The electric fence....for two long haired dogs....thoughts?

[cswoodlandfairy]

So my SO and I have .8 acres where we live and the dogs are usually pretty good about staying around doing their business and going back to the house. We do however have the occasional “run away,” the SPCA border collie just cant help being a social butterfly with the neighborhood dogs. My other one, a GSD, will stay in the yard as long as she has he squeaky ball, so shes not as bad anymore unless a deer or squirrel comes along.

So we have talked about building a fence, but not really keen on it. Years ago when I lived on my 150 acre farm we had an electric fence and while it worked well with some of our dogs, we also had the ornery bunch that ran through it regardless of how high the collar was.

So has anyone had any experiences with these breeds that have longer hair and the electric fence? We are gonna try clicker training and hope maybe that will keep the border collie listening to us, but more often than not our commands go right over her head. I have to be careful in my approach to her as she is VERY scared of loud noises and angry voices, can only assume she was abused before I adopted her.

Any thoughts would be great!

[Simkie]

How about the wireless electric fence?

http://www.petsafe.net/products/fencing-and-containment/wireless-fences

There is no blowing past the perimeter/shock. It just keeps shocking if they go outside of the zone. Training is, of course, absolutely paramount to the success of such a thing.

I’d just give the neck a little clip job to deal with the hair issue.

[LibertyRun]

We got the underground electric fence this summer. I have a rough coat collie and it works fine. The prongs on the device are different lengths for different coats. I am so pleased with how it has all worked out. I’ll second Simkie tho- training is of the utmost importance! Be prepared to devote 2 weeks to this. No running free while they are training. Kind of a pain but if you do it right all your dogs will do is bark at the deer! No blowing thru! It’s amazing!

[pompeiii]

We have an underground electric fence for our siberian husky as well. He has a stronger/more heavy duty collar with longer prongs just go get through all his hair. But, I do agree, consistent training is everything. That said, with this dog, all the training in the world didn’t work until he got shocked once with the stronger collar. He felt the shock for the first time and hasn’t tested the boundaries since (it’s been 5+ years). At this point we rarely replace his collar battery either (he’s gone months with a dead battery).

Another suggestion our fence people had (they come out with every new dog/new collar and do basic training–which in the beginning included training us to properly train the dogs to the fence) if the more heavy duty collar didn’t work was to shave the part of the neck his collar sat in the beginning. We never needed to try that.

[cswoodlandfairy]

Thanks everyone!

Simkie- will definitely look into the wireless fence…looks interesting and may work.

pompeiii - Ironically enough, my first experience on my farm was with our Siberian Husky. He was so ornery. It never mattered to him about shaving his coat where the collar goes, he ran through the line every time!! And once he got out, it was hours sometimes a day or two before we could get him back! He was so independent!

[pompeiii]

[QUOTE=cswoodlandfairy;6522487]

pompeiii - Ironically enough, my first experience on my farm was with our Siberian Husky. He was so ornery. It never mattered to him about shaving his coat where the collar goes, he ran through the line every time!! And once he got out, it was hours sometimes a day or two before we could get him back! He was so independent![/QUOTE]

That happened to us a few times (the hours, not days) before the combo of heavy duty collar, lots of training, and “Ouch that hurt!” finally worked. Our guy was 7 when we got him so the older age and finally having a real home seemed to also work in our favor (that and he did NOT like getting shocked the one time he felt it. If he even so much as hears the beep, he’ll avoid the front yard for days at a time and hangout instead in the “safe” backyard). Now at 12 his thoughts are “exercise? I’d rather nap on the couch instead.” so we don’t worry about him too much. That said, he’s still super independent too.

[Rallycairn]

There are some potential dangers/possible bad reactions to invisible shock fences, such as displaced aggression and associating unrelated things (such as a person or car or bike passing by) with the shock, such that the dog can become fearful of or aggressive towards those other things. Personally, I have heard from a couple of people using them without problems, but I have also personally known of one Golden that became people aggressive and of a couple of dogs that became extremely fearful of going in the yard after just being shocked by the collar.

Some articles on the potential risks:

http://www.ehow.com/facts_4963524_what-dangers-invisible-dog-fences.html

http://www.positivedogs.com/articles/electronic_fencing.html

So be aware that there are risks, in addition to your own past experience with dogs that will take the shock and run away anyhow. Maybe a physical fence for part of the yard might be an option.

[wendy]

There are some potential dangers/possible bad reactions to invisible shock fences, such as displaced aggression and associating unrelated things (such as a person or car or bike passing by) with the shock, such that the dog can become fearful of or aggressive towards those other things.

these things can be avoided by training- the dogs I’ve trained to these fences rarely get any actual shocks after the initial training period, and you’re out there with the dog during the training and can watch for/prevent “displaced aggression” and “displaced fear”. I’m pretty sure that one dog I trained to the fence never experienced a single shock and just stayed in due to the training. After training, most dogs will stay in, even if the collar is forgotten or the fence fails, indicating they aren’t out there getting shocked all the time. Most of the time when you hear about problems people have with these fences it’s because they skipped most or all of the training. These fences should be viewed as “training aids” only.

One hint: if you can, putting something physical as an obvious marker of the boundary really seemed to speed up the training and help the dog retain knowledge of where to stop moving forward- for example, putting in a 12" high push-in-the-ground cheap garden border fence, or landscaping features like flowerbeds and/or bushes marking the boundary all around, or you could just leave the flags in permanently. This also announces to the owner and passer-bys where the boundary is, and that it exists. I can attest it is quite alarming to a passer-by to have a huge dog gallop towards you bellowing and you can only hope that somewhere in that stretch of grass between you and the dog there is an invisible fence and the dog will remember that fact.

the only real problem with these fences is they let “others” in, which might be a concern in some places- a coyote, say, could easily trap your dog inside the fence and eat him.

The newer fences are much more sophisticated and better-designed than the first-generation ones. Dogs might have “blown through” the first generation ones easily, but they rarely do so with the newer ones.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=wendy;6523014]

The newer fences are much more sophisticated and better-designed than the first-generation ones. Dogs might have “blown through” the first generation ones easily, but they rarely do so with the newer ones.[/QUOTE]

unless there is something they are willing to take the shock for.

Placed a foster who blew threw the IF to grab a passing toy dog. She had been trained and was respectful till then. She just wanted the dog bad enough to take the hit. And keep taking as the dog was not out of range when she grabbed it.

[2tempe]

Regarding the thicker coated dogs…I have two chow mixes; one is a wimp and has her prongs covered so there is only the beep. But in any event, I was told that it is important on these coats to keep the collar snug so there is contact w/ the skin.

Funny story: I had a coonhound mix who was trained on elec. fence. When he was about 9 I went and adopted one of the two chow mixes. She was 1 at the time. As trainer and I were working w/ the new dog, the coonhound followed us around barking and whining as if to tell his new friend that she was going to get shocked! He was much happier when the training was done.