# Invisible fence / puppy



## ellie (Dec 12, 2007)

What is the earliest age a puppy can be trained on an invisible fence? Do puppies respond better than grown dogs?


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## ellie (Dec 12, 2007)

bump due to editing


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## xxxlisaxxx (Oct 15, 2007)

ellie said:


> What is the earliest age a puppy can be trained on an invisible fence? Do puppies respond better than grown dogs?


I was told by petsafe when I ordered mine that the collars should not be put onto a pup until they are 16 weeks. However I have a large breed dog a Samoyed and I put his collar on when he was 9 weeks old as he was a big 9 weeks. These collars are fairly big and heavy so I would not put it on a toy breed as young as that. Also I only put the correction onto the lowest setting which basically does not hurt them but gives a slight buzz and not a shock and it worked perfectly. I have never had to increase the correction and the collars have been on my dogs now for over 2 months and they have only been corrected twice in the 2 months as they now know where they are not supposed to go. Hope that helps.

Just to add, I would get going using the fence as soon as you can and get them trained from a young age. My samoyed is now 4 months old and at his peak of misbehaving so to speak but has never attempted to leave our yard as he has known no different.


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## ellie (Dec 12, 2007)

She's a lab mix puppy and to only be 7 weeks old is big already.


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## the-tenth (Jun 29, 2007)

I don't think that anyone should use an electronic fence as the only means of keeping their dog contained. My wife and youngest puppy were attacked by a large German Sheppherd mix that was "trained" to stay in it's electric fence. My brother has a Jack Russell that will gladly take the shock to run out of his yard, but refuses to come back in. An electric fence is a deterrent and that is it. If your dog wants out, to chase a mailman or a cat, or a jogger, that shock is gonna do very little to prevent that.


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## xxxlisaxxx (Oct 15, 2007)

the-tenth said:


> I don't think that anyone should use an electronic fence as the only means of keeping their dog contained. My wife and youngest puppy were attacked by a large German Sheppherd mix that was "trained" to stay in it's electric fence. My brother has a Jack Russell that will gladly take the shock to run out of his yard, but refuses to come back in. An electric fence is a deterrent and that is it. If your dog wants out, to chase a mailman or a cat, or a jogger, that shock is gonna do very little to prevent that.


I dont agree with this, however I live in the country and we do not have much traffic, other dogs etc around so I suppose alot depends on what sort of area you live in busy town etc with many distractions. 

My 2 year old cocker was allowed to leave our yard whenever he wanted (before we got the pup) as we knew the furtherst he would ever go was to my mother in law who lives about a 2 minute walk from me. My cocker is totally obsessed with my mother in law and now he wont even follow her out the gate. He will walk as far as the gate but that is it!!. Also I have cats wandering in and out of my yard and the dogs will chase the cats but as soon as that cat goes passed the boundaries BOTH dogs stop in their tracks and will not move an inch more to get to that cat. I have had a friends dog here, I have had family and friends trying to coax my dogs out the gate with treats etc (just to see how effective the fence is) and nothing will get these dogs past the boundaries. I know many people with these fences here in Ireland and I have never heard of one complaint yet. Maybe the horror stories you read or hear of are due to breed, area and also whether the dogs are outdoor dogs. My 2 are indoors more than they are out so they dont ever feel the need to wander off, jump the boundary due to boredom. I cant praise the system enough.

Another thing MY COCKER HATES THE POSTMAN and before the fence would chase his van down the road until he was out of sight. Now when the post man comes he will still go crazy and back like hell but as soon as that postman hits the gate, the dog returns and has never attempted to chase that van since.


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## georgygirl (Nov 28, 2006)

My parent's beagle was six months old before they would put the collar on her, but beagles are smaller than labs. So, I don't really know what to tell you. I think invisible fences are really a hit or miss thing. It works great for my parents beagle, but doesn't work at all for their neighbors who have it for their two beagles. It definitely wouldn't be my first choice for containment, but it can work for some dogs.


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## the-tenth (Jun 29, 2007)

xxxlisaxxx said:


> I dont agree with this, however I live in the country and we do not have much traffic, other dogs etc around so I suppose alot depends on what sort of area you live in busy town etc with many distractions.


That is a huge difference. At the same time, I think the reluctance you see in your cocker, you may find isn't the same with your Samoyed as it gets bigger. Especially if it takes the same disliking to the mailman that your cocker has. Most reputable rescues (sepecially the pure-breed rescues) and many breeders will not adopt out or sell a large breed dog to a home without a physical fence. Your Samoyed probably won't have the same prey drive that any lab mix is going to have. Of course there are examples of extremly well trained dogs of every size that work well with e-fences, but chances are those dogs are trained well enough not to need a fence at all. Also the e-fence does nothing to keep other animals or people away from your dogs. It *may* keep your 80 pound lab mix in your yard, but won't keep the neighbor's 5 year old out.


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## ellie (Dec 12, 2007)

We live in the country on about 8 shared acres w/ my MIL's house. We do have neighbors across the street who have dogs, but they are physically fenced in their back yard due to agressiveness in the past. No other dogs/cats in the general area. We just can't afford to fence in all our yard and was thinking the wireless/invisible fencing would be a good option for our pup. Especially if we can train her young, she'll really never know any different. Right?


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## georgygirl (Nov 28, 2006)

ellie said:


> We live in the country on about 8 shared acres w/ my MIL's house. We do have neighbors across the street who have dogs, but they are physically fenced in their back yard due to agressiveness in the past. No other dogs/cats in the general area. We just can't afford to fence in all our yard and was thinking the wireless/invisible fencing would be a good option for our pup. Especially if we can train her young, she'll really never know any different. Right?


