For even professionals, finding a wire break can be a big exercise in frustration. Most of the time when we are called out to find a customer’s wire break it is easy and we find it within minutes using our RF choke and trust AM radio. But other times that wire break just does not want to be found.

Hello,
We are in the planning stages of installing an invisible dog fence. A few of our questions have already been answer above, but at this time I have one question. How hard is it to find a break in the underground wire fence ? Someone we know installed an underground fence 5 years ago, and she says the biggest problem was finding breaks in the wire, which usually was caused by other animals in the ground chewing the wire open. So any info on this issue would be helpful.

Hi Clint,

To find a break, you use a device called an RF choke (it comes free with all our systems) that makes the wire “sing” so that you can hear it with an AM radio. You follow the wire around and listen for the part of the installation where the wire goes quiet. The break should be within a couple of feet. See here for details:

http://www.dogfencediy.com/maintenance/finding-break/

It is one of those things where it really pays to be slow and methodical. For an average 1 acre lot you should budget about an hour to find a break and repair it. It usually doesn’t take so long, but when you are relaxed and not hurried it really does make finding the break much easier.

I don’t want to get all Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance on you, but finding the wire break is one of those weird Zen things. The harder you try to find that break, the more angry and frustrated you become. If you really have to find it quickly because you have an appointment, forget about it. But, when you are at peace with it taking an hour, you relax and go methodically around the perimeter, it tends to just pop right out.

Another big factor in break that most customers never see or appreciate is that the better the design and installation of the system, the less likely you are to get a break. Avoid running the wire anywhere where there is likely to be an edger, weed eater, or aerator passing by. When unavoidable, protect the wire with old garden hose pipe or PVC pipe.

A very common behavioral issue with dogs is jumping on people as a way to greet them.

great website. Leaning towards the Innotek 5100 for an 8 month 40 lb golden doodle for both training and containing. We’re in a fairly quiet neighborhood, but when people walk by she goes after them. She’s very friendly, but she’s a jumper and has ticked off several neighbors as well as the non-dog people we have over. Also have 2 and 4 year old boys and the jumping is getting old. Not having any success training her with the jumping or leaving the yard, but she is a smart dog and fast learner with everything else. Just need a little extra help. Does the remote work anywhere on the property (only 2/3 acre)? Thanks for your help.

Marc

Hi Marc,

The Innotek IUC-5100 remote training function works everywhere, not just inside the boundary location, that is marked within the boundary wire. You could for example use the remote trainer while you are out at the park.

Appreciate the compliment. I think we are really lucky that when we started we only did only one thing (electric dog fence) and try and do it really well. Now after saying all that I am going to venture into territory I know nothing about.

One trick we have found that works well with dogs to teach them to greet strangers by sitting (and begging) rather than jumping is called “Sit to Greet.” Basically you leash the dog and tie one end of the leash to a post. Then approach the dog, they will inevitably jump. When they jump, back away. Re-approach, and again if they jump back away, maybe even turn your back to the dog. Eventually, the dog will get bored and will sit. Reinforce this behavior, by praising the dog when they sit and giving them a treat.

Repeat the exercise lots first while tied on the leash, then with the leash dragging (so you can quickly correct the dog if they jump, then finally completely off leash. Try and use as many confederates as you can to help you. Kids find it fun and should be easy to recruit.

Basically, as things currently stand when the dog is jumping they are rewarded by excitement or attention. We just want to change that. Now we are going to ignore them when they do the bad behavior and reward them for doing another behavior (sitting). Sometimes you will see very quick results. Dogs can learn very fast when motivated. If it doesn’t start working within a week, then try the remote trainer.

Hope that is helpful

Stewart Aldous
DogFenceDIY.com
(678) 389 6661

A reader asks why you cannot use metal id tags in conjunction with a dog fence system. And how you round the corners when running the system along a gutter where there are sharp ninety dgree turns.

I just bought an Innotek 4100 -
their manual says for the dogs not to wear any metal tags – is that an issue? most dog id tags i know of are metal
i’ll be doing a backyard only installation – i have ~ 1 acre in my back yard -
i’m looking at going over the house, as you suggest -
there are a lot of sharp angles in the rain gutters/on the eaves -
do right angles matter here?
also – how do you affix the wire to plastic rain gutter/aluminim siding?
thanks, mm

Hi MM,

The reason for the caution against using metal ID tags, is that if the tags touch both prongs of the collar, when the correction is applied it will short out and go through the collar rather than correcting the dog. This means the dog will not feel the correction and it will be an ineffective way of training them. I prefer to see customers use either plastic tags, or even better, a nylon webbing dog collar with the dog’s name sown into it. (I really like this Orvis personalised dog collar, I use it with my dogs and they have been really durable and wash out as good as new if you just throw them in the washing machine after the dogs have taken a good mud path!)

