Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about dog containment fences. If you have any questions, email them to questions@dogfencediy.com or call 1-888-936-4349
Systems |
Training |
|
Installation |
||
Boundary Wire |
||
Shipping |
||
Article Library |
||
Our Most Popular Pages
dog training fence ~ humane contain ~ dogtra ef 3000 gold ~ dogtek ~ dog fence twisted wire ~ dog fence installations ~ dog fence driveway ~ sportdog sdf 100 ~ dog fence trencher ~ innotek iuc 5100 review ~ petsafe pig00 10773 ~ innotek sd 2225 ~ smart dog fence ~ petsafe containment system ~ perimeter dog fence ~ best dog fence ~ petsafe stubborn ~ sd 3000 ~ petsafe in ground fence ~ dog fence jumping ~ dog containment systems ~ innotek sd2000
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Bonjour,
J’ai acheté cette cloture mais malheureusement, mon chien a mangé le transformateur (le cordon d ‘alimentation qui part de la prise de courant et qui rejoint l’emetteur)
Est il possible d’en commander un autre et a quel prix avrc les frais de ports.
Merci à l’avance de votre reponse
E
ADMIN – the writer asks if you can get a replacement power adapter for the base station (his dog ate the old one). The adapters are available through the manufacturers – we also stock the adapaters for the most popular models. They cost around $30 and shipping costs around $10 to the US and around $30 to France (where we presume the reader hails from)
I think the instructions that I see recommend that the wire for the underground fencing is not buried deeper than 6″. This seems like it is so shallow that a plug cut areator will cut the wire. Can you bury deeper and then just turn up the boundary width?
ADMIN – Hi Gareth,
You can go down to about a foot deep (depending on your system and the amount of land you are fencing in). You turn up the boundary width, and you can also adjust the field size button to a higher setting to make the unit send out a stronger signal. Keep in mind that if you are not consistent in how deep you bury the wire, the boundary width will end up being much wider in some segments (e.g. where you have the wire running above ground) than where you have it buried deeply.
I understand the caution on running the underground fence parallel to an underground electrical wire. What about a cable TV/internet/phone underground wire?
ADMIN – Hi Gareth,
There are rarely any issues with utility wires. If possible avoid running parallel to utilities. If you have to run parallel to utilities, just test inside the house with the collar to make sure that the dog fence signal has not jumped into any of those wires and is causing the collar to trigger in unwanted places.
I am trying to figure out which electronic fence to buy. I have a “Smart Dog In-Ground Pet Fencing System” which does not work (so the dog may be smarter than me because I bought a cheap China knock-off on Craigs list but at least I’m not out a lot of money) but I need to get something that works. I have a couple of questions-
Does the Innotek SD-3000 “trainer” work without the rest of the system? For example can I take the collar and the correction device outside of the in groung fence and use it?
Several of the fences advertised on your website indicate that they cover several acres yet they only come with 1000 feet of wire. One square acre takes over 800 feet of wire so I’m not getting the relationship of wire supplied with area covered. I am assuming that the coverage is a function of wire length not area? What is the maximum length of wire that the units can handle? This is particular interest to me for the Innotek SD- 3000 if the correction device can be used outside of the fenced perimeter.
I don’t understand the “wire twisting” issue with the fences. It appears that there are 2 antennas and as long as the 2 antenna wires are not twisted it shouldn’t matter what kind of wire is used. The signal should see a stranded wire as one conductor as long as it’s not wrapped around a different antenna. My point is that stranded wire should work the same as solid wire as long as the two antennas (or +/-) are not wrapped together. Is this correct?
Thanks for taking my questions
Karl
ADMIN – Hi Karl,
1) Yes, the remote trainer works separately from the fence transmitter. You can take it and use it when you walk the dog for example.
2) Most systems come with 500 feet of wire which will cover up to 1/3 of an acre. The SD 3000 has a capacity of 5 acres. Our comparison chart shows all the yard capacities of all the in-ground fences: http://www.dogfencediy.com/reviews/. Also, here’s a chart on deciding how much extra wire you’ll need: http://www.dogfencediy.com/faqs/how-much-wire/.
