A reader installing a 23 acre dog fence asks some questions about large dog fence installations and training.

I’ve been all through your site and love all the information but as with anything new I have a few different problems and questions that I hope you won’t mind answering.

I have 23 acres and a horse and two full grown Golden retrievers. I live out in the country in southern Mississippi and my dogs are usually indoors with me or out with me and running free. Most of the time they stay within shouting distance but the younger is turning three and gets bored watching me ride my horse or work at some project and will wander off and has upset a neighbor. Neighbors around here shoot first so I want to eliminate the friction and keeping my dog within the confines of my property is ideal.

I think I’d like to get the IUC 4100 and wire the entire perimeter so the dogs can accompany me when riding on the property. I will have to do additional training for them to accompany me when I ride off the property. I considered just putting up an invisible fence around the house rather then encircling the entire place but I have a pond in the back and being Golden’s they like the water so would need to at least encompass the pond which means half the place so I might as well include the rest. The alternative is to prevent them from going to the pond unless I take them down.

So here come the questions in no particular order:

1. Southern Mississippi is not cold and I have 8 foot porches around the house so would like to mount the transmitted on a porch alongside the house probably in a weatherproof container. It does get below freezing 5-6 times a winter but I guess I’m willing to put up with a shorter transmitter life. In some places you say that there really is no freezing problem with the 4100 and others you recommend an indoor instillation. Which is correct?

2. When being completely supervised is it OK to let the dogs stay off leash near the house and yet train them at the boundaries per your schedule? That would be mostly just going to feed the horse or walk from the house to the barn. They don’t usually just bolt off. Your training implies that they are not off leash till the three weeks of training is completed but with 23 acres inside the boundary the safe zone is big. Of course if I were distracted while riding or some other activity I’d keep them in the house throughout the training period so they couldn’t just wander away.

3. If I run the boundary wire through the 12″ culvert across the end of the driveway will it still function providing a barrier or will that crate an opening for them to exit? The mailbox is across the culvert and I do take them with me and we walk down the dirt road after getting the mail. I think I’d prefer that to become a boundary crossing experience eventually and have them stop at the culvert when totally free and on their collars.

4. Is my impression correct that they won’t get any walks across the boundary till boundary training is complete?

5. Are off leash walks outside the boundary possible and should I always cross the boundary on a leash?

6. With a huge boundary do I have to train along all parts of the wire or will the dogs be able to make the connection between flags in one place and flags in another?

7. Will the boundary ever be turned off or will this end up being permanent? I’m just wondering if the dogs will ever simply stay within the confines of the property by themselves. I realize that stray dogs and critters could pull a dog across an off boundary so I suspect it becomes permanent.

8. If I were to start by just setting up an invisible front and back yard how would I go about training a new boundary on the perimeter later? Would I go back to step 2 in the training at the new boundary? It may be too complex to have the dogs learn one set of limits and then move the boundary. Is it better to just wire the perimeter from the start?

9. Am I correct that the dogs should never be allowed to cross the boundary once it is established? To me that means that they can’t be allowed to sneak over the boundary on their own until their training is completed and the are allowed off leash. So a break out or wander away would set the training back significantly.

10. How long can the twisted wire section be? I think I’d need about 200 feet to reach the boundary at the closest point.

To do what I’m thinking (about 3800 foot perimeter) will require the following I think:

IUC 4100 kit w/ transmitter one collar, 500 feet of wire
extra 4100 dog collar
7 boundary wire kits
2 spools of twisted wire – or I could make the twisted wire from an extra spool of wire.

Hi David,

1. Keeping the transmitter in low temperatures is no problem, as long as the transmitter is no subject to moisture (rain, snow, etc). So placing the transmitter in a weatherproof box will do the trick. We previously advised folks to keep the box inside so that it would stay warm, but after consulting the manufacturers we have revised our opinion and now think that is unnecessary.

2. Off leash during the training period is fine as long as they are not going through the boundary. We just want to keep everything consistent for the first few weeks to make the new rules easy for them to learn. If you are confident they won’t go near the boundary – feel free to keep them off leash. With 23 acres that should not be a problem!

3. With a wide boundary setting (with 23 acres you can and should make the boundary at least 10+ feet), the signal should easily pass through the ground and will still be active even if the wire is one foot below ground in the culvert.