The reason why we avoid sharp 90 degree turns when laying the dog fence boundary wire is that the signals in the wire can interfere with each other if you do these sharp turns. This is not an issue when you are running the wire up along the gutters, because you don’t need the signal to be active there. So you can make sharp turns with the wire without any problems when running the wire alogn the gutter.

Usually, I just let the wire sit free in the gutter, friction seems to hold in place well enough. You can also zip tie it to any holes int he gutter, or to a leaf gaurd using zip-ties or something similar.

Bob Holmes
robert@dogfencediy.com

A French reader ask about setting up a system in their

I ran over my terrier yesterday, and need to do something to stop a similar accident happening again! Her back leg has come out of the socket and she’s being operated on tomorrow. Thankfully I didn’t kill her! My priority now is to prevent this happening again.

My two terriers get very excited when cars come up the driveway and run alongside and infront of cars. They also tend to head out if I am not here, either over the wall of our property, or under the hedge and out of the neigbour’s gates.I have a large plot of 20 acres. My main priority is to stop them exiting on the West and North sides of the property and on to the road. The South and East sides are all grassland, surrounded by electric horse fencing, as well as woods behind the house. The house is a very old farmhouse with thick walls, and sits on top of a hill.

Is it possible to just fence the two sides that I don’t want the dogs going out of, ie in to the neigbour’s and on to the driveway? There is timber and wire mesh fencing along the North boundary but it is only about 5 ft high, so I don’t suppose I can do a loop and attach one wire to the top and one at the bottom of the fence as it may not be far enough apart – you recommend 6ft? Could I run the cable in hosepipe across the driveway, and in the wooded area instead of burying it?
I would like the dogs to still be able to come out with me into the fields with the horses, and I feel that it will be very labour intensive to bury a cable all the way around the land, 6ft from the existing electric fence, which is why I am thinking that it might be better to do a loop just along two sides of the property. I also have a track running around the outside of the horse fencing which I walk the dogs on, and I’d be concerned that maybe I would no longer be able to do that with them without removing the collars.
What is your advice please?

The other option I looked at was the WiFi system, but I don’t think this would work from the main house – because of the thick walls. However, I have a studio, made of timber, about 160ft from the house. If I put this in the studio, would I end up with a boundary penetrating through the house walls that may be inconsistent? Again, my main objective is to keep them off the driveway and off the road, so it really is just for an arc of about 1/4 of a circle that I need, so maybe Wifi is a bad option?
We get severe thunder storms in summer, and the house was hit by lighting last year, so I need a system with lightning protection.
Most importantly, will your system work in France? We are on 220v and you are on 110v I think…..

What would you recommend?

Sorry for the long email!

Hi CL,

Sounds like an awful experience for both of you. I hope she is feeling a little better.

With a wired system, you do need to have a complete loop. You can do just two sides, but then you will need to double back on yourself with about 6 feet of separation between the two wires. If you have a five foot fence, you can experiment with running one length along the top and one length along the bottom. You can sometimes get it to work if you are willing to turn the boundary width down to three feet.

You are correct that if you run the wire along a fence close your walking track, you will not be able to walk the dogs there without removing their collars.

I would avoid a wireless dog fence system. With thick walls, the system will have a lot of trouble getting a consistent boundary established on the perimeter. They also seem to have a lot of trouble with log cabins, and I suspect in the timber walled studio there will be similar issues.

The systems on this site are all 110V, but there are European versions that you can find locally that will work on 220 volts electric systems that you find in France. I think there are a couple of British sites that I know of that sell the systems.

Your property sounds very picturesque.

I hope that was helpful.

Stu

The use of dogs for therapeutic purposes has expanded in recent years well beyond just use with the deaf. Therapeutic dogs are being used to help people with mental illness such as anxiety, people with diabetes, and people who are prone to seizures. One reader recently explained how his family is planning to use a service dog with their son with autism, as both a companion and to help keep his son safe, and the unique challenges this poses when containing the dog. Specifically, a service dog as well as being contained needs the ability to go wherever it’s master goes. You don’t want the service dog for example being unable to follow a runaway child all the way to the edge of the property.

