Electric Dog Fences

Bringing up pets is indeed a tough task, restricting them inside your yard, tougher. You cannot simply erect a fence and ask your dog to stay inside. Dogs are bound to run wild and explore the world outside, leaving you to deal with the annoyed neighbors and unhappy associations. Containing a dog inside your yard becomes a problem if you have particularly strict neighborhood laws which restrict you from erecting a conventional fence. But the electric fence system can relieve you of this stressful situation.

What is an Electric Dog Fence?
Electric dog fence is an assembly of three components - transmitter, underground wiring and receiver. You can seek professional help to install it or you can do it yourself at home. All you need to do is, plug the transmitter into a regular electric socket in dry area. These days transmitters working on solar energy are also available. The wire is an ordinary insulated wire that is to be fixed across the perimeter of your yard. The wire should be preferably buried at 1 to 3 inches inside the ground. Though an open wire causes no harm, there are chances of people tripping over it or lawn mower cutting it. Since, the wire is buried, electric fence system is also called as 'underground' or invisible fence system. And as there is no visible clutter of wires across the fence, the aesthetic of the fence is not hampered, leaving the association no reason to complain. The last component- receiver, is attached to the collar of the dog.

How Does Invisible Fencing Work?
The transmitter emits a radio signal in the form of a sine wave. This signal is carried through the underground wire. The signal is usually low powered, therefore the effectiveness of the system is for a short range. When the dog nears a fence, the receiver attached to the collar starts beeping, giving the dog a warning to retreat. The system uses three 'correction' mechanisms. Warning, warning and correction and correction only. Beeping is the warning for the dog to retreat, if the dog still attempts to cross the fence, a mild static shock will be generated. Some systems also come with cintronella sprays, a pungent chemical substance, which dogs find offensive. Neither of the correction mechanisms can be harmful to your dog.

Flaws of Electric Fencing
Training is the only way to make electric fence work for your dog. You will have to make it very clear to your pet that, it should always retreat when there is beeping, and that crossing the fence is bad. Initially the dog is likely to cross the fence even after the warning, but the correction mechanisms may prevent him from doing so in future. Also, the system may not work for some strong and sturdy dogs who are just determined to go out. The biggest flaw in the system is that it only works one-way. Although, you can safely contain your pet within the confinements of your yard, you cannot keep away other intruders from entering your yard. This might be a problem if you have a female dog or if your neighborhood dogs have a tendency to pick up fights with your dog.

Electric dog fence safely keeps your pet within the boundary of your yard. Electric dog fence can be a huge success, if the entire neighborhood decides to install it. That would mean no strangers in your yard, no running around your own dog and perfectly happy neighborhood associations.