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Invicible fence? Any good? (x-pens too...)


Crested

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Ben loves to escape and run away and dad doesn't like the idea of building fences around our house, so this "invicible fence" kind of popped to my head. Is it any good? How does it work? Does it keep the dog inside the "fence"?
I would really want to keep Ben loose, but he always runs away and doesn't listen to any commands. I've tried everything I can and now I just have to keep him 100% on leash 24/7 and I [size=6][b][i][u]REALLY[/u][/i][/b][/size] hate that. :evil:

Please help!

/Crest

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This is the page with the info on it... [url]http://www.petsafe.net/rf3004.htm[/url]
I'm just interested to know personal experiences on this. I mean... They are SELLING it, so offcourse they have to paint the perfect picture... So that's why I'm asking you guys here. :)

/Crest

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From what I've read, it can work for some, but some dogs run straight through it, and if they do, then that's it, they're gone. I personally wouldn't risk it, but there are lots of people I have seen online who do.
The one thing you have to remember is that although it might stop your dogs from getting out, it doesn't stop any other animals from getting in - and that could be a problem if they're not very friendly :(
I'd try and talk your dad into getting a real fence, they're worth it in the long run :wink:

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[quote name='LisaLQ']From what I've read, it can work for some, but some dogs run straight through it, and if they do, then that's it, they're gone. I personally wouldn't risk it, but there are lots of people I have seen online who do.
The one thing you have to remember is that although it might stop your dogs from getting out, it doesn't stop any other animals from getting in - and that could be a problem if they're not very friendly :(
I'd try and talk your dad into getting a real fence, they're worth it in the long run :wink:[/quote]

It's just that dad thinks it's 1. expensive adn 2. unneccessary to build a fence. He thinks it's ok to keep Ben on leash 24/7. :(

/Crest

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It might be worth trying, but even invisible fences can be expensive from what I've heard. I dont know how built up an area you are in, or how busy the traffic is around your home - do you live in the town or country?
If it doesn't work though, you run the risk of your dogs escaping.
And, even if it does work, a stray dog/fox/some other type of animal (or a dog thief!) can cross that fence, whereas with a normal fence you can lessen the risks of that.
And....(I wont say any more than this I promise) I think they are just electric shock collars (correct me if I'm wrong) that go off when your pet crosses the "fence", and I don't like them one bit - but that's just me :( :-?
Tell your dad that sometimes dogs cost money too :wink: :lol: (kidding)

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I have an invisible fence in my front yard, and my dog is one of those dogs that discovered that she could run through the system, suffer a little discomfort, and then be free. I followed all of the training techniques suggested, but she STILL ran through. The radio fence site also had some suggested "crash courses" for stubborn dogs on their site...I tried all of them, nothing worked, so I had to buy their $80 "stubborn dog" receiver. The first time my dog tried to run through with the new receiver on (which is 3 times stronger than a regular receiver - 9 volts) she SQUEALED, ran to the front door, and her whole body SHOOK for about 5 minutes. I felt so guilty that the stupid shock collar hurt my baby so bad that I almost disabled the system. But then I discovered that she was so "traumatized" by the experience that she goes to a certain point outside and stops - she is too afraid to test the boundaries again, and therefore, I don't have to worry about her getting shocked again.

Basically the point of this post is that the invisible fence system doesn't work for everyone. I don't consider my dog an especially "stubborn dog", and I think that the system is overrated because the training didn't really work (at least not for my dog) and it actually came to the point that the only way she wouldn't run through the system was by being put in physical pain. I'm not saying that it won't work for your dog - i'm sure it works for plenty of dogs, but I don't think that the company's success rate is nearly as high as they say. Also, you can't just leave your dog oustide with the invisible fence, you have to SUPERVISE the whole time. It was also a real pain to install, but if it works, the installation is worth it. The price isn't bad compared to a real fence (I think the pricing is on the site); however, I definitely recommend a real fence over an invisible fence.

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I have never been a fan of invisable fencing either. A real fence is a physical barrier for out side animals...
Here is a bad experience we saw with a dog on the invisable fencing...
have a Lab that comes into our shop for a bath every once in awhile and the owner called one day saying his dog smelled horrible...they brought the dog right in (us thinking it may have rolled in some thing horribe :roll: ) when it got to the shop the owner of the grooming facility took off its invisable fence collar...the prongs had burned through the dogs neck and the skin was rancid! it was horrible, she had the owner take the dog directly to a vet to have the dog examined and properly looked after! some owners leave the collars on just like a normal collar!
Oh yes, another story...the Vet clinic I had worked for had dogs which lived at the clinic (the vet had a big heart and took in alot of unwanted dogs & cats, she kept them as the"house dogs") the vet had them all trained on the invisable fencing...it worked well for the dogs that she had.. the only problem was for our clients who brought their dogs in...some times they would go out in the back yard of the vet clinic (the area the vet had for her "house dogs") and the clients would have their dogs do their duties out back before going into the clinic...you would'nt beleive the amount of people who did'nt take the shock collars off and their poor dogs were getting zapped...I guess the owners did not see the 6 large signs we had posted notifying people of the invisable fencing...and the vet left all the flags up to show the boundries. :o

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Since Ben is small, you have some better options. You can get some x-pens and use those as an outdoor play space, or there are kennel sections you can buy at hardware stores even some that you can put up when you aren't using them. Probably a good size x-pen or other brand pen would be the most economical and easy to use.