3) All the 20 gauge wire we sell is solid copper core wire. The 18 gauge wire we sell is stranded. No real difference in terms of functionality. Twisted wire is simply the boundary wire twisted together. When twisted together, one twist per inch, it cancels the radio signal coming transmitting on that section of twisted wire. There is no +/- with the wire. Our twisted wire page may be useful for understanding it’s function and the only places you can use it: http://www.dogfencediy.com/installation/plan/twisted-wire/
I purchased the Innotek IUC 4100. I used about 1200 ft of wire, but I have used over 150 flags to mark the boundary. The back of my property is wooded, hilly, and rocky, so I had to put the flags close together so our dogs could distinguish their boundary. I have read that through successful training, the dogs could be contained within the flags away from home (without wire/correction). My husband and I are going out of town, and family members will be watching our dogs at their house for a week. Our dogs are very familiar and comfortable with their home. We would like to put the flags around our family members’ home, so that our dogs may roam their yard supervised, but not leashed. However, I am out of flags and will not be ready to take ours up at that point. I would like 100-150 flags (the metal flags-plastic ones are horrible!), but I do not see where I can purchase only flags on your website? I really trust Dog Fence DIY, and prefer to do business only here. Could the flag-alone containment work, and where can I get more flags?
ADMIN – Hi Krystal,
Flag only containment works with trained dogs but is of course not as reliable because eventually the dogs figure out there is no correction associated with these flags. I would only use it when the dogs are under supervision and would not use it where there is a serious safety hazard nearby, because the consequences of a slip-up are too great. All that said, lots of people use the flags when they are say camping to keep the dogs nearby. So when you finish training your dogs and pull up the flags be sure to save a few.
You can get more dog fence boundary flags in our store here: http://dogfencediy.com/store/wire/boundary-flags.html.
You can also pop down to your local hardware store and get boundary flags in the gardening of plumbing section. They use similar flags to mark pesticide application or to mark utility lines respectively. These flags look very similar to the ones used for dog fence training.
I have read that the border needs to be a complete loop of wire, but the way my yard is laid out there is some areas that I want the dog to get through, can I put the wire in some 1 inch diameter pvc tubing and bury it, would he be able to get through that area without getting corrected. Any other ideas would be cool, thanks.
ADMIN – Hi Mann,
The best way to create gaps in the boundary is to raise the wire high enough above the ground so that the signal does not reach the dog at ground level. You can also be devious about the kind of loop you make, doubling back on yourself (with six feet of separation between opposite sections of wire) and doing other such trickery to get your desired layout while still meeting the loop requirement. If you email us a diagram, we are happy to lend a hand in designing the layout.
Inserting the boundary wire into PVC or metal tubing will not block the signal, nor will burying the wire (unless you go 2+ feet down).
I have 2 small dogs. A mini-wiener (7 lbs) and another lovable mutt (14lbs). Do you have a recommendation for a wired system that does not require a proprietary battery. The PetSafe LittleDog would work, but they’re thieves for making me pay $8/month ongoing – isn’t $400 up front enough?
ADMIN – Hi Kip,
Afraid, for the Mini Weiner, the PetSafe Little Dog is the only good choice and this of course comes with the $10 proprietary battery. Everything else is too big and has the correction levels set too high. For the bigger dog, you could use a PetSafe Deluxe collar, it is a little bigger and also uses a proprietary battery but it is much cheaper costs around $4.
We share your distaste for expensive proprietary batteries. You can squeeze out about 3 months out of the batteries if you turn the collar off when not in use.
My yard is fenced other than up by the garage. I have about 30 feet that I would like to contain, is there a smaller cheaper kit that i can buy?
ADMIN – Hi Michael,
If you are doing a small area, less than 50 feet then you can use the Paws Away Rock Set. The set is much cheaper than a full system and is easier to put in, but can only use a maximum of 150 feet of boundary wire – so isn’t much use where the area you need to block is greater than 50 feet. But, that should work fine for you. What kind of dog are we containing.
I recently purchased the Stubborn Dog Kit. With the extra wire I ordered came 2 splices. There were no instructions how to use these. I’m not very intuitive when it comes to these things, how do I use them? Thanks.
ADMIN – Hi Louis,
There are two types of splices. The newer 3M splices, are clear have three holes and a button on top. With these splices you strip a bit of insulation off the end of both wires you are splicing together, you insert the two wires in any two holes in the splice, then push down hard on the button to lock the wires in place.
The older splices are a wire nut plus a gel-filled capsule. You strip a little insulation off the end of the two wires you are splicing together, twist them together in the wire nut, then plunge the wire and wire nut into the gel filled capsule and close the capsule door to lock them in place.