4. Correct, you should not walk them across the boundary until training is complete. If you do want to take the dogs across the boundary line – just take the collar off and drive them over, or if they are small carry them over. Again we just want to keep the messaging very consistent during the initial training. After the training period you can teach them to walk through the boundary with permission.

5. Once trained, you can teach the dogs that they can walk through after you give them the command (and remove the collars). We usually get them into a routine, so they always cross in the same place (or same couple of places) each time. I prefer to walk them over on a leash, but if they are well trained – there is no reason you couldn’t have your crossing routine be off leash. Note, that the first few times you probably want them to be on leash, because you will need to pull them through. Follow this link for more on walking a dog with an invisible fence.

6. You don’t have to train them everywhere, but to help them learn to generalize, it is helpful if you train them in lots of different spots. (i.e. avoid just training the dogs in one spot)

7. We prefer if you keep the system and collars on permanently. Most dogs as you say will not cross the boundary even when the system is off out of habit. But, they will eventually unlearn that habit and will start to wander. For some dogs it will take a few weeks, with some dogs it takes years. But, it does eventually happen and then they dogs can be put at risk wandering off your property. If you occasionally forget to put a collar on, or turn off the transmitter it is no big deal. I would avoid making a habit of it.

8. It is much better just to start with the permanent boundary. If you do change the boundary, I would go back to the Dog Fence Training Step 1. I would do a lot of positive training in the new safe area, it will take a lot of time for most dogs to feel comfortable crossing what was the old boundary into the new larger safe area. Making the boundary smaller is in many ways much easier to teach, but making it bigger is tough, because the dogs learned the old boundary and will not want to cross it.

9. Sneaking past the boundary once or twice is not a big deal. It should be avoided, but if it happens, it is not fatal to the training. If it happens more often, or worse becomes a habit it takes longer to do the training.

10. There is no limit to the length of twisted wire. 200 feet is fine.

11. Doing 23 acres, you are running up toward the limits of the Innotek IUC-4100 capacity. With two golden retrievers, consider the higher capacity SportDog SDF-100A. Having that higher capacity system will let you have wider boundaries which makes training a bit easier.

A customer asks why the dog fence collar keeps going off near the trampoline when the trampoline is placed near the dog fence boundary.

I just installed an older invisible fence- 14 gauge wire. It works, but the transmitter is very old. Model ICT 150 with a LP 3000. It only has 2 correction levels that I can tell and at 7k there is no sound. I’m thinking of purchasing a new transmitter and collar, wondering what your thoughts are on that as well, I’m wondering if a trampoline in the backyard could cause interference-my dog received a shock in the middle of the yard and the beeper goes off at about 5 ft. From wire, I was thinking that was pretty far(doesn’t leave a very big yard for my dog Max.)

Hi Candace,

I am not too familiar with that model Invisible Fence, so I’m afraid I can’t tell you much about it. The invisible fences transmitters are usually dual frequency (7k & 10k) which I think is the switch you are seeing. The collars are not dual frequency, so that is why you collars beep on one setting and not the other.

The correction level usually cannot be changed by the user, it is set at the collar and can only be done by an Invisible Fence tech, because they have a special tool.

With most systems, you can adjust how wide the dog fence boundary is. There should be dial on the control box that lets you reduce that boundary width so it only goes off nearer to the wire. (Depending on the dog, 3-5 feet is a normal distance, but in small yards with a dog that is already well trained you can reduce it further).

Metal close to the dog fence line and parallel to the line often magnifies the dog fence signal. Trampolines with their metal frame often cause the problem you describe. (I am guessing you have a rectangular or square trampoline and not a circular tramp) You can often stop it happening by angling the trampoline so none of the four sides of the frame is parallel to the nearest section of boundary wire.

If your system works well, I would keep it and just pay to have an Invisible Fence technician come out and tweak the settings for you. If it doesn’t work, it would be easy to switch out for a DIY model. If you tell me a little bit more about Max (breed, age, size, temperament), I would be happy to make a suggestion.

Let us know if you need any further assistance!

Best Regards,
Mr. Jody Riojas
Customer Support Manager

There are special challenges in dealing with particularly thick fur and ensuring contact between the collar probes and the dog’s skin.

