Electric fencing for dogs

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BBP

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Does your dog respect electric fencing? I was hoping to get a fencing contractor out this spring to stock fence one of my fields so I could use it as a dog field for my collie when the horses aren’t in it. It’s already stock fenced on two ends. Obviously not an essential job now. So I’m wondering if I ran a few low lines of electric tape along the other two sides of it might keep him in so he could have some off lead time whilst walks are reduced and I could combine with my essential trips to the yard. He is usually on a long line or goes to a dog field as his recall isn’t foolproof and he doesn’t mix well with horses. There is hedge around both sides so he wouldn’t jump tape, just trying to stop him going through the thin bits at base of hedge and disappearing off. He’s a real princess about things that hurt, he had his jab the other day and cried and hid behind me looking wounded for ages, so I’m hoping if he knew what electric fence did it might work to keep him away.
 
Mine screams when she accidentally touches it but keeps running forward in a panic so I’m not sure it would be safe enough. An interesting fact is that dogs think the current goes up so they are very unlikely to try and jump it.
 
BBP said:
Does your dog respect electric fencing? I was hoping to get a fencing contractor out this spring to stock fence one of my fields so I could use it as a dog field for my collie when the horses aren’t in it. It’s already stock fenced on two ends. Obviously not an essential job now. So I’m wondering if I ran a few low lines of electric tape along the other two sides of it might keep him in so he could have some off lead time whilst walks are reduced and I could combine with my essential trips to the yard. He is usually on a long line or goes to a dog field as his recall isn’t foolproof and he doesn’t mix well with horses. There is hedge around both sides so he wouldn’t jump tape, just trying to stop him going through the thin bits at base of hedge and disappearing off. He’s a real princess about things that hurt, he had his jab the other day and cried and hid behind me looking wounded for ages, so I’m hoping if he knew what electric fence did it might work to keep him away.
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Is it your intention to make him more neurotic?
 
The only time a dog I was looking after touched a live electric fence, he just ran blindly through, crossed a stream in spate and was thankfully found safe running along a main road five hours later. And that was a fairly laid back dog. You would be better off buying some cheap plastic mesh you can hang from electric fencing posts. Like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173824311561 but try and find a slightly better quality one as the wind will break the flimsy ones.
 
Could you tape it without the use of electric? The visual boundary might be enough of a deterrent? You could keep him in his long line for the “just in case ” scenarios.
 
Mine has accidentally stood on/touched one a couple of times where we walk, jumped, and then got on with his business, but he's a plonker.

It can make dogs run blindly as mentioned and it can also make them superstitious/they can generalise...they don't automatically associate electrical stimulation = don't cross this boundary - in their head it could be...hedges are buzzy...grass buzzes...fences buzz. Or in cases that I've known of personally, wheelie bins or wellie boots, as that's what the dogs were looking at, at the time, and that's what they made the link to, and never went near those things again.
 
Hmm sounds like it’s not a goer then, I wasn’t sure if like horses they would sense it with their whiskers and steer clear, especially with hedge behind rather than open space to run into. Definitely don’t want to make him more neurotic! Thanks for the feedback. Looks like it’s staying on the long line for now til it eventually gets fenced properly.
 
We have electrified sheep netting to keep ours where we want them to be, occasionally they touch it and scream (i think it's more shock than pain) but in the main they respect it. Lines of tape didn't work, they just ducked under it.

We have seen them warn visiting dogs to avoid it.
 
BBP said:
Hmm sounds like it’s not a goer then, I wasn’t sure if like horses they would sense it with their whiskers and steer clear, especially with hedge behind rather than open space to run into. Definitely don’t want to make him more neurotic! Thanks for the feedback. Looks like it’s staying on the long line for now til it eventually gets fenced properly.
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They absolutely can sense electrical pulse/stimulation but the problem is that they're usually on top of it before they realise.
 
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