Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Invisible Dog Fence

Has anyone here used any of the invisible dog fences that don't use buried wires? Looks like there are two types that I can find, one that uses a circular pattern with a variable radius and another where you can program a zone for your dog to stay in - can be any shape you want. Mainly interested in the latter but would like to hear opinions of any of them.

What brand would you recommend? Stay away from?

Reliability?

Thanks.

I have one that encircles about an acre and a half of yard for my dogs. I buried it where I mow otherwise it's above ground at the edge of the woods. It works fantastic.

I'm not sure of the brand but I bought it at lowes and it was around $200 plus I needed to buy another 500' of wire. It's very reliable but only as reliable as your connections. Minimize the number of connections if possible.

We started our pup on this one today: Fence


It does 1/2 acre and the collar had 5 shock settings, I think. We set ours on level 2 and our 9 week old pup learned her boundaries in about 30 minutes.

I have that one too. My main complaint is that if I take the collar off the dog, I can't figure out how to turn it off without removing the battery.

A secondary issue is the batteries for the collar are proprietary.

I had one put in 15 years ago made by Petsafe. No problem other than a broken wire at the driveway crossing. Inlaws had a wireless unit like you referred to. It wasn't very good, the boundary would fluctuate and the dog would get zapped for no apparent reason which made him very hesitant to move around the yard (don't blame him!).

No experience with dogs, but I was involved with some fenceless cattle handling once (same technology) using radio gear as opposed to wire perimeters. Goal was to avoid excessive use near streams. The functional radius was rather unstable varying substantially with weather conditions. Warm and dry and cattle avoided the proper zones. Humid/wet weather, however, would find them crowded up against the back fence trying to escape the seemingly amplified signal.

I'm aware of other systems capable of handling very complex perimeters programed into GPS systems. Coupled with some other software, one can effectively schedule livestock moves to desired portions of extensive pastures. When the move date/time arrives, they're repeatedly tickled until movements begin toward the desired area or azimuth. Obviously it stops when they near the selected locale. They work very well with cattle quickly developing the proper responses, but to date cost, battery life, and durability issues have made them impractical. Thus, they've not been marketed. When a 1,000 lb cow leans on something or scratches it on a post, it has to be pretty stout to keep working.

Worked great for my chessie and gsd.

I've had the same system that Steve and Bearcat are recommending. We've used it for two labs over a 12 year period. It's been outstanding and we trust it completely. Once our dogs figured out what their range was, we could have turned it off. As long as they had their collars on, they wouldn't go near the edge of their range. It's far better than any fence and nothing to bury.

Some missed this.

Tagged as we're looking the same way for a new pup.

the invisible fence might keep your dog in, but it does nothing for other dogs just waltzing across, and attacking your dog.

I have one that I would take with me and power off an inverter in the truck. It worked, but I stopped using it. I didn't think moving the perimeter all the time was good for the dog. If you used it in a fixed location, it would work. I wouldn't waste my time. Just bury a fence and be done with it. It installed easy with an edger. If you want the wireless one PM me and I'll ship you mine cheap!

Thanks to everyone for the responses, I appreciate them.

I've helped some friends install the wired type and wouldn't have a problem doing it again, they're just not very practical in this particular instance. One of the local rental places has a unit with a cable spool on the front and a trenching blade on the back which cuts the trench and buries the cable in one pass, works really well but doesn't like muddy conditions.

Thanks again.

I need to install one (wired) to surround my 2.45-acre property (I don't want to restrict the dogs from any part of my property, but I don't want them wandering off it), and I've been dreading it. I never freakin' thought of using an edger! Duh!

Thanks for the idea!

Part of my perimeter is in woods. Based on some posts here, I'm wondering it I'm ok to just use those metal "staple" things used for holding down weed barrier and just run it on the surface and hold it down with those things?

Burying it in the woods will suck....

Rent one of these, you'll be glad you did!

Cable Trencher

Just checked the rental place where I get equipment I don't want to own but need to use....not an option there. There's another place within reasonable driving distance I can check, though.

I did the same thing on the wooded sides of my property, i.e. burying the wire with a thin layer of forest debris minus the sod staples. My main concern preventing another animal, e.g. deer, coyote, neighbor kid, etc. from tripping on it. I wasn't to fussy and more forest debris quickly accumulates. I also had several areas where I just left the cable on the ground for several years. It had been buried, but I kept severing it when digging and grading and would have to go find the break. FYI: this is best accomplished with a tone generator. The wire doesn't need to buried very deep. As others have said you can rent an E-Z Trencher. I have a Stihl YardBoss with the modular tiller and edger heads. It works well in the yard. My driveways are compacted 3/4 minus crusher run. I used a single fork on the pallet fork carriage attachment for my wheel loader to drag a 6" deep trench crossing these areas. Everywhere else, 3-4" is plenty. Way back when, I took the advice of a professional installer and used heavier 14AWG single strand sprinkler wire from the local supply house. You can now buy it as dog fence wire on Amazon.

Best dog accessory I ever purchased. My 7 year old lab can sniff around the yard all day without any worries of him wondering off.

I had a large area fenced, lightning would fry the unit on the wall, I started unplugging the leads from the loop during storms. I used the single strand wire, and in the woods laid it on the ground.

The sell a lightning protection circuit. I have one installed.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P7NX9S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_QZkzxbRYXRS4M