My wife and I are considering purchasing a pet fence containment system from your company. We have a 2yr old Husky who loves to run away when outside. We have been looking at the innotek 5100, but are wondering if this would work for her, as I’ve read testimonials about dogs running through the boundry. We know the initial training is critical, and would certainly do everything that’s suggested. We are concerned about the breed due to their tendancy to run away. What happens in the event the system doesn’t work? What kind of warranty/refund is available?

As I’m sure you know, Huskies despite the reputation tend to be very sensitive, particularly to anything their perceive as painful or unpleasant. What leads to the reputation of being difficult on a dog fence is that they have this thick fur that makes it difficult for us to get a good contact between the collar probes and their skin.

The 4100 and 5100 are great fences for dogs with thick fur. What makes them particularly suited to the task is that they have a test mode that tells you whether the collar is properly fitted. There is also a thick probe option on these collars if you need it. The thick probe is available directly through Innotek and costs $15.

You are right that training is the most important part of any contianment system. We are confident with the training, almost any dog will be contained. As such, we have a 30 day Pet Containment guarantee. If you’re Husky is not 100% contained in 30 days, you can return it for a full refund.

We also have a 30 day No Hassle Return Policy. If you want to return it for any reason, you can for a full refund (minus extra wire ordered that you install and return shipping cost). The systems are covered under the Manufacture’s Limited Lifetime Warranty. Defective equipment within the first 12 months is replaced at no cost and after 12 months for the life of the fence you qualify for discounted new equipment. For example, a new replacement collar is currently around 30 dollars plus shipping using the warranty.

A reader asks about using conduit for an installation:

I recently purchased an Innotek SD-2000 with 2 collars to self-install. When I was getting ready to install it, I did some searching for answers to a few questions and came across your web site. Wish I had found it BEFORE I bought my unit. Some of this information spawned more questions. So, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me?

My wife and I have three dogs (132 pound Rottweiler, a 67 pound lab mix, and a 19 pound Pomeranian/Yorkshire Terrier known as a Porky). After reading your site, it looks like the unit I purchased won’t work for us since the dogs are so far apart in weight. We have a chain link fence around the backyard, but the Rottweiler digs along the fence and then the Porky finishes it off and crawls under the fence. I was going to put the 2 collars on them and prevent the escapes and hopefully end the digging if they can’t get close to the fence. The lab mix recently found a section of the fence where she can push it out enough to crawl under. I believe the previous owner installed the fence and the fence posts are too far apart. The fence flexes out when the dogs push on the bottom of it. So I will need a system with 3 collars that can manage all 3 dogs. I figure we will just train all of them to stay back from the fence.

If you would, can you answer the following questions for me? I’ve attached a diagram file that shows a drawing of the backyard and buildings so you can see the lay out. Hopefully it will allow you to understand better what I am trying to accomplish. We want to be able to put the dogs on the porch when we are at work so they have access to the yard through the doggie door and have a place to stay out of the rain, cold, and direct sun. They have food, water, and dog beds on the porch, which worked pretty well until they get bored and start sneaking out.

System questions:

- What system would you recommend?

- If I’m going to spend the money, I want one that is dependable and good quality, so are some better than others? If I’m going to take the time and money to put a system in, I want it to work.

- I purchased an Innotek LP-4100 surge protector with the system I bought. Is this necessary? Will it work with the system you recommend? Should I keep it and use it? Looks like you plug it into the outlet and then plug your unit into this for power. It also has connectors for the underground wire to isolate/protect them from a surge.

Installation questions:
- I’ve read a lot of comments about wire breaks/continuity failures. Is this a frequent occurrence? Because of this, I was considering the following:

o I was planning on renting a trencher and putting the wire 2 – 3” underground. Does running the wire in a conduit prevent wiring breaks or other problems that it is worth the extra work/cost? I was going to install a pull string so if I had a failure, I could just pull a new piece of wire through the conduit to repair it.

o I was also thinking of putting in 4 junction boxes, spaced at intervals around the perimeter, for the underground wire. I thought of mounting a basic electrical box (designed for weather exposure) to the chain link fence, breaking the wire at the box, and connecting it with wire nuts at these junction points. I could use a continuity tester to determine if a section had a break and just replace a section if there is a problem. From what I read on your site, it sounds like it can be a tricky proposition to reliably find breaks in the wire if you have problems. Sounds like some users had hit or miss success with using the shunt and the AM radio to find breaks. It also sounds like not all units will work with that troubleshooting tool. Do you think this is worth doing or if I have a break I can’t find, is it just easier/faster to run new wire? Looking for how you would do it.

