Electronic, invisible, underground, shock systems, pet containment systems – so many
names and all can be quite frustrating from a positive trainer's viewpoint! I don't like any
of the existing electronic fence companies because they generally do an inadequate job of
ensuring the dog understands the tone, and therefore they introduce the shock too soon
with too high intensity. Too many of the electronic fence trainers believe that discipline
or consequence needs to come in packages of high intensity shocks, which is simply
inhumane! Too many dogs end up too fearful to go outdoors then, with an array of fear
issues that develop. Still, though, we need a way to contain a dog when we live in a
fenceless community.
As a dog trainer who embraces true positive methodology, using a device on a dog that
issues a painful shock is completely against my belief of respecting all creatures. After
all, the dog didn’t ask to live with us in a fenceless community! WE made that choice, and
so WE rationalize an electronic fence is a necessity to keep the dog from harm! We foist
our living conditions on a creature who wasn’t asked to weigh in on their options!
However, I also think that trainers who tell you it is better to tether a dog are looking it
at only from their point-of-view. Tethers are definitely better than giving a dog a high-
intensity shock, but tethering is not much of an option if the dog could give an opinion.
Additionally, tethering can also result in forms of barrier frustration, which can also lead
to aggression. Tethering is not always the correct option for all dogs.
Additionally, dog trainers who tell people to move from a fenceless community to a home
with a physical fence are simply contributing non-solutions. Fenceless home communities
are becoming the standard – unfortunately.
So what are dog owners to do? As a start, TRAIN your dog to come when called, to wait
at doorways before bolting outdoors, and to respond to an emergency stop. Whether you
have a physical fence or an electronic fence, your dog needs these skills.
WALK your dog or hire a dog walker to help with vital exercise. Sometimes, however, our
own physical limitations can hinder sufficient walks. Try, though, to do the best that you
can manage.
Be sure you also have an array of interactive dog toys to help stimulate your dog's need to
develop their problem-solving skills. You can find excellent interactive toys at:
www.petexpertise.com/noirewolf
www.clickertraining.com/store/?item=trpetobroutt
www.sitstay.com
As far as electronic fence companies, I have none to recommend at this time. I have
worked with ALL of the known brands, and have even trained for one of them. I know
these systems quite well, and there are differences beyond the pricing. It is a common
misconception that all of the fence systems are equal except for the pricing. Price is an
obvious contributor to your purchase decision. However, the following should be the
bigger part of those contributors:
 | | If the fence company simply quotes over the phone, beware. Your property is | | | different from your neighbor’s property, and the installation should be customized
to YOUR needs not just to some square footage template pricing.
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| | Is the installer also the trainer? It takes a different set of skills to operate a | | | cutting machine and laying in some wire than it does to understand the temperament
and needs of YOUR dog. Who is the trainer? What is his/her background? Dog
Trainer? Dog Behaviorist? Where schooled? What methodology do they teach in
their day-to-day dog training? You’re looking for true positive methodology here,
not someone who believes that inflicting fear, force or pain (they label it discipline)
is the first choice of training then followed by a cookie! That's an
aggressive/passive approach and is confusing to your dog. You’re looking for
someone who has been schooled in dog behavior so they know if something they are
doing is stressing your dog! They need to know when they are pushing your dog into a
situation where you dog may not recover, and then your dog will start urinating and
defecating in your home! Having a dog doesn't make one a dog behaviorist! Ask the
qualifications of the trainer, and if the only behavior study they have is from the
electronic fence company, keep shopping.
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| | What precisely do they do when teaching your dog how to respond to the tone on the | | | collar? If they put the collar on the dog so that the first time the dog hears the
tone is on their neck, tell them no thanks. 80% of the dogs I’ve worked with to try
to “fix” their fear of the electronic fence had problems that started when they
first heard the tone! One dog was so fearful that he broke away from the trainer,
ran inside and hid in the bathroom for the next several hours! And that trainer
never even realized there was a problem because he knew nothing of dog behavior!
And that dog was NEVER able to get over his fear of the fence, the fence company
claimed that they had done their job keeping the dog contained and would not issue a
refund! They were right – they were keeping the dog in the yard … heck, they were
keeping the dog in the house from the amount of fear they caused in the dog! I’ve
met with many people who decided to stop using the fence because the dog became
so fearful of the tone that they never even got to the shock training step. What a
horrible lifetime experience for the dog and a waste of your money!
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| | Fence companies will crow about their years of experience and how the dog will | | | “eventually” figure it out no matter what happens. If you hear someone from the
fence company use the word “eventually” escort them to your door. No dog should
have to be exposed to fear in the hopes that “eventually” he or she will figure it out.
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| | Speaking of experience - ask for references of that particular fence company and | | | call the references. You want to know what the installation and training was really
like -- keeping in mind, of course, that the reference is likely to be someone who is
predictably happy with the company. Check, too, with the BBB to see if there are
any complaints and how/if they were resolved. References are better, though,
because every one of the people I've worked with never thought to complain to the
BBB about how fearful their dog became after the installation. The electronic
fence companies tell people that it's only their dog with the problem, and that every
other customer has been completely satisfied. Not true. These electronic systems
have been banned in other parts of the world for a reason.