I DO INSTALLATIONS USING INNOTEK PRODUCTS. I USE A HONDA ROTORTILLER WITH A KIT INSTALLED TO LAY THE WIRE. IS THERE SOMETHING OUT THERE THAT WOULD BE EASIER TO USE WITH ONE PERSON. WHAT TYPE OF EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE TO INSTALL WIRE.
ADMIN – Hi Cory,
We use the EZ Trench small cable installers. Here’s what we’ve used and recommend for our customers:
http://www.dogfencediy.com/installation/burying-the-wire/trencher/
I just started training my 2 year old Shiba Inu dog with the UltraSmart IUC 4100 dog fence. I am currently in step one. For some reason the collar does not beep until my dog has walked past the training flags. Is it supposed to do this? If I take his collar off and hold it myself, it beeps right at the flag. I am afraid this will confuse him. Also it seems he does not even pay attention to the beep, so when I say No! No! No! and run the other way, he looks at me as if to say “Why are you doing this?” Please help!
ADMIN – Hi Marissa,
You are on the right track.
As long as the beep is going off somewhere near the flags all is well.
With a Shiba, no reaction is typical in Step 1. I find them generally a pretty hard headed dog. They are still observing and learning, they just won’t react because at the moment he sees no reason to do anything. Keep on with the training. You will notice when you get to step 2, that he will be a completely different dog. Once you apply the correction, a light will go off in his head and he will realize why you were telling him No and asking him to retreat.
Reading through all the various questions and comments on this sight, I’m still don’t know which fence system to buy – the Innotek 4100 or the Petsafe Stubborn for my 7 month old German Shepherd. I expect him to get to about 80-85 lbs and his bloodlines are bred specifically for working (Police dogs, SAR, Schutzhund, etc) so expect him to be pretty resistant to pain. Any specific feature/attribute that I should consider to tip the scale one way or the other? Also, how do the 3 correction levels on the Innotek compare to the 5 on the Stubborn? In other words, are the 1-3 on the Innotek the same as the 1-3 on the Stubborn? Or perhaps 1-3 Innotek same as 2-4 on Stubborn? Or 1-3 Innotek = 1, 3, 5 Stubborn? Get my drift? Thanks.
Admin- Hi Dries,
We recommend the PeSafe Stubborn/Large dog system for larger breads like a German Shepherd. You will be more flexible with the correction levels on the PetSafe stubborn dog. The 3 levels of correction on the Innotek are very similar to levels 2-4 on the PetSafe stubborn. Level 1 on the stubborn is warning tone/vibrate only and level 5 is five times stronger than level 4.
I’ve used the Innotek SD-2000 for years with good success. My Black Lab has nicely stayed at home since installed. I agree with the down fall of the cheaper unit not knowing when battery is getting low. Can I upgrade with a new collar? Will the upgraded receiver (collar) work with the transmitter from the SD-2000?
ADMIN – Hi Lambert,
Afraid the SD-2000 transmitter will not work with any other collars (except the SD-3000 collars which also lack a battery indicator). If you want to upgrade the collar you will also need to switch out the transmitter. However you can keep the existing wire in the ground.
I live in Costa Rica, am considering buying the Innotek 4100 for my 2 dogs on my 2.5 acre lot and having my daughter send it to me. Obviously I’ll need more than the basic 500 ft of wire and shipping & import costs would be outrageous. My questions are; 1- can I just buy the wire here or is it some special kind of electric cable? 2- is the Innotek 4100 best for my big, heavy Cane Corso and my medium American Stanford Terrier? Thanks in advance.
P.S. I’ve learned a lot from reading all of your informative webpage.
ADMIN – Hi Dennis,
Yes, you can (and should) try and get the wire domestically – the wire is very heavy and shipping it is ridiculously expensive. You can use any insulated single copper wire. If possible, get wire that is ‘direct burial’ approved. That kind of wire is going to hold up better in your soil than standard PVC wire.
With those two dogs being such different sizes, a system that lets you set the correction level of each dog separately at the collar (instead of jointly at the base station) would be a better bet. Instead of the Innotek consider the PetSafe Stubborn or the SportDog. They are similar system, both will let you set the correction level for each dog independently. The SportDog is a little more expensive but has a better base station and a better warranty.