Twisted Wire
Twisted wire is simply two regular wires twisted together. Having two wires so close together causes the signals coming out of each wire to cancel each other out and creates a dead-zone where the dog can walk over safely without getting the warning or the correction. But, the twisted wire can only be used in certain situations. The main use for twisted wire is to connect the main boundary loop to the control box. You can also use the twisted wire to connect one loop to another loop. But, you absolutely cannot use the twisted wire as part of the main loop. The video below shows you how to use twisted wire and how you can make your own.
Here is an example to help you understand the use of twisted wire.
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Imagine you had a boundary going around your entire property, with the base station inside your home. You have everything connected and test to make sure everything works fine, but the layout is not ideal. |
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You would have two strands of wire coming into the base station from the perimeter. This would be inconvenient because the dog could not cross the section of the wire. |
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Cut the boundary wire where it turns in from the perimeter toward the house and disconnect the wire from the control box. (If you bought the pre-twisted you would replace this section with the pre-twisted wire, so skip straight to step 5 where we connect up the twisted wire.) The rest of us will need to twist the wire ourselves. |
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Twist the two wires together, so that there is about one twist per inch. Err toward having more twists rather than less. The easiest way to twist the wires is to attach them to an electric drill and let the drill do the twisting for you. |
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Now we splice the twisted wire back into the boundary loop on one side, and re-connect the twisted wire to the control box on the other side. |
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Voila! Your dog can now safely cross over the twisted section without hearing the warning beep or getting the correction. |
If you found this information useful, consider purchasing your dog fence from us. We have great after sales service (check out our testimonials). Having us a phone call away (1-888-9-DOG-DIY) if you run into problems makes containment easy.Stu & the Dog Fence DIY Team
{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
I have two acres of property and I would like to know invisible fence products can I use?
is your products long enough to put this around my property.
ADMIN – Hi Cathy,
Yes, with any of our dog fence systems you’ll be plenty within range. The two smallest acre sizes is the Perimeter Technologies Ultra with a capacity of 5 acres and the PetSafe Stubborn dog with a capacity of 10 acres. The rest of the fences have a capacity of 25 acres and up.
We live on a lake and would like the dogs to have the ability to get in the water. How would you implement a 3 sided fence? We could bury the shore line side in metal conduit, would that be enough to stop the signal. Is there a better way to do this? Thanks
ADMIN – Hi Jason,
There are a few ways to do lake frontage where you want the dogs to be able to go in the water.
First, you can do a U-shaped loop of the other three sides, then double back on your self six feet apart to complete the loop.
Second, you can run a regular loop around all four sides, but on the lakefront side, run the wire up high above ground level (using for example conveniently located trees). The vertical elevation of the wire lets the dogs pass underneath without getting the correction.
Third, you can run a loop along all four sides, but on the lakefront side run the wire out into the lake and sink the wire to the bottom of the lake if it is deep enough. I like this method the least because, if you get a break out in the lake area – fixing it is a pain.
Putting the wire though metal conduit is not helpful. The metal does not block the signal consistently, it often enhances the signal.
Can the twisted wire be used to go under a deck which has an outside door which we would like to use to let the dog in and out. The twisted wire would be in the main loop, or is there a better way to do it. thanks
ADMIN – Hi Doug,
You can never use the twisted wire as part of the main loop. When you do use the twisted wire as part of the loop it is fully active and triggers the collar as per normal.
There is no way to shield part of the loop, but you can go high above or down below the deck so that the signal does not reach the deck. If the deck is elevated a few feet above ground, we will often go down below the deck. Otherwise, we will run the wire along the roof line in the area of the deck to get across without creating an area of correction. Take a look at the Installation–>Planning section for more options.
If you email us a diagram of the layout, we can usually design something that will work.
Can I attach two twisted pair wires to a single transmitter. Each of these twisted pairs would run for around 100′ and then I would attach a normal loop containment to each of the twisted wires. In other words, I would attach two complete and individual circuits to the transmitter. Thanks.
ADMIN – You can attach two twisted pair to a single transmitter. You can do it the way you suggest, with both twisted pair connecting directly to the transmitter – but, this can lead to the two loops having different signal strengths (because they are on different circuits.
The preferable way to do it is to splice one of the twisted pair into the other. So you will connect one of the twisted pair to the transmitter. At a convenient location on this primary twisted pair, cut one of the two wires and splice in the secondary twisted pair.
You are very kind to conitnue to answer all of my questions! I have 2 more
First, (and this might be a dumb one) why is it necessary to cut the wire before you twist it when going from the boundary loop to the control box? Isn’t it possible to twist the wire without having to cut it and later splice it?
Second, we will be mounting the box inside our laundry room. If it doesn’t work to come in through the window, is it possible to come in through the dryer vent? My concern is whether the heat in the dryer vent would damage the wire or be dangerous at all.
Thanks again!
ADMIN – Hi Krista,
1) You can definitely do that. That’s how we illustrate it to explain the concept. However, you can use whatever install method you like to accomplish it.
2) You can run it through the dryer vent. The wire is rated against high heat and will be okay.
