I have a 9 year old lab who is a wonderful part of our family but up until recently he has had the run of like 5 acres and now has to be contained to our yard which is like one acre. Needless to say he is not very happy. I have a fenced in back yard but it is for the kids and I am so over scooping the poop, I was thinking of getting an invisible fence installed in the front yard where he would have more room to roam and he would be able to see outside the yard. Does anyone have any experience with an invisible fence? If so, was it worth it and about how much is it (I am on a budget but can spare a little if this would be worth it).
Thanks
Thank you for the responses. I decided not to go with the invisble fence for my dog for a couple of reasons, first money second I agree with some that it is unfair since he has had the run of the land for so long. I do disagree with some that feel it is inhumane to the dog, I would never do anything to hurt my dog but everyone is entitled to their opinon. I agree with the people who posted that I need to execise him more and have taken those suggestions to heart. We all went on a two mile walk yesterday and then this morning we just got down with about 10 minutes of playing with the ball. I also appreciate the poster who reminded me that he is my responsibility and I owe it to him to continue to exercise him and take care of him. I guess sometimes it just feels like I am taking care of everyone and and it is overwhelming but that is not an excuse. Thanks for everyones input.
i work for the news and we did a story about how dogs with the invisible fence are like sitting ducks to other animals, since they can't escape. I guess it would depend on where you live, if you have any wild animals that could be a problem. something to think about though!!!!
I believe when you add a pet to the family you need to properly train the pet and be ready for the responsiblity for years to come.
Shocking animals is wrong in my book.........how would you like a nice electric shock if you crossed a line?
We have 3 dogs, live on a large acre lot with the back fenced but front not fenced. My dogs know their limits and we've had no issues. It took WORK and TRAINING but it can be done positively with little not no $$.
Another thought is the wildlife. We have bobcats, coyotes, etc and I'd be so regretful if I left my dog in an invisible fence when he would not cross the line and end up a meal for the wild animals coming through.
Just a though from my perspective. You have do do what is right for you.
It's upwards of $300 to get a wireless fence, then it takes weeks to train your dog with unguaranteed results. I'd say invest your time in walking him, taking him to a dog park, playing catch, whatever it takes to work on the energy he used to burn by himself on those 5 acres, and keep scooping the poop. After all, it is what you signed up for when you got him years ago. Good luck!
We had one at our old house after our lab (about 4 yrs old) starting chasing the construction vehicles down the street. It was great! It was the standard one with the underground buried cable. I do know they have the wireless ones now. It took awhile to train our dog but then she was great. My husband did put the collar on and see how severe the shock was. He said it was slightly stronger than a static electricity shock you get. We were comfortable with that strength. You can adjust the level but we never did. I have had friends that trained their dogs to poop only in a specific area which you could try too.
We used to have an invisible fence and I regret it. It made my dog nervous and even though he could not leave our property, other dogs could come in. I know it is a pain to scoop, but I used to try and take my dog out on a leash for a few weeks and train him to go in one area. It didn't always work, but it might be worth a try.
N.
We just installed an invisible fence, but we haven't had a chance to train our puppy on it as it snowed a foot the next day! But my understanding is that it only works if you put in the time to properly train your dog on how it works and the boundaries. Our trainer said they work, but only if you spend the time to train your dog on it. Good luck!
I love the wireless invisable fencing it is easy to setup and cost around $300. In 10 years I have tried both kind the one where you have to put the wire under ground and the wireless. The one that goes underground is more expense and the wire can get broken or dug up. The wireless is radio band so there is no wire. You can change the distance to fit your yard as you please and the collars you can change they have a red flicking light on them to let you know when the battery is low. If the battery goes low they can walk out of the yard. I have two labs that I trained on the wireless system with in a week and they love it because they have there freemdom and I know where they are at all times so they don't get hurt. First walk them and get all the energy out of them than start to train them. Training is Very Very Important you must make sure that they are completed trained. Now in the beginning they might go thru it one or two times but that will be it. Don't leave them out there on there own alway be with them just in case they get out. If they get out call them back take there collar off walk them over the line in the safety zone than put the collar back on. Once they learn there boundaries you will have no problems.
I would be careful getting the invisible fence. First reason is that allowing your dog to get a shock for doing what comes naturally, is (in my opinion) rather cruel. Again, that is just my opinion. Second thing is that some dogs will just run right through the fence. I have seen it time and time again, where the dogs are trained and do well while the owner is within eye sight but the moment the dog notices that their owner is out of sight they take off to chase something. With your dog 1) being a lab (natural born hunter) 2) being older 3) being used to having full run of a larger area, I would be cautious because he would be the one that would run right through the fence and not even pay attention to the shock.
We've had an invisible fence at all 3 of our houses. My dog, who has passed, was on it for most of his 12 years. He started on it at 6m. He only crossed it like 3 times in 12y, and 2 of those was because the battery died.