We recently purchased a dog (future service dog). My 7 year old son has autism. I am hoping you might be able to answer my questions. Before I ask you the technical product questions I will begin explaining the need/purpose for a service dog for our son. My son loves to be outside. While we try to monitor him closely, we cannot watch him every second he is outside. My wife may be inside doing house work cleaning up one of his many messes or we may even be outside with him doing yard work, but he is fast and can disappear quickly. Unfortunately we live off a county highway and my son is starting to venture off the property. We have a fence along the highway side and back side of our property. We are correcting him when he leaves the yard and working with his therapist to change that behavior but we are still worried about him leaving the yard. We have discussed fencing off the entire property and even installing a remote gate for the driveway. This is a very expensive option with no real assurance it will keep him from leaving our yard. If fact, he is very active and a great climber! He can climb fences with ease. We have looked at other options like GPS monitoring and other similar systems that would alert us if he has left or attempting to leave the yard. Not as expensive but still does nothing to actually prevent him from leaving our yard. After much research we have learned of autism service dogs. We have talked with several people around the country who have trained dogs for children with autism. After explaining to them our situation several trainers recommended the Australian Shepherd for such circumstances. We have been told this breed is a natural herder and may be trained to “corral” him within our yard, possibly blocking him form leaving the yard, or at the very lease bark when my son attempts to leave the yard. Currently there are no service dogs being training for “herding” purposes. There are a couple of pilot programs taking place but those dogs won’t be available for at least two years. The cost of a fully trained service dog is over $20,000. These reasons are why we purchased our own dog and hired a professional trainer. We purchased a puppy last August and are going through all the dog training. He has left the yard on several occasions. Not surprising, he is a very curious puppy. One amazing thing is he seemed to know immediately our son was special needs. He treats him very gently. He already is flanking him all around the yard. While things are going well we would still like to install an underground fence for the dog. I know that this fence will prevent the dog from following our son out of the yard. Our dog trainer and my son’s therapist think this type of system would be best for now. They plan on working heavily with our son on not exiting the unfenced side of the yard. He never has shown interest in the front street (the only unfenced side). He is more interested the the fields and woods which are fenced. I am sorry this e-mail is so long winded, but I feel it is important you know the entire situation. Now for my questions to you.

As I mentioned, our 2-1/2 acre property is fenced on two sides and this spring we plan to add a fence to a third side. The front will not be fenced. I have read on the Internet that people still install the underground fence on sides of their property that have existing fences. My question is: If there is an invisible fence installed where an existing fence is, will my dog get corrected/shocked just walking up to the fence? With our dog being a future service dog, he needs the ability to follow our son everywhere within our yard, which means up to the fence lines. The system I am interested in purchasing from you is the Innotek IUC-4100. It has an adjustment for the field width. I assume for systems that are installed next to an existing fence you adjust the field width as small as possible. But what about properties that have some sides fenced and some unfenced like mine. I need the field width larger on the sides without a fence. Is it possible to have the system set at a high field with on the wall mounted transmitter and after the boundary wire runs past the unfenced property side to reduce the field width by installing something in line at the beginning of the fenced side. A resistor or potentiometer maybe?

That is wonderful that the dog can provide companionship for your son. There is an inherent tension in using a dog fence to contain the dog, but also let him have full access to wherever your son can go. Electric fences do all need some kind of buffer zone.

First, putting in an inground system is absolutely the way to go. Wireless dog fences are just too vague to make sense where you want a crisp boundary.

There is no way to make the boundary width narrower in some areas than others. There are a few tricks that achieve a similar end. For example, placing the wire on top of the fence rather than on the bottom, effectively reduces the field width because the signal needs to travel an extra distance down to the dog’s neck level where the collar is located. If the fence is say six feet high, and you have the boundary width set at say 3 feet, the dog could get all the way to the edge of the fence without getting the correction (because the signal would not reach the ground).

The other solution is to either not lay the wire in the fenced section, or to find a kind neighbor that will let you lay the wire in their yard behind your fence.

My intuition is that a resistor will not cause a reduction in the signal in one particular area, rather a general reduction across the entire area.

Hope that Helps

Stu.

Usually you can run the wire unprotected through the ground and across a driveway. The boundary wire is surprisingly durable and can even be run above the driveway unprotected without succumbing to breakages. (although it will wear out sooner). But, gravel driveways are an exception to this general rule. With gravel you want to use a pipe or other conduit to protect the dog fence boundary wire.