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| | Training should be done systematically. First, the proper tone training steps (tone | | | introduced OFF the dog) and the shock should not be introduced until the dog has
learned how to properly retreat to a safe zone when hearing the tone. A calendar
date should not drive the time that it’s okay to introduce the shock training. Your
dog’s learning should determine that date!
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| | What goals do they expect you to achieve before moving from the tone training to | | | the shock training?
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| | How many training sessions are included in the package? I recommend two at a | | | minimum, and preferably three.
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| | YOU should know what your dog feels when getting the shock. Tell them when you | | | schedule the in-home sales presentation that you want to feel what the collar
intensity is like. Ask the fence company to bring an activated collar with them to
the sales presentation. They should be able to do that with an indoor system. (If
they don’t carry an indoor system, take them off your list of potential suppliers.)
Have them set the collar at the LOWEST level of shock they have and then hold it
in your hand while you run it through the transmitter. Setting the collars to the
lowest level is the only way you can conduct an accurate apples-to-apples
comparison. Every manufacturer generally has a different lowest level they like to
start with and you want to pick the company that actually uses the lowest level. The
lowest level is what you want your dog to feel when they start the shock training.
Don’t buy into a company telling you that your dog is very tough and needs to start at
a higher level. Remember, you can always increase the level, but once introduced
too high you cannot lower the level because the dog can’t understand the concept
that the collar can be set lower once they've experienced the fear and pain. In dog
pack mentality, it is bad to show pain or weakness. Your dog might be experiencing
severe pain from the shock and not showing it. And so you or the trainer might be
tempted to increase the shock intensity, making the entire situation go from bad to
really bad. I’ve seen it happen too many times! It is best if you start low and then
work up to the level the dog requires to stay in your yard. You don’t want your dog
to be fearful of the system, you want your dog to RESPECT the system because
respect is more reliable than fear. I have found, when setting the shock at the
lowest intensity to start (1%), that the dog requires about half the intensity to stay
in your yard. Program the shock at the lowest level and then s-l-o-w-l-y increase it
over several training sessions (sessions that you conduct, you shouldn't need the
fence company to come out for this). For your in-home demo test, you can either
hold the collar in your hand or on your thigh. The fence rep won't want you to hold
the collar in your hand because they'll say that's not what the dog feels. Too bad --
for the purpose of this apples-to-apples comparison you want to feel each collar in
the same way. However, if you prefer, you can wear jeans and hold the collar to
your thigh to feel the shock, which is generally what a fence rep will recommend.
Whatever you do, be consistent through all three sales calls so you can compare
apples-to-apples. If the company discourages you from conducting this experiment,
I suggest that you immediately cross them off your list. All collars are not created
equal and some have horrible shocks -- which is why ALL shock systems – fences and
remote collars -- are banned in many parts of Europe, Scotland, Rome, Australia, and
New Zealand.
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| | If the fence company tells you that they will have your dog trained to the shock in | | | one week or less – get them out of your home. The dog’s learning ability needs to
set the pace of the training, not some roughshod force training. Force training can
backfire causing your dog to become aggressive, fearful, eliminating in your home,
afraid of your yard. Too many people have installed electronic fence systems only
to have their dog remain in the garage because of intense fear of the yard. Do NOT
allow your dog to be shocked before the dog has clearly demonstrated how to
respond to the tone, what the flags mean (a boundary) and NEVER allow your dog to
be shocked at a high starting intensity. Undoing problems from bad training on an
electronic fence system can take months of work and perhaps never work.
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| | Loops of electronic fencing around garden areas are very confusing to the dog and | | | require VERY slow and systematic training. We look at the flags in our yards from a
bird’s eye perspective. Wanna know what your dog sees? Get down on the ground
from his eye level and see how different that sea of flags looks to him! Garden
loops require extra-special training attention.
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| | Is the system safe for a small dog? How light is the collar?
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| | If the fence company attempts to shock your dog under the age of 4 months, do not | | | allow it. Your dog’s temperament is forming up to the age of 4 months and anything
that happens during those first 16 weeks that cause fear or pain to the dog will
remain with them for a lifetime! After 4 months, the dog’s individual personality
should determine the proper training process – anything younger than 4 months is
too young. Some dogs may not have the temperament to go on a system until 6
months or older; other dogs are good at 4 months. There is no standard and the
dog's personality should set the starting age. Again, the fence trainer should have a
thorough understanding of dog behavior so they can properly assess if your dog is
truly ready to start the fence training.
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| | Your dog needs to know how to walk on a leash, stay and come when called before | | | you do ANY fence training. If your dog is afraid of the leash, then they won’t be
able to comfortably be controlled for the training. If your dog doesn’t know these
behaviors, don’t even start the tone training until they have become proficient with
walking on a leash, come and stay.