Not necessarily, some dogs just don't do well with invisible fences. A lot of it has to do with the personality of the individual dog. So it's a very hit or miss thing. Some dogs don't care about the momentary pain of the shock and they'll run straight through. It's not really something you'll know until you get the e-fence set up and if your dog does turn out to be one that doesn't mind the quick shock then you've dumped a lot of money and time into a useless underground wire. Of course, there is a possibility your dog with do fine with it. You just don't know until you try it. I just want to be honest with you though. It works for my parents beagle but I can name you twice as many people that it doesn't work with compared to the those that the e-fence does work with.


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## xxxlisaxxx (Oct 15, 2007)

ellie said:


> We live in the country on about 8 shared acres w/ my MIL's house. We do have neighbors across the street who have dogs, but they are physically fenced in their back yard due to agressiveness in the past. No other dogs/cats in the general area. We just can't afford to fence in all our yard and was thinking the wireless/invisible fencing would be a good option for our pup. Especially if we can train her young, she'll really never know any different. Right?


I agree with you, the earlier the better, my cocker is so intelligent and well behaved that we knew this would work instantly considering for 2 years he was allowed out the gate to go to my mother in law. As far as my Samoyed he was 9 weeks old and picked up where the boundraies where within 3 hours and yes he knows no different cause he has only ever been removed from the yard in our car. 

Yes things might seem great now and that could change but at the age of 4 months if he has not tried to go anywhere out the gate then that is looking pretty good to me. We built our own house which is on 3/4 acre of land and is fenced 3 sides with a wall at the front BUT WE HAVE NO GATES UP YET AND WILL BE YEARS BEFORE WE DO AS IT WILL BE A VERY EXPENSIVE JOB. We put the fence about a foot away from all the fenced area as I did not want the Samoyed digging and getting out under the fence.

Tenth -- As far as my Samoyed yes things might seem great now and that could change but considering he is a pup and has made no attempt then that is looking pretty good to me as a pup is much more likely to take on any challenge and maybe be completely stupid to what is going on with the fence but after 2 lowest corrections within the first 3 hours of installing the fence he has never attempted to go past the boundraies and this was installed 2 months ago. I did stress to my partner that if it was a case that they were constantly getting shocks and could not get to grips with it then I would rather waste my money and consider another alternative - thank god all went well.

As far as the samoyed could change when he gets older, i have a system for stubborn dogs as Samoyeds are known for this BUT what i have done is started him on the lowest correction which is a mild buzz no shock and there is still 4 more levels to go so if the need be I can up this as he grows. I dont really think me personally will have any problems with my dogs ever going outside the gate again as they have learnt instantly what not to do. 

As far as it does not stop anyone from coming into the yard, yes this is sooooo true, but is there any system in this world that will stop anyone from getting onto your land. Here in Ireland and I am sure its everywhere, there is an awful lot of dogs that get stolen. This is something I cannot prevent no matter what system or training I use. I leave my dogs outside to play etc if I know I am only going to be away for no more than half an hour or so otherwise they are crated indoors.


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## ellie (Dec 12, 2007)

Well, IF we get one, we'd get one from PetSmart (the wireless fence) that has a guarantee so we can return it if it doesn't work. Or resell it on ebay. Either way. lol!


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## WAgal (Oct 13, 2007)

We used in. fencing successfully for 12 years with our last lab. We just started using it about a month ago with our new pup and so far it is going very well. There are many on this forum who don't approve of it but you have to do/try what's best for you and your dog. I do think it's good for your pup to know a few basic commands to help with the fence training. Good luck to you.


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## Flygirl (Oct 26, 2007)

The only problem I have with invisible fencing is you can't keep stray dogs out. A neighbors Yorkie was killed by a stray when I was in high school. 

We live on 74 acres and have no problem fencing in about 1/2 an acre off the house for the dog. My parents live on the property as well and have both their front and back yard fenced in. I wouldn't use IF here, too many strays, horses could get loose, bobcat, fox, deer, etc. A fence offers a bit of protection for my dog.


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## Ella'sMom (Jul 23, 2007)

I have had 2 extreme experiences with invisible fences. My last dog, a lab did GREAT with it. He was very smart and knew to stay away from those flags. It took less than a day to train him. He was a 90 lb. lab and loved the outdoors. I never had a problem with him getting out.

Ella, on the other hand, walks right through it. Also, she is only about 13 lbs and won't get too much bigger and I am so afraid of an animal (dog or something else) coming in our yard and hurting her. My lab was big and could defend himself. Ella cannot. I don't use the invisible fence with Ella. It's too risky to me. I walk her out on a leash and we also have a huge pen in the back for her. We are planning on fencing in the backyard in the spring.


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## digimom (Dec 10, 2007)

We have a yard fenced in by a 6ft solid fence. The only thing that has been a downer is the gates. Our kids and "other kids" tend not to close them tightly and on about 3 occasions Brandy has sniffed her way out of the yard.

We are getting a second schnauzer and I have wondered about the invisible fence for both of them. Brandy would love to go out in the front yard with the kids playing, but she tends to wonder with her nose beyond the yard. I wish that she would do like the neighbors' dogs and stay "in" the yard. But she doesn't. 

When you have an electric fence, how do you distinguish between staying "inside" the boundary and then taking the dog for a walk "beyond" the boundary?

Karen
DigiMom


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