- Is running the wires along the eave of the house far enough above the dogs that they won’t get “zapped” when they go under it?

I originally planned on running the conduit, but I just don’t know if it is worth the effort. So, any help/insight that you can provide would be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions that I can answer about our dogs or the layout of our future invisible fence, let me know and I’ll try to get that answered.

-Pete

Hi Pete,

System Answers
With that much variation in the size of the dogs, I would indeed look for something with variable correction levels. The PetSafe systems are well suited to heterogeneous dogs because you can mix and match collars. A PetSafe Stubborn system would be a good choice. Use PetSafe Stubborn collars for the Rottweiler and the Lab mix (warning they are strong collars – so start on lower levels) and then add a PetSafe Deluxe collar for the Porky.

The LP-4100 lightning protection is useful for large installation or where there are a lot of lightning strikes around your property. If lightning is not an issue where you live it is something you don’t need. You can use the lightning protection module with any brand of wired dog fence – it is not tied to any particular brand.

Installation Answers

The wire breaks are mostly caused by bad splices, lawn edgers, lawn mowers and lawn aerators. They should not happen more than once every couple of years. You can eliminate 80% of wire breaks by:

(1) Knotting the wire before splicing it (so that all the tension is on the knot not the splice if the wire gets pulled)
(2) Running the wire a few inches underground or running it along an existing fence a 1+ feet above the ground (to avoid weed whackers)
(3) Not aerating along the path of the dog fence wire.

Conduit definitely helps reduce the number of breaks to virtually zero – but it is also a lot more trouble for most people to put in. In my estimation, it would take more work to lay the conduit than hunt the occasional wire break. But, if you would prefer to put the work in up front, conduit is a good way to go.

Whether you use a conduit or not, a trencher with a wire laying attachment is great for burying the wire. I would also consider just fence mounting the wire. Since you already have a chain link fence in place, weaving the wire through the fence is a really easy way to keep the wire installed and go right into the training.

The junction box is a clever idea to help you quickly figure out where the break is on the system. I had never heard that before. Thanks for suggesting the idea.

Finding wire breaks is a bit of an art, but it is certainly not difficult. You just need to be slow and methodical. Most of the problems come from folks using the RF-Choke + radio with a system that it is not designed for. The RF-Choke/Radio method only works with a few systems like the Innotek Ultrasmart 4100/5100, for other systems you need to purchase the PetSafe Wire Break Locator.

Running the wire through the eaves is almost always high enough that the dog does not get the correction down at ground level. If it is a problem, you can just turn down the boundary width dial so the field is a little less wide.

Took a look at your diagram. The layout looks good.

Best Regards,
Mr. Jody Riojas
Customer Support Manager
DogFenceDIY (888) 936.4349 ext. 701

A customer has question specific to a jungle dog containment system installation.

Hi, we live on about an acre in south west Costa Rica in a remote village in the mountains above the ocean and we are in need of an electronic dog fence. Since we have the smallest property in the area our principal concern is not the area of coverage but the durability of the system — for several reasons:

1) 200 to 300 inches of rain per year
2) difficult jungle boundaries and VERY rocky
3) no local support or spare parts
4) lots of wildlife to chew the wire.
5) lots of streams and ocean to swim in
6) the dogs in the jungle are the happiest I’ve ever encountered but there is no shortage of opportunities to get hurt or into trouble.

We do not currently own any dogs. Shortly before moving to CR we lost both of our dogs to old age. We will be looking to adopt 2 medium to large breed dogs for home security and because larger dogs fare better with jungle life. Cats and small dogs are frequently referred to as “bird bait”. Our dog(s) would join us on our daily 1 to 2 hour nature walks on jungle roads, frequent walks on the beach and not infrequent hikes to jungle waterfalls. We have a small property but we suspect our part-time neighbors with adjoining properties may want us to include their frequently unoccupied homes in the dogs’ boundary (maybe 6 acres at most).. Since trenching is out of the question our intention is to lay the wire on the ground through the jungle near the boundary roads and route it through the culverts under the driveway(s) at the road.