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| | If your dog is fearful of walking up to the flags and the fence trainer picks up your | | | dog to carry them through the tone and/or shock training – fire them on the spot.
I've seen this happen far too often -- the trainer CARRIES the dog through the
tone or shock and then the dog becomes fearful of anyone touching or carrying
them! Fear can turn into fear aggression, and that can turn into fear biting. A dog
should NEVER be carried through the tone or shock!
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| | Low battery signals – some have a tone signal, some have a lights-only signal. The | | | tone signal is better because you might miss the light when the battery is dead and
you won’t know until your dog is missing. Shelters are full of dogs who are wearing
fence collars with dead batteries. The streets are also full of loose dogs wearing
collars with dead batteries – and so are the doggy morgues.
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| | Battery plans – do they supply the batteries to you or do you buy them at your local | | | store? Don’t let a desire to buy batteries at your store overrule other benefits of
the particular electronic fence system. The dog has to endure the collar and you
want the most humane for the dog rather than what’s cheapest for your
pocketbook. I’ve seen far too many people buy harsh systems just to save a couple
of bucks on store-bought batteries. A harsh electronic fence system is NOT
better than no electronic fence system at all.
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| | What kind of run-through protection does that system offer? Some dogs quickly | | | figure out that if they start a run from a standing-start they can outrun the system
-- they run faster than the transmitter can transmit the signal. Look for a system
that not only has a large "field" that will discourage the dog from advancing toward
the fence line, but will also have a tone or signal that will back the dog 2 feet out of
that field when they do enter it.
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| | Do they have to come out to program any changes to the collar (which isn't | | | necessarily a bad thing), are any service calls included in the warranty for how long,
what service calls are covered, what are not covered, and what is the cost of a
service call.
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| | DO NOT USE A SELF-INSTALL KIT! The kits you can purchase at your local pet or | | | home improvement store – they are NOT quality and you can cause big behavioral
problems in your dog if you use a self-install kit. The shock intensity is TOO high to
start, there are not enough programmable shock settings, and it is far too likely
that you will unintentionally do the training with bad timing or too fast. I’ve seen a
lot of ugly issues come from self-install kits. Love your dog enough to purchase a
quality system with the LOWEST starting shock intensity.
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| | Just for the record, I don't recommend any remote shock training collar at this | | | time. I think that all of them have too harsh a starting intensity. With all of the
good positive reinforcement training techniques there are available, there is never
any need for a remote shock collar.
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Quite a list of suggestions, I know, but I've had to work with so many dogs who were
spooked or hurt by a fence system. And that is a horrid and unforgiving experience for
both owner and dog. I've seen too many dogs with 2 acres of electronic fencing but the
dog wouldn't go any farther than the garage area because the training went too fast and
the shock intensity was too high. It's so sad to watch that happen and also to know the
dog is nervous for 12, 15 years after that experience.
On another point, remember that electronic fences do not keep out other animals, kids,
meter readers, etc. Many kids as well as adults have been bitten by a dog when they
walked into the dog's territory, and the dog was just doing what comes territorially
naturally. Animals - skunks, snakes, raccoons, dogs, cats, coyotes, deer - can come into the
dog's yard and the dog cannot escape the animal. This is especially dangerous if the dog is
trying to get away from the skunk or coyote. Also, if the dog does happen to run through
they are not likely to return to the yard. The adrenalin that spurted them through the
fence is no longer there and now they are afraid to walk through the shock to return to
their yard. Many times that can cause them enough stress that they will leave the yard
and get lost, or worse get injured crossing a road. There are downsides to these fences
and it's important to understand that the fence is not a babysitter and the dog still needs
supervision.
Additionally, I do not recommend that you wire the entire property as one big loop,
allowing the dog to run completely around the house, back yard to front yard. Dogs with
high prey drive can get themselves pretty wound up when they can race around the house
like that, especially if the front yard access takes them too close to the curb or walk
where they can be tempted to chase bikes, trucks, kids, walkers, school buses. If you
want the dog in the front yard, it is far better to wire the back yard as one loop and the
front yard as a separate loop. No, the dog can't follow the kids from the back to the
front. The dog will have to be taken through the house to get to the front (and you need
to be out there supervising them). But you have a better chance of lessening behavioral
issues when there are two loops. A fence company is likely to tell you to try the one big
loop and if that doesn't work they can easily come out and re-wire for two separate loops.
Yeah, but the poor dog now has to learn two separate loops and it's very confusing to the
pup when he is suddenly getting shocked for going from front to back. The dog is going to
have endure a lot of stress to learn the new boundaries.
I'm not fully against electronic fences. I'm against greedy installations, inhumane levels
of shock, uneducated trainers, bad training or installations that can trigger behavioral
issues. Done wrong they can cause your dog irreparable pain and behavioral damage. Done
right and humanely they can be a tool that helps you and your dog.
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