Ask Spike Online

Relatively near our office in metro Atlanta, there is a fence company that does not actually build a fences.  They install Invisible Fence.  Are you skeptical too?  At first, I thought that Mom was playing a joke on me, because even I know that you should not buy a fence you cannot see.  I told her that I thought it was fake.  After all, what good is a “fence” going to do if there is nothing to stop me from running in places I am not wanted.  She explained that they install stuff  and attach something to a dog’s collar that keeps them from going outside the yard.  I still had my doubts, so I asked Mom if she would ask them a few questions for me.  I doubt that they know how smart I am, and there is no way they have someone in their offices that speaks dog as well as Mom does.

Since this was my first encounter with an “Invisible Fence,” my initial questions were pretty basic informational ones.  I found out that an invisible fence is actually a system where a wire outlines the areas that are meant to contain a dog, and that wire sends a radio frequency to a receiver on the dog’s collar.  That collar can emit a beep, vibration, or static pulse (similar to touching a doorknob after walking across carpet) when it receives the radio signal that the collar, and the dog it is attached to, come too close to the pre-determined boundary.  They use a “patented, vet & behaviorist approved training program” during and after the installation to teach pets to stay within the prescribed boundaries.

Since there are different correction methods, I was curious to know how it is determined which to use.  The fence company has animal trainers that come to train the pets about the boundaries set for them in the yard.  Apparently, this even works for cats or indoors.  The trainers that follow the installation team set an appropriate correction level, depending on the pet, often starting with a beep, working up to the static correction, if necessary.

Since I am such a smart dog, I figured out that once a dog got past the wire, the collar would just stop its beep, vibration, or static correction.  They must have thought about that too, because the correction is sustained for several seconds upon breaking the plane of the boundary, but it does not continue indefinitely.  Maybe they do speak dog after all, because I am sure a human did not figure that out.  They probably have a resident dog on staff to help them figure things like this out.

There is an animal trainer involved shortly after installation to work with the dog, as well as the family, to define the boundary and how to use their tools for containment.  Teaching the family and the pet is the most important part of safe containment, so the office has at least one full-time trainer on staff to make sure that everyone understands how to use the system, pets included.  Mom said they would not provide me with a wiring diagram or full details on how to dismantle the system, so my four-legged readers will have to try getting their parents to get that for them.  I think she may have some plans for Tax, Molly, and I and this “fence” thing.

I wanted to see if I could fool the system by running really fast past the boundary, but the receiver continues correcting for a number of seconds outside of the boundary, making the “break-out dash” completely useless.  The training program for the pets teaches them to return to home upon triggering the correction method.

They were really friendly to Mom and even talked to me for a few minutes.  They said that Web-savvy pups can find out more information at their website, but they assured Mom that the shut-off switch information was not included.

After discussing it with Mom, we agreed that we could recommend it for dogs that are generally well-behaved, especially if signage is utilized to inform passersby of the containment system.  However, if your dog is fearful or shows any signs of aggression, a more traditional fence will probably be a better option.