Invisible dog fences or similar? HELP

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showjump

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We have a 8 acre field, with a sheep netting fence. However our two vizzys take great pleasure in finding an escape route, and going off on there jollies!

Last night they went missing, and after three hours and very kind family and friends helping us search we found them at 11.30pm!

I have been looking on the net at these radio collars etc, can anyone give me any advise or recommend them or another product?

Help much appreciated!
 
I have a dogfence system and highly recommend it.....HOWEVER, I would never put one of the collars on a vizz and never will do, sorry! It works great for the other dogs but IMO vizzies are way too sensitive.
 
A friend of mine has the electric collars on her GSDs. Yes it works (although you have to train the dogs to understand it) but one day one of the collars failed and one of the dogs got out onto a country road and was hit by a car and killed. They still use it, but I could never trust it.....
 
Thanks for the replies, yes im really not keep on them at all. However the other alternative is to re fence the field, costly but also the field on one side has badger sets/rabbit holes etc,so not sure how secure a fence would ever be really?

The fence is pretty secure now, however every time they escape from a different place, we alter fence in that area, then they find another gap, dig a hole, or find a low spot to leap over!

Any other suggestion? Sorry to sound thick but do the collars shock them much? I think the younger viz would be scared to death, so really don't fancy the sound of them.
 
I know of great success with these collars although I don't know if I would be happy with one on a dog as sensitive as a viz, I know one of my lurchers wouldn't cope with one and would probably hurt herself in a panic to get away from the discomfort, whereas another of my girls reacted very well to a remote collar when we used it, even though she's very sensitive to being shouted at (she's the type of dog who cowers when I tell her to sit down and wait for her food, even though nobody has ever lifted a hand to her! :rolleyes: ) she's a much sturdier little dog than she lets on!

You know your individual dog, but I would never use or recommend one of these without being combined with a half decent fence - even if just for the visual boundary aid and a little back up should the collar fail.

The main point is to not buy a cheap on off ebay or the likes, they're more likely to fail (either stop working completely or as I witnessed (not on a dog) a cheap bark collar which shocked every time we opened the door of the room it was sitting on a table in). Pet Safe who make the more expensive ones offer a good repair surface and warranty, and are good to deal with.
 
The shock isn't painful, its uncomfortable and is more a shock that makes the dog stop and think than a pain that knocks them back. I've held a remote trainer collar to my arm and taken the shock no problem on level 6, after that it would be painful on bare skin. Very few dogs need to go higher than level 5ish.
 
They used to have one where I worked, for a lurcher and a terrier. It worked well until the gardener mowed through it!
And it emitted a beep from the collar prior to zapping them which the terrier quickly learnt wore out his battery so he would sit close enough it beeped but didn't zap until the battery was flat, then trotted over it! (this implies a lot of intelligence on the dogs part, it could have just been he knew how close he could get without being zapped regardless of the beep, then realised when the beep stopped the fence wasn't working)

The zap wasn't very strong, curiosity got the better of me I admit. But you could adjust the level of the zap and also have it so it just beeped. It was good but I would say, for various reasons, it failed once monthly. (power cuts to main box, flat collar battery, wire cut through, lost collar, wet collar (submerged in pond, or just some idiot turning the box off) :D
 
Thanks for the info guys, more food for thought so to speak. I think i would still worry it may fail, as its not 100% fool proof. It only takes that one time for them to get out. Not sure either would be happy with getting a zap, and i worry i may make them nervous, and not enjoy being outside? Maybe im just being soft though!
 
My friends was installed by a professional and was not cheap! But like all technology.... It can fail
 
showjump said:
Thanks for the info guys, more food for thought so to speak. I think i would still worry it may fail, as its not 100% fool proof. It only takes that one time for them to get out. Not sure either would be happy with getting a zap, and i worry i may make them nervous, and not enjoy being outside? Maybe im just being soft though!
Click to expand...

You arent being soft, they are vizslas and yes I believe it would adversely affect a vizsla, like I said, my other dogs, no problem, vizslas, I wouldnt even put a collar on them and try it.
 
Thanks Vizslak, had a chat with my OH and we will just re fence the fields in stock netting, that *should* do the trick! Good job we adore them so much, but just don't ever want to have another night like last night, was awful.
 
Mum used to have one for the dogs - but then had to have one for the cats and the two weren't compatible so the dog one was disconnected.

When it was used it was great and the dogs learned very quickly from the audible warning and the occasional zap (like a static shock) not to cross the invisible line. We found it better to have the line set well back from the boundary so that if one of them did go through it they were still inside a safe zone and not out of our property and loose on the road. We did also reinforce the actual property fencing just in case.

I also have a cat one and it is excellent - I just have to keep an eye on the batteries and then I have 99% peace of mind. However, one cat who was relatively timid but did have great wunderlust found a way out over the oil tank, and though he was safe for several years eventually a car did get him, but before him I'd lost 7 cats in 7 years so us the electronic fence is really invaluable.

The chap we use is:

http://www.petfenceltd.co.uk/

Edited as forgot to say, with my terrier who is very strong willed with zero recall I've been using an electronic collar which I control from a handset. I don't zap him - haven't needed to - but just bleep him when he gets too far ahead or his concentration wanders, or his chicken fancying gets out of control. I put a cat fence collar on him at home as he can clear the gate in one leap, and since he has learned that one bleep means come back to me and get a treat, he now respects the fence. It could be a way of training a more sensitive dog to respect the bleep of the fence and stay back, and not subjecting them to the zap? Just a thought.
 
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