For people who own a dog that likes to roam, an electric dog fence may seem like the perfect answer. No impact on the landscaping with an implied containment and a self monitoring system that “corrects” the dog if it attempts to leave the preset boundaries. Unfortunately, there are some serious problems associated with these fences.
Collar Wise Behavior
Dogs are fairly smart when it comes to collars. They learn fast that when a specific collar is on, they receive shocks and when it is off, they don’t. It takes a great deal of effort to avoid this phenomenon, and even so, many dogs will figure out when they have a dummy collar on. You can end up in a situation where your dog will bolt the second the collar is off, which kind of eliminates the point of the whole exercise.
Who is being protected?
Generally, the goal of getting an electric dog fence is to protect the dog from its own roaming. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always work well. If your dog is extremely excited by whatever distraction is about, it will dash across the fence line before it realizes what is happening. The small shock collars won’t be enough to stop it when worked up. Now you have a dog that is no longer agitated and is outside your property line and doesn’t want to come back because it will get shocked.
The other part of this equation is that you have a dog that may stay inside its fence, but that doesn’t prevent anyone else from entering the area. Kids may come on your property to harass your dog, people may want to try and steal him, and other dogs have no problem entering the space. The protection is very one sided.
A Correction System
As any good dog trainer will tell you, the invisible fence is a correction system. If the dog responds to the warning beep, they don’t get shocked. By complying with the initial correction, the dog avoids escalation. In every correction system, the dog’s compliance is the key factor. The dog chooses to comply with the correction. At any time that the dog is too distracted or simply accepts the correction as the price of doing what he wants, it won’t work.
Not a Substitute
An electric pet fence is not a substitute for spending time with your pets and training them properly. While it can be used to discourage roaming and other negative behaviors, it is the owner’s responsibility to provide stimulation, attention, and love. Neglected dogs are much more likely to roam than well bonded animals.
Combinations can be effective
Using an electric fence can be very effective when combined with a solid fence. The solid fence protects your dog from other dogs, animals, and people, while the electric fence discourages them from digging or testing the boundaries of the solid fence. If you have a dog that really needs to burn off energy outside, a good, enclosed dog run may be the best answer if you don’t have the time to exercise them daily.
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