We have the type of fence where there is a warning signal about 3 feet before the shock line. The dogs learn that when they hear the high pitch to stop or they will get shocked. He was so comfortable with the fence that even when our other dog bit his collar off, he'd stay in the yard because he'd know where the signal line was. On days that we left the yard, he'd be a nervous wreck until we came home. As soon as we put the fence collar back on him, he would visabiliy relax and instantly calm. He was home.
I would say that a 9y old is a bit old to learn about the fence. Also, we learned the hard way not to have a free zone in the front yard. Ours would always race out of the front door as we were trying to leave and then we'd have to spend 15m chasing him around the yard to get him back into the house. At our current house he had roam of the back yard, but for the front, he couldn't go off the front porch or out of the garage.
Is it possible for your family to take him on a good long walk at least once a day?
I don't think you should do this. A nine year old is rather senior for a lab, and to completely alter and continuously punish him for his normal behavior seems horribly inhumane. I have known many people who have purchased these...it seems to work for about 1/3 of them. For this reason alone, it seems hardly worth it. Think about the consequences, if your dog runs through it (which many do), he not only gets shocked, but he could also get hit by a car. I suggest that you take him on long walks instead. Regarding scooping the poop, I totally understand why you are tired of it, I am too, but there are health reasons for that regardless of where he does it.
Victoria-
Invisible fences are only good for dogs who are trainable by a shock. I have seen dogs stand 10 feet inside the shock line making sure they are no where near the boundary and I've had my own dog that runs beyond the boundary, yelps and keeps on going. I would see if you could test your dog with a shock coller to see if it will work before you put out the money.
S.
We have an invisible fence (was installed before we bought our house) we tried using it... our male mastiff was terrified of the thing and didn't cross it. However the previous owners installed it so the dogs could go half way down the drive (which means a car could pull all the way up inside the fenced area) and he would meet people at their car. He was very territorial and we had more then one incident of people calling from their car or just leaving. However my female rottie would walk right over the fence (back leg twitching and all) and keep going until she was past it. Then was reluctant to come when called which is not usually a problem. OUr lab mix runs super fast (like you can't keep up with her on a garden tractor full speed.... maybe will race with our sons new 4 wheeler this summer and see if she can beat that too) so she was over the fence and long gone before the shock even hit it. She had no idea what it was all about. Yes we tried the proper training with her and she was aware it was there when on leash but the second you let her off.... poof gone. We had to turn it off once we caught her to get her back.
I have trained our newest addition to go in just one spot. Under a pine tree and she does unless chained somewhere but if I walk her out on leash (and she really has to go) she drags me to her tree. Since we do not walk, play or mow under there I don't worry about scooping poop. I didn't try training the older dogs to go there too so don't know if you can retrain your 9 year old or not.
Hope this helps :)
Go with the expensive Invisible Fence brand. We bought the cheep one and I installed it myself. My dog was smart enough to know he could stand close enough to the line to get the warning and stay there until the battery died and then run through. The Invisible Fence works differently, so he wasn't able to do this. I my family we have had 4 dogs trained to the fence and we swear by it! They learn, so they will not get shocked all the time. My current dog has only gotten shocked once maybe twice and he has been trained to it for 8 years.
I wouldn't use an invisible fence. They are cruel. They actually shock your dog and if the shock is set too high could do damage to your dog. He's 9 years old. I believe you need to get over scooping the poop and just do it. It's not that much of a problem if you keep up on it. We have 2 dogs and do it every afternoon. If he's bored, have the family exercise him by playing with him and taking him for walks in different areas to keep it exciting for him.
I have an invisible fence, it is a litte costly, but so worht it. I am soooooooooooooooooooo glad I have it.
My dog is now 8 y/o. Got the fence when she was a puppy. I can count on one hand the few times she's crossed the line..(speed chasing a deer).
She knows just how far to go and knows her boundaries to the point that it is no longer necessary for me to put the collar on her. I keep watch on her . She is very well trained. My fence is around the entire circumfance of my yard, front, back, sides......giving her plenty of room to run and roam of an acre of land, lots of space to run and play ball. Even in playing ball with her, if the ball goes outside her boundary, she stops and doesn't go beyond her boundaries. I highly recommend the invisible fence. Your dog will probably be happier if she has more room to be free. And I would think even sitll at 9 y/o he is teachable. The fence people do help with the training.
On the other note, I know the areas where she poops and I try to clean up the yard daily which keeps the yard clear for me and others walking as well as when we play ball so that neither humans or dog steps in the mess. (As a pointer, I feed my dog twice a day, thus she poops twice a day. I've learned that the best way to clean up poop, yet daily: in the summer, after the sun has baked it and made it hard and in the winter, after the cold air has made it hard.)
We have it and it's worked great. We have 10 acres with 3 homes and there are 4 dogs between us. You do have to train them for about 5min a day for a week or so but it only took our dogs a few days and they didn't want to go near it-they put flags around the boundries so your dog learns visually where the line is and you slowly remove these flags. They set it on a low level for a few weeks while you train then turn it up after that.