After reading multitudes of reviews on the internet (yours being the most helpful) I have come to the following conclusions:
- the collar is the biggest weakness in all of the systems but is particularly troubling with the PetSafe and Innotek systems.
- given an above-ground installation, lots of gnawing animals and difficult access for repair we need more durability for the wire
- we should have at least one extra collar/receiver on hand
- since we don’t yet own dogs we should have a system that sets the correction level at the receiver instead of the transmitter
- with frequent power outages we need battery back-up either in the system or externally
- whatever it takes, we need to provide significant lightening protection
- we probably need a signal tracer to locate breaks in the boundary wire given the ruggedness of the jungle
- remote correction would be nice (but by no means necessary) given the number of opportunities to chase some nasty critters into the jungle during our walks
- we need bullet-proof collars and electronics, regardless of the looks

Soooooo…….. we still have some questions remaining:
- How big of a problem is gnawing through the wires by rodents and such?
- would we be better off using large gauge wire (e.g. 14awg) or routing it through plastic pipe laying on the surface?
- how big of a problem is the durability of the collars?
- just how useful is remote correction — really?
- how important is progressive correction?
-

Finally, we have concluded that our needs would probably be best served by the SportDog SDF-100A, using a computer UPS for battery backup, with an independent grounding rod and a stout surge protector, one extra collar and a supply of rechargeable 9volt batteries. We’re not sure if we should upgrade to 14awg or buy stock in a PVC pipe company but we’ve pretty much concluded that one or the other is necessary.

How do you feel about our conclusion and what would you add to our analysis?

Hi Jerry,

(1) Rodents seems to vary a lot from area to area. It is not a significant problem for our suburban customers, I suspect it is a bigger issue in Costa Rican Jungle.

(2) The PVC pipe would work better than the thicker wire. The thicker wire doesn’t make a huge difference in terms of resilience. Any type of conduit would work better. Hose pipe, or sprinkler system irrigation pipe would work nearly as well as PVC and is easier to install because it is flexible. It also will not crack if someone steps on it or drives over it.

(3) We don’t see that many collar durability issues with PetSafe or Innotek. I suspect the larger number of online complaints are because these two brands are 95% of the market. The reason you rarely see Dogtra complaints, is that they sell very few dog containment systems. The only thing I would really avoid are some of the lower end collars and the Humane Contain collars.

(4) Remote correction is not something we use much with our customers. It is useful for people doing more serious dog training that have a bit of experience in remote-training or are working with a trainer. For most ordinary pet obedience issues, leash or clicker trainer works well and does not carry the risks associated with remote collar training. It is definitely not an easy/quick-fix solution that many people think it is and should not be undertaken lightly.

(5) Progressive correction is nice to have but not high on my list of importance. What is really important is the training. If you do the training the dogs will remain faithful to the boundaries. Without the training, no feature is going to help you get the dogs contained.

Jody Riojas
Customer Support Manager
DogFenceDIY (888) 936.4349 ext. 701

A reader makes an interesting suggestion for creating gaps in the dog fence wire by having a second device that deliberately causes interference.

It’s funny to read how many people want to create dead zones in the loop by just splicing in a length of twisted wire. You’re so patient with your explanations – much more so than I would be! However, this problem seems to come up again and again and I did a little brainstorming…. tell me what you think.

Like I said, everyone seems to want to try splicing in a twisted section in the main loop or putting some kind of shield around the wire, but you always respond that it won’t work. As I read through the comments it was the same thing over and over, but one poster’s idea on another page caught my eye – he asked about doing a “triple twist”, where the wire doubles back on itself, and then doubles back again, continuing in the original direction. I got excited as it seemed like a brilliant idea, but then you replied that it’s been tried and wouldn’t work I don’t understand exactly why, but I suppose it’s because the second cancels out the first, but the third is not canceled by anything… (I’m not a physicist, I’m just guessing). Well, taking that poster’s idea one step forward, and doubling back a third time, creating a “quadruple” twist, it would not create a signal and the dog could pass the wire. Now of course, this “quadruple twist” idea isn’t very clever at all – it doesn’t solve the problem of creating a dead spot in the loop, but if I’m right it does seem to show that an “odd” number of wires will create a signal, while an “even” number won’t (of course, this is all assuming there are no three-way splices anywhere – they would all have to be independent wires).

