Invisible Fences--An Unnecessary Evil

So—you’ve got your house, now you’ve gotten a dog, and being a responsible dog owner, you are researching your options for fencing, including invisible fencing. For those of you new to the concept, invisible fencing involves having a wire buried in your yard wherever a traditional fence would be desired. The dog wears a special collar that has a transmitter which, if the dog gets too close to, or crosses, the underground wire, sends what one source calls "a simple static electricity correction to the underside of your pet’s neck" which discourages the dog from ever doing that again.

A simple static electricity correction. What that phrase really means is that every time your dog gets too close to the invisible fence, he or she is electrically shocked on the neck. I think that the increasing prevalence of the use of invisible fences can be directly linked to the euphemistic terms used to describe how the things actually work! People are agreeing to shock their dogs, to cause them physical pain, in order to get them to comply.

Enthusiastic supporters will dispute that the shock is painful to the dogs, describing it as similar to the shock you’d get when you used scuff your fuzzy slippers along the carpet and zap an unsuspecting sibling on the arm when you were a child. There have been plenty of reports, however, of people putting testing the collars on themselves (some have tried them around their own necks, some have tried them around legs or arms) and finding that those shocks hurt, even to the point of causing nausea or limping for several hours after receiving the shock.

Some enthusiasts like to point out that even if it is somewhat painful for the dogs, isn’t it worth it to save your dog from being hit from a car? It is absolutely worth it to keep your dog from running out of the yard and being struck by a car—it’d be worth it to keep your young child from running out of the yard and being struck by a car, too, but I don’t see many people strapping a collar around their toddlers’ necks. If it is considered too inhumane for use on a child, why would it be considered humane for a pet, who, for many, is just as much a beloved member of the family?

Many people who feel that administering shock treatment to manage their pet’s behavior is an acceptable method of dog training install invisible fences because their yards are oddly shaped, making them difficult to fence with traditional fencing, or because their neighborhoods do not allow fences, or even because erecting a traditional fence would not create an aesthetically pleasing effect for their home. These are questions to think about before ever purchasing a dog as a pet, or when you are purchasing a home, if you already own a dog. Decide what your priorities are before making those decisions: a pretty yard, or a happy and healthy pet? The two do not necessarily have to be mutually exclusive, but those decisions should be made without penalizing the dog in question.

Some dog owners install invisible fences because they worry that their dog is unfriendly, perhaps even dangerous, to other animals or children in their neighborhood. Unlike a traditional fence, invisible fences can only keep the collared dog in; they cannot keep other animals, or children, from wandering into your yard, leaving open the possibility for injuries to other animals or children from your dog.

There’s no denying that having a fenced area in which your dog can have the freedom to run (and you can just let them out and leave them for a little while on their own) is an ideal situation, but having an invisible fence does not mean that you can just leave the dog unattended for long periods of time (even the companies that install invisible fences would advise against doing so). Traditional fence or invisible fence, you still need to supervise the dog’s behavior. There is no type of fence in the world that is a substitute for your presence when your dog is outside.

Some owners insist that invisible fences are a fast, effective way to train their dogs to respect the property boundaries they establish for their dogs, but most of the invisible fence systems still require a training period, ranging, for some, from three days all the way up to a month in duration. This process may involve marking the boundary physically with flags, and using clicker devices to make audible sounds when the dog approaches the bouncary. If one is going to do all that training anyway, why is it necessary to add the element of physical pain? Wouldn’t any intensive period of effective training accomplish the same results?

There is also the possibility that for some particular breeds or dispositions of dogs, invisible fences are still not an effective means of restraint. Some dogs are deemed "too smart" for invisible fences (Beagles); others are deemed "pain tolerant" (Golden Retrievers or Labrador Retrievers). These breeds have a reputation for simply deciding to "take the hit" and charge through the fence anyway. Other breeds that have thick coats (Huskies, for example) must have a patch of their neck fur shaved regularly, to allow for enough contact between the receiver and the dog’s skin.

When considering all of the possible negatives, is it really worth it to install one of these systems? We didn’t think that it was, and we never regretted the decision for a moment. We had a large, energetic German Shepherd. She was extraordinarily friendly with people of all ages, including children, but, being a very territorial breed, turned into Cujo any time she was around any other animals. At our first home, where we lived when we brought her home as a puppy, we built a six-foot tall stockade fence. Was it an eyesore? Perhaps. Was it money that we would rather have spent on something else? Certainly. But we had made the commitment to have this type of dog and all of the other commitments that dog ownership would entail, including fencing her in.

When she was five years old, however, we moved to a different house. The back yard was truly oddly-shaped, making a traditional fence impossible to install, not to mention the fact that the homeowners’ association had a strict ban on fences. The house came with an invisible fence system already wired and ready to go—all we had to do was put on the collar and undergo the training. But having done our research, we made the decision to skip the collar, but undergo intensive training for her. Two months after moving in, we thought we were doing pretty well, but then, during a family party, someone accidentally let her out without our knowledge and she almost attacked our neighbor’s two little terriers.

We still did not put on the collar. We redoubled our training efforts, and decided that when she was outside, one of us was as well. We took walks with her, we played with her, we got fresh air and exercise on a regular basis and enjoyed the time we spent with her as a guaranteed stress-buster. She lived for another five years after we moved, and that first incident was the only problem we ever had with not having a fence. Sure, it was inconvenient. Sure, some days it rained, or the temperature was below zero. Sure, sometimes it meant standing on the back step in my pajamas. But that’s what we committed to when we decided to bring a dog into our lives as a member of our family. So when I hear people rave about how wonderful their invisible fence systems are, I have to wonder—for whom was the fence installed: for the owner or for the dog?