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I know that Ben is WAY smaller than my fence jumper, Maya. But... I was considering heightening the chain link fence, but instead I attach her to a very long cable (I think it might be 40 feet?) when she's outside with Jackie. She can still use almost the whole yard (which is pretty big), and she and Jackie can still play and wrestle and run. She's a happy camper out there, smiling and wagging her tail all the time. And at night I put a citronella bark collar on her too.

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[quote name='alicat613']Since Ben is small, you have some better options. You can get some x-pens and use those as an outdoor play space, or there are kennel sections you can buy at hardware stores even some that you can put up when you aren't using them. Probably a good size x-pen or other brand pen would be the most economical and easy to use.[/quote]

Umm... My dad talked about that too, but I don't like the idea of having Ben in a "cage" outside. Our [b][i][u]X[/u][/i][/b] neighbourg had that (and the thing was WAY too small) for his [b][i][u]x[/u][/i][/b] German Shepard (When they moved and the new house didn't allow dogs (or just that dog, because it had been very vicious to other dogs and people. He had f.e.x. killed one dog) they just put him to sleep! :evil:). The GS was suppoused to be in the cage 24/7 and he was let in only for the night (and sometimes not even then if the owners were partying around). Otherwise he was outside (no matter if it was summer or winter!!).
So I got REALLY annoyed with thoose "cages". The dog wasn't happy, the owner wasn't happy (the dog barked ALL THE TIME!!), the neighbourghood wasn't happy... So I see no good in them...

I'm GOING to have dad put up a real fence where a fence should be too with a gate on both sides (so Ben doesn't run to the side where the traffic is).

He's thinking of putting up somekind of chicken fence looking, green, iron fence... :o

Well... What do you think?

/Crest

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Oh I don't mean like a kennel run to leave him in! I have a 6 foot fence and I don't leave my dog out there.

I mean like a playpen sort, it's a foldable wire gate that you could put up and take down very easily, it folds open into a big square/rectangle whatever and then you guys can play in there and Ben won't run off.

You could do something with posts and chicken wire, but isn't your dad against having a fence? Also you have to go down pretty far with posts, and the chicken wire will need to be buried a bit or at least long at the bottom and curled in so it lies on the ground and pinned in, or else he could try to go under and hurt himself.

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The green chicken wire-like fencing that you're describing sounds like what I have in my backyard. Although my backyard is fenced in with solid 6ft fencing, I have one section of my yard closed off with this fencing for Roxie (because I have an inground pool that I don't want her to fall into and also, dog poop scattered around the backyard isn't pleasant...) Anyways, just to give you a heads up if you decide to use that fencing - it helps to attach 2x4's to the bottom of the fencing to prevent the dog from escaping and slipping under (and he WILL try to go under and most likely succeed!) I think what my dad did was just bury a couple inches of the fencing, then he stapled the wood onto the bottom. Also, burying the poles for this fencing isn't nearly as difficult as it is for chain link - you just kinda push them in about a foot or so. Hope this helps :)

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What Alicat recommended was an x-pen....short for exercise pen. go to this page and click on any of the pics. They'll enlarge so you can see what they look like. [url]http://www.petedge.com/jump.jsp?itemType=INDEX&itemID=509[/url]

An x-pen is like a temporary small fenced area. They fold up for storage and, aside from the weight, are quite easy to move around. Ben is very small so this may work. If you like the idea but still find it too small, you can buy two x-pens and join them together.

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Oh, I've talked to my dad and he's NOT going to budge!! He's SO stubborn!! (ok, I guess that tells me where I got it from...)
It's just that it's a "lethal" combination when two equally stubborn people start fighting eachother... :roll:
What about thoose x pens (I guess I [b]HAVE[/b] to start looking at alternatives... :motz:)... How big can you make them (in cm's, please...)? How do you attatch them to the ground? I mean... If Ben puts his paws up against one of the "walls" does it just lift up or does the construction just... brake? They would be pretty cool when we're going on our little summer cabin this summer and (well it's not ours, it's dad's workplaces little thingy that the employees that own a fraction of it can use sometimes) the place isn't fenced and it's pretty dangerous for a little dog (many rocks, high grass with snakes (I'm [b]100%[/b] sure there are snakes, because it's a heaven for them, even if I haven't ever seen one), very deep water etc, etc), so a pin that you can take with you would be a pretty good idea, but... I just want it to be the kind of place that Ben actually can run and play in (with me offcourse) and that doesn't get demolished everytime he runs against the walls (he has a pretty high power when he sees a rabbit or a cat jumping and walking, so I don't think every material could stand for that much punishment).