We have two gravel driveways that need to be crossed with the wire. Due to a rough winter (lots of snow, thus plowing, melting, and some rutting) I am concerned with finding the best way to bury the wire. In a garden hose? Then buried 6 inches? PVC Pipe? Or can the wire take being buried in gravel without any protection – it seems it will damage it?

How does one get the wire fed through the PVC or garden hose? Unfortunately the wire is in the middle of the spool so that would be a few hundred feet of threading or is it ok to add another splice for this purpose?

When running wire over, under or through a gravel driveway, the wire needs to be protected otherwise the sharp shards of gravel grinding against each other when you drive over can break the wire or wear it down quickly. Wire is typically protected using PVC pipe or a garden hose that is buried just below the surface. (one inch down is fine). I find garden hose easier to work with, but if you expect to be running other wires through this conduit, you are better off putting in the larger diameter PVC pipe.

It is easiest to run the wire through the conduit before it is laid down. You can either feed the wire directly through the conduit, or use fish tape for longer runs. Run the fish tape through the conduit, then securely fasten the boundary wire to the fish tape using electrical tape. Then gently pull the boundary wire back through.

Where possible I will try and avoid creating another splice point as these tend to be weak spots in the system. But, certainly breaking the wire a few feet before and/or after the conduit section and splicing it back together is no big deal.

Can you use an pet containment system designed for a cat on a small dog?  We don’t really have a good answer, but are hoping some of you might have some ideas.

Hi Stu,

I have what might seem like a strange question. First a little background.

We just went through a tormenting 2 days with a lost and treasured Yorkie ( our two other monster dogs have not caused us a single moments stress ). The angels shined on us and we found her. We cannot go through this again.

Cost is a concern, but we are willing to take the bullet. However, unlike many stories ( with owners with great open expanses ), our dogs have a 1/2 acre safe fenced in back yard to play. The only area of concern is the front of the house where none of our dogs are allowed access unleashed. This most recent escape was a result of a guest not
securing our front gate and our not double checking.

In other words our need is purely as a back up on, hopefully, seldom escapes such as these. We are vigilant but…

This has no relevance to my question, but I prefer providing some background to illuminate our needs.

It seems that the options are very limited for small dogs.  Is there any reason why I couldn’t opt for the larger choice of cat fences on the market ?

While the cost are comparable, it seems that the options expand, such as not having to deal with proprietary batteries while keeping the most critical factor intact which is collar size.

My dog is not larger than a big cat and while it is likely that shock strength is weaker on the cat collar, I can’t imagine that the impact would be very different if my breed of dog is comparable, in size, to a large cat.

I appreciate your kind advice and thank you in advance.

Patrick

Hi Patrick,

I am afraid I don’t know too much about the cat fences on the market. I always thought there was only one – the PetSafe?  I can’t see any reason why you couldn’t use a cat specific model … but again I don’t know much about how these work.  The main concern I would have is that I speculate without knowing that they correction level is very low,
but that does not seem to be an issue here.

Unfortunately with dog specific models, there is only one good option for small dogs (under 12lbs), the PetSafe Little Dog.  Other fences are just too big and the correction too strong.  It is a great system, but it’s achilles heel is the battery which costs about $10 and lasts about 2 months.  You can squeeze out a third month if you switch it off every night, but that is still not great.

Stewart Aldous
Customer Specialist
DogFenceDIY.com
(678) 389 6661

As the northeast gets a last bout of winter, we have a few tips for keeping your dog healthy in the snow:

1. Keep your dog inside where possible.  The cold temperatures can cause a dangerous situation more quickly than you can imagine.  Even sitting in an idle car for too long can cause your dog to start entering hypothermia.  This is particularly the case on cold windy days when the wind chill brings on hypothermia even faster.  This advice applies double for puppies, and older dogs.  This is not the best time to try out your new dog containment system for extended periods.
2. If your dog spends a lot of time in the cold, particularly if they are a working dog, increase their rations temporarily for the winter.  In particular try and increase their fat and protein intake.  A bit of olive oil and an egg on top of their kibble helps give them that extra nutrition to get them through the winter in tip-top condition.
3. If you live in an area where there is a lot of salt use to thaw out roads and pavement, be sure to clean off your dog when they come back inside.  Your dog’s love of salt, plus their desire to keep them self well groomed can lead to the ingestion of all sorts of nasties.  So best to clean it over before it goes in their mouth.
4. If cracking paw pads is a problem, monitor the situation carefully and preemptively strike.  Keep paws dry, by wearing doggy booties, or use Vaseline to keep pads supple.