So what’s the big deal about that? Well, it made me wonder about ways to get that second wire in there only for the short distance where you want the dead spot and nothing more. Well, I’ll tell you that I’ve thought about it, and no matter what you do, you can’t get the main loop wire to do that, no matter how fancy you get.

Now finally to the interesting part: As I read through the posts, I see some people complaining about having the exact opposite problem – *unwanted* dead spots created by other, unrelated wires (such as low-voltage lighting systems nearby). This got me wondering if you have heard of anyone installing some kind of low voltage lighting system and running the wire in the same trench as the fence wire (or even twisting them together) to *intentionally* create a dead spot, say, at the back entrance to a house like so many posters seem to want to do? My intuition tells me this might actually work, and might be easier than the “deep burial” method, the “gutter” method, or the “double loop all the way around the yard” method you usually suggest.

Of course, it would require the purchase of some other product, but with some experimentation, it seems we as a community could figure out that, for example, “Patio Lighting Kit number 345B from Home Depot” (not a real product – I just made that up) provides the perfect voltage to cancel out the fence signal if the wire is buried right next to the fence wire.

What do you think?

Marc

ADMIN – Hi Marc,

We do indeed get a lot of creative ideas on how to create dead spots in the loop!

You are right, even numbers of wires like a quadruple or sextuple bundle will exhibit cancellation (although as you realized even numbers are unhelpful if you are trying to continue the loop) and you will get no signal. Odd numbers have an active signal because the evenly paired wires going in opposite directions canceling each other out leaving a single wire that will create a signal.

The idea you have to have a separate device that creates a canceling signal is interesting. The challenge would be to have a device that perfectly canceled the dog fence signal without creating a signal of it’s own. Often when you have accidental cancellations caused by for example neighboring dog fence systems, the cancellation is not completely consistent and you get small pockets where the signal is present.

A customer asks for some system recommendations for a Border Collie and a Border Collie mix.

Hello Stu:

I am looking for a system to cover approximately 3 acres for a BorderCollie and a headstrong BC/JackRussell. The house sits at the uppermost point of some very hilly terrain, and the ground is very rocky so it is difficult to trench. Our property is plagued with gophers and ground squirrels, not to mention the field mice, so I’m concerned about them chewing through a buried wire. The shape of the containment area would be quite irregular, and would cross an asphalt driveway, stone walls, etc..

1) Which system would you recommend? In addition to our functional needs for this system, I’d prefer something very reliable. I’ve noticed some complaints about Innotek in that regard, as well as their customer service. It’s not worth the hassle to us if the system breaks down after a couple of years.

2) Does the correction vary depending on distance from the wire and speed of the animal’s approach? The little one will just fly after the deer that cross over our property.

3) Does it use non-proprietary batteries?

4) Part of the wire could be suspended along a cattle fence, but most of it would probably have to be above ground. Can we just lay it on top of the ground? I’m worried that the wire would break, get tripped over, munched by critters, etc.. I think one of your advice posts recommends protecting it with that flexible black drip tubing for sprinkler systems – did I understand that correctly? If so, is the wire stiff enough to push through long lengths of tubing? How do you do that without having to do it in short sections, with a million wire splices?

5) Is there a reliable wire-break sensor we could use to find breaks that eventually occur?

6) For the driveway, I’m assuming I can just cut a groove in the asphalt using a masonry blade on a circular saw, stick the wire in, and patch the groove. Is that correct?

6) The larger dog is 42# and has a long, thick coat. The smaller dog is 30# with a thin, short coat. Would you recommend different collars for each of these dogs.

Thanks. Looking forward to your advice on these questions.

Tom

Hi Tom,

1) Border collies tend to be quick study’s so you have a lot of options. I would recommend an Innotek IUC-4100 if you wanted something a little smaller and rechargeable. The SportDog SDF-100 is also a good fit for your situation, the collar is a little bulkier and it uses a disposable battery but is also a little cheaper. They are both good reliable systems.

I like the Innotek systems, I think the reason they generate more complaints is that they sell a lot more than the other brands. We find them to be among the most reliable.