Oh, and then the little problem... It has to be affortable...

Is there any other alternative for x-pens?

/Crest

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[quote name='Crested']What about thoose x pens (I guess I [b]HAVE[/b] to start looking at alternatives... :motz:)... How big can you make them (in cm's, please...)? How do you attatch them to the ground? I mean... If Ben puts his paws up against one of the "walls" does it just lift up or does the construction just... brake?
/Crest[/quote]

Go to the website in the post I made above and you can click on different sizes and styles of xpens. They'll give the dimensions in inches but, just multiply the inches by 2.45 to get centimeters. The photos will help you understand how they work. You don't have to "stake" xpens, they just sit on the ground.

Some of my friends with multiple Dobermans use xpens instead of crates at agility trials. More cost effective if you've got multiple dogs. The Dobes can jump up on the side of the xpen and won't knock it down so, you don't have to worry about Ben knocking one down.

Another thing you could consider getting so that Ben can get some running in is a very long flexi. My flexi's are 26 feet long. That's not much for a Dobe but, I'd think it would give Ben a bit of a run.

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[quote name='Nancy B']Another thing you could consider getting so that Ben can get some running in is a very long flexi. My flexi's are 26 feet long. That's not much for a Dobe but, I'd think it would give Ben a bit of a run.[/quote]

I have a 3 meter long flexi that I use. I stopped using it for a while, but when I started to get wrist pains (the very well known "mouse wrist" :roll:) I started using the flex again (takes it easier on the wrist).

Are the mesurements by 1 "wall" or the whole thing? They seem pretty small to me... Can a dog actually RUN in one?

/Crest

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[quote name='Crested'][quote name='Nancy B']Another thing you could consider getting so that Ben can get some running in is a very long flexi. My flexi's are 26 feet long. That's not much for a Dobe but, I'd think it would give Ben a bit of a run.[/quote]

I have a 3 meter long flexi that I use. I stopped using it for a while, but when I started to get wrist pains (the very well known "mouse wrist" :roll:) I started using the flex again (takes it easier on the wrist).

Are the mesurements by 1 "wall" or the whole thing? They seem pretty small to me... Can a dog actually RUN in one?

/Crest[/quote]

Xpens really aren't made for a dog to run in, they're a temporary "pen" to hold dogs. The only reason I recommended one is because something like that would allow Ben a little freedom in an unfenced yard.

If you look at the write up for the first xpen on that page it says that it has an area of 8 square feet. (Each xpen is made up of a number of "walls"...that's how they fold up. Each wall is 2 feet wide by whatever height you order.) You can think of that as an area two feet wide by 4 feet long. (Or 60.96cm by 121.92 cm.) It's not that big. You don't have to set them up that way, you can put them in a sorta circle or whatever shape you want to. You can also buy two xpens and join them together....that would double the area you have and give Ben more room. Hey, if you wanted to you could buy even more xpens and join them together!

If that isn't sufficient room for Ben to run you're just gonna have to stick with the flexi. You may want to buy a longer flexi. I don't feel like doing the conversion right now but I know that the 26 foot flexis I have are more than double the length of your 3 meter one.

Oh yeah, I made a typo on the conversion...it's 2.54 not 2.45!

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Perhaps your dad would let you and help you put up a smaller fenced area instead of fencing the entire yard. Do you have any idea if stores, probably hardware stores, carry the pvc lattice panels in your area? Here I can get either 2x8 feet or 4x8 feet pieces. The 2x8 ft pieces run between $7 to $8 US dollars each here. It would be fairly simple to purchase say, 8 pieces of 2x8 plastic/pvc lattice, set them up so that Ben has an area 8 ft wide and 24 ft long to exercise in. Simply put one 2x8 panel at each end and 3 along each side. You can always add more panels to increase the width or length of this run. Something you can step over or simply put Ben in. If Ben likes to chase the ball, he could get a good exercise session with you tossing the ball for him. You would need to drive at least lightweight stakes into the ground and lash or tie the pvc panels to the stakes. You can then secure the ends of each and the corners to each other with cable ties or even light nylon rope. Now I would not suggest this for unsupervised use as Ben might get bored and dig his way out. I'm also assuming Ben does not jump over things easily. Not a very portable solution unless there's room for them in the car. The length being the trickiest part in transport.
I am probably the PVC queen of the neighborhood, I have found SO many uses for the lattice panels, fence off parts of the yards, surround my peony plant so it did not get trampled, I also have made many agility obstacles using pvc pipe and bits of lattice.

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