Electronic Fences

Electronic Fences - What You Need to Know

If you're looking for a way to automatically make sure your dog stays within your boundaries without having to build an expensive and unsightly fence, then an electronic dog fence may be just what you need. It will keep your dog safely on your property and insure he doesn't get into trouble elsewhere.

When using an electronic dog fence, dogs will quickly learn to recognize their boundaries. The system effectively trains them to automatically avoid the system boundaries.

One of the best features of an electronic fence is that they are completely invisible and do not take up any space or block any views. You define the area of containment for your dog and the collar does the rest.

Besides keeping your dog in a predefined area, electronic fences can also be used to keep mischievous dogs out of children's sand boxes, and fish ponds and gardens and areas you need to protect.

The basic principals of an electronic fence are very simple.

The first thing you do is outline the area you want to contain your dog with the antenna wire. Bury the wire in the ground to a depth of six inches. Be sure you have enough wire before you get started.

To Cover This Size Area You Need This Amount of Wire
1/3 Acre 500 Feet
1/2 Acre 600 Feet
1 Acre 1000 Feet
2 Acres 1300 Feet
3 Acres 1500 Feet
4 Acres 1800 Feet
5 Acres 2000 Feet

If you're in rocky or non-soil areas, you can use whatever means is appropriate for your surface to attach the wires. You can usually find anything you need at a building supply store. Be careful to keep the wire insulation intact when securing the wire with staples.

Many of the electronic fences on the market are safe for inside the home use as well. Obviously, safety is always the first consideration so read and follow all product safety directions carefully.

Once you have the antenna wire in place, your dog will wear a special collar that will pick up the signals from the wires you installed. It is the interaction of the antenna and the collar that acts like a fence. Without the special collar, the electronic fence is useless.

The collar has a receiver that is tuned to a special radio frequency to pick up the signals from your antenna wire. This is how the collar knows when your dog is near the boundary you have set.

The way the system trains your dog is that the collar sets off a harmless mild shock to the dog when it crosses the boundary made by the wires. The shock is similar to a static shock and will not hurt your dog. It is just an irritating signal to teach the dog to avoid the boundary.

It trains the dog to avoid the boundary by giving off a high-frequency beep to warn the dog before it delivers a shock. The dog will quickly learn to avoid any area that causes the beep to sound. Sound becomes the reminder and the dog avoids shocks altogether.

You can help your dog learn his boundaries by placing visual clues such as flags or a line of stones or other natural landmarks to help designate the boundary area. You dog will quickly learn to know and respect the boundaries you have set and eventually you will be able to do without the collar.

If you're not comfortable with the idea of delivering a mild shock to your dog, remember that other methods of containment like being chained up or stuck in small cage are more harmful and go on for a longer period of time than the relatively short period of time it takes to train a dog with an electric fence.

Don't forget that an electric fence is not a physical fence and it won't keep intruders or wandering dogs away and there may be provocations that will cause any dog to forget his training and react to circumstances.

An electric fence just might be the most humane and best choice for your situation.

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