2) The correction on the Innotek is progressive (what they call “run-through” protection), increasing the correction level the nearer the dog gets tot he boundary. As a practical matter, none of that stuff makes a big difference. A properly trained dog will not go through irrespective of any extra whizz-bang gadgetry and conversely an untrained dog will go through despite any “run-through” protection.

3) The Innotek is rechargeable, and the SportDog uses a regular (non-proprietary 9V battery).

4) I find the wire surprisingly resilient and usually just lay it on the ground unprotected. With three acres unburied, you should expect the occasional wire break but finding them is not a big deal. (using either the included RF choke for the 4100, or the $50 dog fence wire break detector for the SportDog)

The sprinkler system tubing (the regular conduit – not the more expensive drip tubing) is useful if you want more protection, but I am not sure it is worth the fuss. The wire is stiff enough that you can feed around 50-100 at a time. Instead of cutting the wire to feed the next section, we usually just cut the tubing instead. Splicing the wire should be avoided as it leads to weak points in the boundary, so I would instead cut the tubing.

5) Yes, for the Innotek IUC-4100 the wire break kit that we include has an RF choke that you use in conjunction with an AM radio to find break. The RF choke makes the wire make a throbbing noise you can hear on the radio – the wire break can be found by listening for a section where there is no throbbing noise. For the SportDog you can use the PetSafe Wire Break locator which works the same way.

6) That would be the best way to get across the driveway. Use the circular saw + masonry blade to cut a shallow slot across the driveway, lay the wire in the slot and seal over. (You want to avoid using a heated asphalt sealant – they can melt the insulation on the wire. Instead use one that works at ambient temperature.

7) They are similar size and breed, so you could use the same type of collar for each dog.

A customer asks for the best system for a rescue German Shepherd mix.

Dear Stu,

I am looking at different models on your site and would love to have your advice before purchasing one.

We have a female german shepherd mix who is about 7 years old, about 45lbs. We’ve had her for 6 years. Last May, we moved from a large house with a large yard (that was very secure) to a small house with a small front yard. In our current home, the fencing is very cheap and does not keep our dog inside. She bends the fencing and digs her way out. Due to issues with our landlady, we can not replace the fencing. An electronic fence seems like a good solution, but there are several possible problems:

1. The yard is small, so having a 5 foot boundary cuts into about 1/3 of the yard space, not leaving the dog enough room to run or play.
2. We have two gates (front gate and driveway gate) with concrete underneath. How would we wire around a gate that’s meant to open and shut, and if we can’t pass the wire through concrete?
3. You’ve mentioned on your site that electronic fences will not keep a dog from running away. This is, essentially, our main goal. Is it realistic, then, to purchase an electronic fence?

Our budget is in the $150 range. Is one of the Innotek models our best choice?

Thanks so much for your time and advice.

Best,
Aria

Hi Aria,

I recommend the Innotek 2100 for your dog. It’s comes with 500 feet of wire that will cover up to 1/3 of an acre. To answer your questions:

1. You can dial it down between 2 to 3 feet of boundary when combining it with a natural fence. Do you think that will provide your shepherd mix enough room to play?
2. If you cannot find a groove or expansion joint in the concrete to run the wire down into the concrete, you could alternatively run the wire through a section garden hose over the driveway. If you can email me a sketch of your property, I can see if there would be any other solutions.
3. I think you may have misunderstood us. Containment systems are designed to contain dogs 100% of the time. However, there is an element of unknown when working with pets that is predict. That is how your dog will respond. In the majority of cases, you will not have any issues containing your dog. In our experience, dog owners who buy our fences experience fully contained pets when they do three important things: (1) properly train their dog(s), (2) set the collar to the appropriate correction level, and (3) make sure the collar is fitted correctly. It does require all three of these to be successful.

Let us know if you need any further assistance!

Best Regards,

Wes Riojas
General Manager
Dog Fence DIY .com
1-888-936-4349

A customer ask what kind of dog fence layout works for a house that is raised off the ground. The dogs are to be contained in the back-yard, but cannot go under the house.

Hi Wes,

We have three kids:

• An 80lb Labrador who is older and simply doesn’t care, ie: she has seen it all;
• A 55lb 9 month old pitbull who thinks shes a linebacker and is smart but it takes a while for it to sink into her head; and
• A 14lb (deer) chihuahua capable of cleanly clearing a six foot fence without a running start who is also smart, thick headed, thinks he is the mayor, and also happens to be the alpha dog.

