Anyone ever used a PetSafe wireless fence to reign in a wandering pet?

[Maddy McCall]

My weimy has started to wander since Maddy McCall died...twice he has made it to the highway about a mile up the drive.

Well, I don't want to lose him...he saved my life after a go-cart accident last December. He is a great boy in every way...we play with him lots, and he is allowed to come inside for visits, but he prefers to be in the great outdoors.

He has always been a protector of the house, staying close by, until after Maddy died. Now he wants to wander.

I heard about the PetSafe Wireless Fence system. You put a collar on your dog that delivers a mild shock when he goes beyound his 180' diameter free area. Instead of a buried wire, a radio signal causes the collar to beep when the dog nears the boundary, and then delivers a shock when he crosses the boundary line.

I know it may seem brutal, but it is not as brutal as him being hit by a car, or stolen my someone who would not treat him as a family member as we do.

I am not a supporter of corporal punishment with my son--time-outs and discussions always worked. So I am having a little trouble deciding if the shock collar is cruel or mean to the dog. A friend of mine with a bulldog has the system, and the dog crossed the boundary twice before he learned his limits. I have seen it in action, and it doesn't seem like a cruel system.

It's available at Cabela's for about $200. I want some input from DUers before I make the decision to order. Thanks for any advice! :-)

[Maple]

1. I can't imagine

having a dog, without having a fence. It's for their own protection.

I've never tried a wireless fence. Mine is wooden...but it's there.

[Maddy McCall]

5. I have a 20' by 20' fenced area...

the fence is about 5' high. Bizbee can clear it with a single bound(well, more like a climb). He is a smart guy, and will do just about anything to maintain his freedom.

I hate to say this, but right now he is outside, on a 30' lead, to keep him safe until I decide what to do. It is a dilemma from hell to deal with this.

We have a new puppy, but she stays inside most of the time, except for walks and bathroom breaks. I know this is all caused by his losing Maddy McCall, and possibly by jealousy that we are sharing attention with another pet.

[ChemEng]

2. I had one....

But unfortunately, it didn't seem to work well for my dogs. They would wander into the zone where it would start to shock them, and instead of backing out, they would sit there howling. Maybe I just had a couple of idiot dogs....

[Maddy McCall]

3. that is funny!

I can just picture it. Did you have to go rescue them? LOL!

By the way, glad to see a feminist man here at DU!

Welcome to DU! :hi: Feminist_man!

[dobak]

4. Yes, they work

My wife's parents just bought one for their young Sheltie and it seems to work great,

The dog gets a bit frightened at first, but just like Pavlov's dog, pretty soon they will run around in the yard and don't even need a collar.

The shock is mild and only stings for a moment.

[Maddy McCall]

6. Thanks Dobak...

a vote for the system. Good news. Between your opinion and seeing the system work on my friend's dog, I am pretty much convinced, unless someone posts a major negative.

By the way, WELCOME to DU! :hi: Dobak!

[aquaman]

7. I prefer a fence to shocking my dog.

Call me old fashioned.

[Maddy McCall]

9. The thing about weimys is that they are diggers too.

But I am with you...I am not wild about shocking him.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

8. I had a friend who had a dog who

had that wireless system figured out-- he would creep up to where he knew the effect started, then slowly crawl forward until he started to feel a slight shock. He would then lie there accepting the minor irritation until the battery in the collar died, and he was then free to simply walk out.

True story! Those creatures are smarter than most of us give them credit for!

[Maddy McCall]

10. Wow...my friend's dog hasn't ever crossed the boundary...

He will sit at his boundary and watch the kids play on the trampoline across the yard. He has a huge free area, though, and has plenty of room to roam.

I am really conflicted on this...

Thanks for your post, though :-)

[hlthe2b]

17. I've known other dogs to do this (take a mild shock until batteries die)

Others will go right through if the distraction is enough, e.g., seeing a fox run through the neighborhood.... For some, though they work great.

[NJCher]

11. training

My neighbors have the system for their two bulldogs. Oddly enough, though, a lot of times they don't have the batteries in the collar or they don't use the system. But it is there for them and I would think invaluable if you can't be keeping an eye on them all the time.

I did learn one thing from their experience--you have to make sure the dog is properly trained with the fence because if you don't, they just won't go outside or near the fence. My neighbors had to retrain their dogs with the system.




Cher

[Maddy McCall]

13. Thanks Cher...I love him lots...

and since I am through teaching for the semester I am home with him, and can give the time to training him with the system.

Thanks for your advice!

[sam sarrha]

12. with proper training....

if one took the time to watch and give proper commands when they first used it, so the collar warnings were related to your voice commands. and you reinforced the commands frequently.

