# Invisible fence



## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

Our previous 2 V's were allowed to go out alone, unfenced, and it worked. They weren't a problem for anybody - didn't poop in yards or chase cats or steal garbage. They liked it - they could make their rounds and check things out. The neighbors knew they were OK and enjoyed saying hello. They had friends they could go see. All very Norman Rockwell-ish.

Now it's not so good. The neighbor 2 houses away has chickens that she lets out; a neighbor across the street has children that are afraid of dogs; Charlie is a garbage hound. And people are just less flexible.

I wanted to do an invisible fence, but the distance and the terrain that I'd have to cover to give them a reasonable space just seemed to rule it out. Then I discovered that an invisible fence doesn't have to be buried! Burying it is to keep from tripping over it or catching it with the lawn mower. So, that's what I'm going to do, I think.

First, I need to know if I'm missing something. Has anybody done an above-ground invisible fence and had unforeseen problems?

Also, I was going to use a PetSafe fence from FlexPetz. Anybody have experience with either of them?

Thanks,
Bob


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Its been years since I've had one, and would think they have improved.
The one I had didn't have a battery backup, and the dog knew if the electricity went out the party was on. 
Mine was underground, and my yard was even fenced but the bloodhound would be gone if the system went down for a hour. He wasn't running away, he was just a slave to his nose.


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

Red - thanks. The only risk of a fence failure is Charlie being a nuisance to a neighbor. They've shown no inclination to run off.

I'm going to order the PetSafe. Charlie really likes being out in the yard, but I can't watch him all the time.

Bob


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## Bob Engelhardt (Feb 14, 2012)

The fence is installed and working. It has a really nice feature that I didn't quite appreciate. I has directionality so that it knows which is the inside and which is the outside. It beeps the dog when the dog reaches the boundary, but doesn't "correct" until the dog goes outside and then it doesn't stop correcting until the dog goes back inside! (For a maximum of 15 seconds.) Unlike the traditional fence which is simply works on proximity - within a certain distance the dog is corrected. Beyond that (inside or outside), it stops.

It turns out that Charlie had been trained for an invisible fence by his first owners. He knows all about it and respects the beep wholeheartedly. Better that that, actually - he respects the boundary flags. I.e., he doesn't cross the boundary even when he's not wearing the collar.

Which means that all I really needed was the flags! I spent $560 for the transmitter, 1100 feet of wire, 2 collars, etc, when for $16 I could have bought 100 flags and have had a much easier installation. Ah, well, I'm just glad that we can let them out into the yard with the confidence that they won't wander.

Bob


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## fullmanfamily (Oct 17, 2014)

We installed an invisible fence about a month ago and it's been really great so far. We're in the last stages of our training, but did go through what sounds like you are at first. She would get a beeping noise that would get gradually louder as she got closer to the flags. If she crossed the flag line, she'd get a training buzz. Now she is getting a full strength buzz and we've dropped the long lead and are pretty much allowing her to run freely in the perimeter of the yard. She hates getting buzzed and hasn't crossed the line in two weeks. We've been testing her with neighbors, birds, dogs, etc. and she still won't test the perimeter. So far so good and it's great because she can run around and burn energy in a safe manner.


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