We decided to go with the innotek icu 4100, I think. (she hasn’t really decided for me yet).

The situation … the kids are ONLY allowed in the back yard when outside. The front yard is to close to a 70mph rural road and they tend to chase things and will not tolerate other animals on “their” property, therefore we give them no access to it unless were going to the vet, or petsmart. (the latter of which i should probably take out stock in.)

The problem … our house is lifted/built off the ground which is common in this area. they are not allowed in this unenclosed open area under the house. They can only gain access to the back yard thru the back door.
we are subject to heavy rains during the winter months, and frequently have a river run diagonally thru our property.

The idea … put transmitter in the laundry room, (which happens to be where the back door is).
run wire thru buried pvc pipe along house to prevent them from going under house, (we had a rattlesnake under there once before), and thru the rough square that encompasses their area. We allow them about 3/4 of an acre to play/do their business, i would prefer to only wire the back yard.

The solution … (im open for ideas.)

Hi Michael,

How high is the house above the ground? If the house is more than 3-4 feet above the ground, we could just do a simple loop of the backyard, passing under the house. We would connect the loop to the transmitter with the twisted wire. The height of the hose above the ground level wire passing under the house would stop the dogs getting the correction when in the house.

If the house is not high enough, run a complete loop around the backyard passing in front of the back-side of the house, but when you get near the back door run the wire up and over the back door you want the dogs to be able to use.

FYI – I would not use the Innotek for those three dogs. The correction level on the Innotek collars cannot be set separately, so all the collars on the system have the same correction level. The Correction level will need to be set differently for the Pitbull and the Chihuahua. Also the Innotek collar is too big for the Chihuahua. Instead, a PetSafe Stubborn system would work well. Add a second Stubborn collar (for the Pitbull and Lab – keep it on low for the Lab). Then add a PetSafe Little Dog Collar for the Chihuahua.

Best Regards,

Wes Riojas
General Manager
Dog Fence DIY .com
1-888-936-4349

A reader suggests that running the dog fence wire under Kitchen Countertops or inside the Kitchen Cabinets foil a sneaky, thieving,counter-surfing Labradoodle!

Here’s a situation with a “different” twist to it:
We “rescued” a 6 month old Labradoodle last year. The original owners didn’t train him at all, and admitted to a “problem” with his stealing anything chewable off kitchen counters, tables, etc. With lots of work, we have helped him become a decent pet — he’s now 2 years old and 45 pounds, and behaves well when we’re home. Unfortunately, he still steals randomly off the kitchen counters when we’re away — and we can’t block him out of the kitchen because it provides the only access to the laundry-room doggie door leading to our fenced back yard. We’ve worked with him with electronic training collars, but he’s smart enough to realize that when we’re not around, he can revert to his thieving ways.

Is this a circumstance where an electronic fence system could be adapted to automatically warn him away from the kitchen counters? Depending on signal strength and permissible proximity settings, I’m thinking that by running a “perimeter” signal wire under the lip of the counter tops, it could warn him away from the counters at all times.

Would this work? Is the signal and correction-level of any of the systems adjustable enough to allow him to pass within, say, 18 inches or so of the counters, but warn him off if he gets closer — or if he reaches up to put his feet on the counters in search of “interesting stuff” ?

Bob

Hi Bob,

That is an interesting idea, placing the wire around the underside of the countertop to stop the dog counter-surfing and stealing things from the kitchen – but still letting him walk around at ground level.

I think that would work. As you mentioned, the key would be to turn down the boundary width on the control unit so that it corrected the dog if they jumped up on the kitchen cabinets or on the countertop, but did not correct them at ground level. The wired dog fence systems do allow you to set the boundary width to anywhere from a few inches up to beyond ten feet, so that should not pose a problem. What may be tricky is finding a distance that corrected the dog only when they jumped, and had a small buffer to make sure they did not get corrected when they did not jump.

Another idea, that may be easier and cheap than a full dog fence system is to use one of these wireless indoor dog keep-away pods. We have had customer that used the wireless pods, placed on a few strategic places on the countertops – and the boundary radius turned down so that it did not trigger the dogs when they were on ground level.

Best Regards,

Wes Riojas
General Manager
Dog Fence DIY .com
1-888-936-4349