I would leave the 3 girls out - the Collie, the Hound Lab mix and the Chessie. Now that I look back, I cannot believe I did that and would not be comfortable doing that again. Same with my horses - I LOVE having everything perimeter fenced (it is so common here in Ocala) and feel “naked” when a place is not. Like riding without my helmet or driving without a seatbelt.
We have both the hidden fence and 3 rail with no-climb solid fencing. Even then, when I leave, the dogs go in the house.
It’s all what you are comfortable with. I have had dogs get in the yard while the dogs are out. Luckily the dogs handled it themselves and all was well.
I will say, that I trust the fence and my dog’s training, but never 100% - like anything else, there are always exceptions.
It never worked for me at all- and I got them back constantly at the pet store. If dogs get out they can;t come back in, other animals come in and harm them, etc etc ect. All of my dogs ran right through no matter the training.
A friend had her two dogs, who were well trained to the invisible fence blow through it when excited this winter. After 6 weeks of searching, both were discovered in a pond after the spring thaw. They likely fell through the ice that first day.
I would NEVER allow my dogs access into an invisible fence without supervision.
OP, is it too late to sell your lot/house?
I can’t imagine living somewhere that didn’t allow fencing!
Our HOA also did not allow standard fence. We had invisible fence. It worked well for our dogs as far as keeping them in–with doggy door as you describe. But what it doesn’t do is keep people or other dogs from going on to your property. My dog was “attacked” in our yard by a neighbor dog. Neighbor dog ended up in my house via the doggy door. That same dog (btw, a teeny tiny little mutt) attacked the neighbor’s PB not long after so we all ended up with invisible fences and as such, having it be IF brand not the OTC was necessary as that’s the only way to have different frequencies.
Given that we lived so far out–worked an hour away–and there were no dog walking services in our area, that’s what we did for quite some time–dog door and invisible fence.
All that said, when I had my previous home with a standard chain link fence, it did not stop kids from harassing my dogs nor my neighbor from dropping her dog off to have “play time” without my permission.
Really, unless your dogs are locked up in the house when you’re not home, there’s not that much difference in fencing if they respect the fence.
Most HOAs do have ways to petition for a change. Did they not provide you with this information before purchase? If it’s a new rule, you may be able to get grandfathered in. Or there may be certain types of fencing allowed in special cases.
Can’t imagine moving to where you don’t know the HOA restrictions.
I have an invisible fence as a way to dog-proof my multi-acre horse fence. It works great for that. However, I would NEVER recommend one as a stand-alone fence on a neighborhood-sized lot.
On a lot-sized yard, you will not be able to adjust the shock zone wide enough to keep the dog from running across it, unless you turn most of the yard into shock zone (which defeats the purpose). A wide shock zone combined with some type of physical barrier is needed to keep the dog from flying through the (momentary) shock while chasing a cat/other dog/kid on bicycle/whatever. Once they learn they can do that, you might as well give it up.
What you’re saying with the shock zone used to be true for all of the brands of fence but now at least with Invisible Fence brand, there is an option that maximizes your space and they get shocked until they are back within the border. So you don’t lose that 8-10 feet all around the perimeter but they can’t just blow through either. It worked really well w/ our critters.
[QUOTE=RackNRoll;7525233]
I have an invisible fence as a way to dog-proof my multi-acre horse fence. It works great for that. However, I would NEVER recommend one as a stand-alone fence on a neighborhood-sized lot.
On a lot-sized yard, you will not be able to adjust the shock zone wide enough to keep the dog from running across it, unless you turn most of the yard into shock zone (which defeats the purpose). A wide shock zone combined with some type of physical barrier is needed to keep the dog from flying through the (momentary) shock while chasing a cat/other dog/kid on bicycle/whatever. Once they learn they can do that, you might as well give it up.[/QUOTE]
I would only use it as a back up to a physical fence, and would never leave dogs home alone outside with that being the only form of containment.
We had an invisible fence when I was a kid for our American Eskimo. It worked great but we did not have a dog door. Really, if someone wants to steal your dogs that badly they can hop over a standard fence. I would get rid of the dog door so that you aren’t worrying about them being taken. Our dog learned to not drink much when our parents were at work so that she didn’t need to pee- we didn’t teach her that we just recognized it after awhile that she wouldn’t eat or drink much when nobody was home and instead waited. If you are gone for days at a time that is when you get someone to come in and let the dogs outside and feed them.
[QUOTE=Houndhill;7525090]
Can’t imagine moving to where you don’t know the HOA restrictions.[/QUOTE]
This^. I would never move somewhere fencing was not allowed, and would certainly have made certain it was allowed before moving. However, it seems you have already made the decision…
I think invisible fences are a very bad idea, for all the reasons most other posters have already mentioned. Invisible fences do not stop other dogs from coming on your property and attacking your dog, invisible fences do not stop people from coming on your property and stealing or taunting your dogs, and many dogs will run through an invisible fence but will not come back in because of the shock. If an invisible fence is your only option, I would NEVER let the dogs in the yard unless you are out supervising them (but then I don’t let my dogs out without supervising them in a fenced yard).
So, sorry… I cannot put your worries at ease, and it doesn’t seem like many other posters can either.
[QUOTE=andreab;7525772]
This^. I would never move somewhere fencing was not allowed, and would certainly have made certain it was allowed before moving. However, it seems you have already made the decision…
I think invisible fences are a very bad idea, for all the reasons most other posters have already mentioned. Invisible fences do not stop other dogs from coming on your property and attacking your dog, invisible fences do not stop people from coming on your property and stealing or taunting your dogs, and many dogs will run through an invisible fence but will not come back in because of the shock. If an invisible fence is your only option, I would NEVER let the dogs in the yard unless you are out supervising them (but then I don’t let my dogs out without supervising them in a fenced yard).
So, sorry… I cannot put your worries at ease, and it doesn’t seem like many other posters can either.[/QUOTE]
We have not yet broken ground, we only have a placed a deposit on the lot. The fencing situation is what was holding up the process and now that I’m not hearing many positive experiences from those with electric fences I’m thinking we may need to look at other options.
So here is the deal with the HOA which has my blood boiling because the rule is so dumb…all of the houses in the neighborhood can have “approved” fences (white vinyl or wrought iron) EXCEPT for those homes with yards backing up to a certain road…unfortunately our lot backs up to that road along with about 10 other houses. Apparently the concern is that a fence would block the view of the neighborhood from the main road. Here is the kicker - our realtor sent a very nice email to the president of the HOA yesterday asking what would need to be done to work around this restriction and in a not-very-nice way he said we were SOL and could only do an electric fence. Ironically enough, this guy has the exact fence we want in HIS YARD! How is that ok?!? So now my blood is boiling and I told the realtor to start looking at other lots (all the other lots in this subdivision have been sold) in the area.
Sorry to get into all of the drama with you all, but now that I’m hearing invisible fencing isn’t the best option I’m just super annoyed. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and for your advice!
[QUOTE=BuddyRoo;7525322]
What you’re saying with the shock zone used to be true for all of the brands of fence but now at least with Invisible Fence brand, there is an option that maximizes your space and they get shocked until they are back within the border. So you don’t lose that 8-10 feet all around the perimeter but they can’t just blow through either. It worked really well w/ our critters.[/QUOTE]
Cool! They didn’t have those when we were shopping for one. It looks like a much better solution for smaller yards.
I still would never live in development that disallowed any type of physical fence. Talk about total lack of privacy. Also can probably expect roving bands of kids and loose pets to get on your property regularly. OP, I hope your deposit wasn’t very big. I’d be walking away if I were you!
