ADMIN – Hi Heather,

The PetSafe Systems are good where there is a big dog and a small dog on the same system, because they have different sized collars that you can fit to suit each dog. I would recommend a PetSafe Stubborn dog system and using the included collar for the Labrador. I would use an extra PetSafe Deluxe collar for the French Poodle. These systems have a wire boundary. The wire does not have to be buried per se, just laid out across along the boundary line and stapled down. However if you are running the wire along a mowed area, burial is highly recommended. For un-mowed areas like woods, you do not need to bury the wire.

You could also use a wireless system like the Havahart Radial. It will not require any wire, but the performance will not be as good as a wired system. The boundaries will move around a few feet minute to minute making training more difficult. They also have trouble working in some homes, particularly where there is sheet metal or lots of trees on the property.

ADMIN – Hi Edmund,

There is no minimum burial width, however if you are going to mow the area you want the wire to be at least an inch below ground to avoid it being accidently hit by the mower. The maximum burial width is about one foot (more for sandy soils, less for heavy clays)

ADMIN – Hi Doug & Jen,

The thinner gauge wires do have higher resistance which results in lower range than the thicker gauges. But, for 2,000 feet you should not have a problem with the standard 20 gauge.

Generally mixing different gauges is not a good idea, because the areas with a thicker gauge end up with different boundary widths than the areas with the thinner gauge. But, with the twisted wire since there is no boundary this is a non-issue – so you can freely mix one gauge twisted wire with a different gauge single boundary wire.

The PetSafe Stubborn is a good system at a good price. The main drawback is that the collar are bigger than most, but that is not going to be an issue with your dogs. The Stubborn also has a higher correction level than other systems that can come in useful with particularly truculent OEB’s. The extra collars on the Stubborn are also much cheaper than those on other systems like the Innoteks.

ADMIN – Hi Gregg,

Fence mounting the wire on chain link works well. As you mention placing the wire a few inches above the ground is a good practice because it keeps the wire away from weed-eaters. With those two guardian dogs, a stronger correction collar may be needed. I would use something like the PetSafe Stubborn.

ADMIN – Hi Mac,

1. A good system would be the Innotek IUC-4100. It is a good responsive system which helps for dogs with a high prey drive, and the collar is small enough that it would not be a bother on a 30lb dog. There are a few other nice features, like the rechargeable collar, and the collar-fit test.

2. For a 1.8 acre lot, I would use the standard 20 gauge wire. The marginal benefit from using the thicker wire for a 1.8 acres installation is small.

3. A good rule of thumb is that 1500 feet of wire will enclose about 2 acres. For a high energy dog, I would want at least five feet on either side of the wire, at least for the training. You are lucky to have a nice big yard, so you can make the boundary nice and wide.

ADMIN Hi Lea,

For a high powered system that is waterproof, the PetSafe Stubborn Fence would be a good choice. The PetSafe has collars that can handle full immersion for when the dogs swim. And the PetSafe Stubborn has higher correction levels than other systems which will be useful with a dogs that need a bit more power to get their attention.

ADMIN – Hi Trenching When Wet,

If the ground is wet, particularly clay soils it gets very sticky and tends to clog up the trencher making progress tough going. For sandy soils, the wet is not a big deal and you can trench away. In winter, lots of our customers simply staple the wire to the ground and start training the dog. Then, when the weather gets better they do the permanent below ground installation.

The PetSafe Deluxe system can use the collars from the PetSafe Stubborn, PetSafe Little Dog, and the SportDog SDF-100A. For the German Shepherd, a PetSafe Stubborn collar would be your best bet.

ADMIN – Hi Heidi,

With the wooded area we don’t usually bury the wire. Since the area is not mowed, we usually just staple the wire to the ground. Over time, the wire tends to bury itself as leaves fall down and cover the wire. Burying the wire is very difficult in wooded areas, because the tree roots make it close to impossible to trench.

We have a pet stop fence and it has stopped working. I had a company come out to look at it and they said the wire was cut or knocked in quite a few places and recommended replacing all the wire as the collar and main control are still good. If I chose to do this myself what type of wire should I use?

Thanks

ADMIN – Hi Charlie,

You want to replace the wire with direct burial wire rated at least 600 volts. We sell 20 gauge all the way down to 14 gauge. 14 gauge offers you the lowest risk against breaks and the widest boundary radius.

Our wire’s insulation is made of a high density polyethylene jacket which keeps it from deteriorating in the ground over a long period of time.

Other than that, both stranded or solid copper insulated will do the job great.

ADMIN – Hi Greg,

Finding old wire should not be any different. Take a look at our Installation page on “Find a Wire Break.” Only the wire that is currently plugged into the transmitter will be detected. It does not matter if you have a lot of old wire in the ground. Nor does it matter if the wire you are hunting is old.