[Maddy McCall]

14. Good advice...thanks, Sam :-)

[alaine]

15. One thing people don't think about is it does not

protect your animal from other dogs. I heard about a little dog getting killed by a bigger dog that came into the fence area. It tends to give people a false sense of security, and they forget it isn't really a fence. A weimaraner might not be as vulnerable as other smaller dogs. For all the reasons listed above it'd be a good idea to get a fence with a solid warranty offer in case your dog is just too smart for it.

[Maddy McCall]

16. Thanks for that reminder, Alaine.

He is about 100 lbs now, a big old boy. I am sure a pack of coyotes could bother him (we do have coyotes nearby, but he has never been bothered by them), but there aren't any neighbors for quite a distance and I haven't seen any dogs around in the several years we have lived here.

That's a valuable reminder for people who live near others with bigger dogs, though! Thanks. :-)

[trof]

19. One way fence.

Our friends had one. They got rid of it.
Their shepherd loved to chase squirrels. So much so that he'd ignore the shock when he was hot after one. Of course, once he was on the wrong side of the fence, he rarely had the incentive to come back in.
I'd recommend a real fence. If that's out of the question, it's pretty inexpensive to make a run out of a pulley and a cable strung between a couple ot trees or posts. Gives them plenty of room to run and they can't dig their way out. Just make sure you use cable stops so he can't get close enough to something that he can wrap his leash around, and provide some shelter if you're not home all the time.

[sam sarrha]

21. REALLY GOOD ADVICE!!!!!!!

i hadnt thought of that, i had figured that terrier types wouldnt even notice on the way out after trouble, but it is also a barrier to get back in... good insight. also around here they would be lunch for the wild life. when i was in Yosemite national park i saw a woman complaining to a ranger that the coyotes ate her little poodle, i had heard the event in the meadow that morning ..it wasnt pretty. the ranger calmly asked her how the dog came to be eaten by the coyotes. she said she let it out to pee... he started to write in his pad, she asked if that was a report.. he said "no, it is a $500 ticket for illeagly feeding the wild animals in the park" it is a $150 ticket to tie up a dog in front of a store. a pack of 6 coyotes attacked a dog in front of a very crowded sidewalk and ate the dog, one coyote chewed thru the leash and they carried it off. if a loose pit bull saw it, it might be all over. that is not an uncommon event around here.

[soothsayer]

18. I tried that collar once myself

My sister dog sat for a guy who had that on his dogs. We took turns putting the collar on and as we approached the boundary the dogs started barking at us, like "hey! watch out! you'll get a shock"

It was sooooo sweet.

The shock was a bit of a jolt, but not really that bad. The pain didn't last at all.

But if they wanted to go out, they'd just run quickly thru it.

[alfredo]

20. I had some on my mail route

they seemed to work unless there is a power outage or the batteries go down. I do remember a lady standing near the boundary, reaching back to pet her dog. It got a shock.

If it is a male dog, spring will drive him to leave to seek the source of an aroma, then it will prevent him from returning. If it is a non neutered female, it will not keep out the male dogs.

[sam sarrha]

22. sounds like this product got 2 thumbs down.

when i take my 2 dogs, Linus a little poodle and teddy a shelty golden retriever mix, for a walk i have a FOGGER of pepper spray, supersoaker with amonia in it, and a Mase,..heavy iron pipe coupler screwed over the end of a one inch oak dowel 2 feet long. people raise dogs here to fight across the border in Mexico. our neighbor was busted for breeding a wolf with a HUGE brown Chow for fighting dogs. the whole place has 3 foot high gates with Bull mastafs, pits and dobies behind them. i put the dogs in the car and take them to nice open park and run them around on the leash and let them sniff around.. but if the dogs ever got hurt, it wouldnt be a good idea to ever go back home. so i carry all the weaponds. everybody else does too. there are so many irresponsible dog caretakers around here, animal control knows me by name, i have them on speed dial.

[philosophie_en_rose]

23. Exactly. Electric fences don't protect your dog.

They keep him or her in, but they don't keep other dogs and hazards out of your yard. If digging is a problem, a dog runner line and a fence might be a better option.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

24. It only takes one shock for them to KNOW

My dogs have a wireless fence and it's great. They know after one or two shocks, look don't go past this point. At first you put up little training flags where the boundaries are and gradually you can take them down, they'll know. The only problem is when you don't realize the little battery in the collar has ran out, then they can escape.

[nuxvomica]

25. I read a review in a veterinary newsletter that cautioned against it

Dogs will run out after something like a squirrel and then not be able to get back in. It also prevents a dog from escaping when attacked. I would not do it.