Finally, have fun.  Check out this great pictures of first dog, Bo Obama playing in the winter snow. (Courtesy of Huffington Post)

Bo Obama Playing in the Snow

.

A common question is whether you can mix systems together, so use say an Innotek Collar with say an Invisible Fence system.

Can I use one of the Innotek 4100 collars with my Invisible Fence? I just got a rescue chocolate lab, and I want to be able to have a rechargeable collar and be able to set the shock level myself?

Sam
Houston

Hi Sam,

For the most part there is no compatibility between brands. So the Innotek IUC-4100 collar will not work with any other system, and in particular will not work with an Invisible Fence system.

The single exception is the SportDog and PetSafe. You can use a SportDog SDF-100 system with any PetSafe inground system collar. Similarly you can use the SportDog collar with any PetSafe system.

Hope that clears up the compatibility issue.

Stu

*The Invisible Fence Brand is a trademark of Radio Systems Corporation. This site is not affiliated with Invisible Fence. Invisible Fence denotes one brand of underground pet containment system. Other pet containment brands include Innotek, PetSafe, Humane Contain, Perimeter Technologies, Dog Watch, Dog Stop and Contain a Pet.

Do you need to take the dog around to every flag when training a Dog on an underground electric fence? Our dog fence training protocol suggests you move the dog to different sections of the installation each time you do a training session. But do you need to take the dogs around to each and every single individual flag?

I am very interested in installing an underground electric fence for our dogs. I do have a concern about training though. I want to fence in about 5 acres. The front boundary, which is the only side where there is a public road, will also have regular fencing and the driveway will be gated. I want that to keep people from driving in while the dogs are loose and also to give a little extra protection to be sure the dogs don’t make a bolt for the road. My land is somewhat steep in some areas, though I can get up there for the installation. The dogs LOVE to run and play on the hills, so I really want to be able to give them access to those areas. My concern, though, is with the training part. Will I have to cover the entire boundary with them, multiple times daily, in order to get them trained or do they learn to respond to the flags without having to be physically taken by a handler to each and every flag?

I have five dogs. Like I mentioned, some of the areas are rather steep. I can get up there for installation and to put the flags in place. But I just don’t think I could possibly have the time or stamina to individually train all the dogs to the boundary, having to take them around 2-3 times a day on a leash. I know that I could give them the time daily to get used to the flags in the more accessible areas, for a couple of weeks.

My two leader dogs are already somewhat familiar with the areas where they will be permitted because I have used a training collar with them to help keep them under control and they respond well to that. The other dogs tend to stay with those two, even without a correction collar on. For the underground fence training, do the dogs ever respond to mentoring by other dogs?

I do not intend to ever leave the dogs loose within the fence without supervision. I’m just looking for a way to keep them within certain limits, on my own land (not bothering the land surrounding me which is leased by hunt clubs) when I am out with them or when I am working at my studio which is away from the house.

I’m really hoping that we can find a way to make the underground fencing work for this set-up. The expense of regular fencing would be prohibitive and it would be extremely difficult to install regular fencing in some of the areas anyway, even if cost were not a factor.

Thanks,

Kim

Hi Kim,

You don’t have to take the dogs to each individual area. Just use different areas when you train (you want them to learn that the rules apply wherever there are flags, not just in one specific areas). As long as you do a bit of training in a few different areas they should learn the general rule that wherever there are flags, you should keep away.

That is why you will often also see the dogs avoid any type of flag (e.g. a construction flag).

There are a few areas where I do want to specifically take the dog. The driveway, where there are often no flags, due to the difficulty of putting flags in the ground is one area where I want to make sure to train the dogs, and where the dogs often are used to entering and exiting. Similarly, any other spots you think may need special attention are worth spending some time training your dogs. But, otherwise dogs will generally make the cognitive leap from the specific rule to the general when training on an underground electric dog fence.

Dogs will often take their lead from other members of the pack. They don’t so much learn the system from the other dogs, so much as they don’t want to wander far from the other dogs, and if the lead dogs don’t go past the boundary, they won’t either. But, this is certainly not the case for every dog. Some dogs, especially young males just like to wander on their own. It is good to at least give them a bit of training from you to reinforce the message.

Bob Holmes
robert@dogfencediy.com

http://www.DogFenceDIY.com