Your reply about two twisted pair splicing… so take the one cut wire off the primary twisted pr and splice it to BOTH ends of the secondary twist pair??? I was trying to splice the two wires on each twist pair together…
ADMIN – Hi Michelle,
When splicing twisted wire, each wire needed to splice to it’s own separate wire. Therefore, there will always be two splices when working with a twisted wire section. See our twisted wire page.
We have 5 acres that is fully fenced except for a 50 ft stretch across the driveway and front (that section juts out like an L). I am trying to figure out how to make an electronic fence across that section work. How would I make it into a loop? The control box would be in our garage, about 100 yards down the driveway from the section that needs the electronic fence. Should I create a very narrow (6ft wide) loop across that 50 ft section, and then link it back to the garage with a very long twisted wire? Also–the stretch in between is farmed. Should I leave the twisted wire staked to the ground alongside the driveway and then pull it back when it is time to plow.
ADMIN – Hi Lisa,
You’re correct! You’d run a long section of twisted wire down to the road and then create a very narrow 50 foot long loop that’s a minimum of 6 feet separated. As for the plowed area, you can bury it deep enough so that it would be safe from getting dug up and you never have to move it.
I just purchased a home that had The Invisible Fence System installed. The previous owners took the control box and collars with them. The wire is still in the ground. Can I use the wire that was left behind with this system? BTW the previous owners had the Invisible Fence System installed in 2009 so the wire should still be in good shape. Thanks,
ADMIN – Hi Charlie,
You are in luck, they did all the hard work for you! As long as that old wire is stil intact, you can hook up any system to the old wires and be up and running in minutes.
When going under a driveway, will it work if I place the wire in a small pvc pipe going through a metal culvert drain?
ADMIN – Hi Erik,
As long as that culvert is not too deep below the driveway that would work fine. The signal can go through the pvc, metal pipes and ground. The boundary width will be a little less wide in that area because the signal has to go through all those obstacles – but that should not be a big deal if you have a normal 3-5 foot wide boundary setting.
I am looking to install and invisible fence in my yard. I have an asphalt drive way with a concrete drive way pipes. I was wondering could I put the wire in a PVC pipe and put the PVC pipe in the concrete. Will the signal still work .
ADMIN – Hi Bob,
The signal will go through the pipe and concrete just fine as long as it is not too deep. You don’t want to go much more than a foot down, otherwise you have to turn up the boundary width really high to get the signal through the concrete leading to a really wide boundary everywhere.
One little trick is to use thicker wire for the driveway section, the thicker wire tends to produce a stronger signal and a wider boundary in the small section it is installed.
Hi, I have a fenced in yard and would like to use the electronic fence to keep the dog out of my gardens. There are 6 different discreet beds that would have areas in between that I would like the dog to have access to. Is this scenario possible with the electronic fence?
ADMIN – Hi Shawna,
You have two options, You can run a loop around each garden bed and connect each loop to the next with the twisted wire. Another good way to go, would be to use one of the Pawz Away Outdoor Pods (they are like a fake rock that you can put in each bed to keep the dogs out).
we have a fenced backyard and a dog that is part Houdini .. So are planning to install an electric fence attaching it to our permanent fence. The area to be enclosed is rimmed by a fence on 3 sides and the house makes up the 4th side. The Dog has fee reign in the house but I’m concerned that running the wire along the foundation will still affect her. What do you suggest to route the wire?
ADMIN – Hi Sheila,
There are a few ways you could enclose your backyard without the dog getting corrected when crossing the fourth side into the house:
Take a look at some of the diagrams in our Installation –> Planning pages (http://www.dogfencediy.com/installation/plan/) .
I have a fenced in back yard that opens into a small lot that would be perfect for a play area. The problem is the lot has free acess to the road (the only side I need to fence). I am trying to figure out a way to keep my dog contained. The problem is there are several obstacles to overcome and I cant figure out how to do it. Ill do my best to describe it…
North and East sides are already fenced. South side is open to the road. The West side lines the driveway to the garage. On the back side of the garage is the gate to the lot. One of the big problems im having is the gate is between the garage and the north fence. Also, there is nothing to hang the wire from that is more than 6 ft. high.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Ryan
ADMIN – Hi Ryan,
Afraid I lack the imagination to visualizing your lot. Email us a diagram, and we would be happy to take a shot at designing a layout for you.
Hi,
How high off the ground does the wire need to be so that it will not affect access to a doggie door into the garage? I have a second-story deck that’s 8′ off the ground – is that high enough? What’s the distance above the ground at which the dog won’t feel the warning?
Thanks,
Ben
ADMIN – Hi Ben,
7 to 10 feet is usually enough distance to keep the signal out of range of the collar. However, to make sure, you’d add up the boundary width distance (how far the signal transmits off the wire) with the height the collar is off the ground and see if it’s well below 8′. If it’s cutting it close, you can simply decrease the boundary width.
Can I use both the flat wire and the pretwisted together when installing the 4100 model or do you have to exclusively use one or the other?
ADMIN – Hi Rebecca,
In most cases you will use both the twisted wire and the regular single wire. The main boundary loop that define’s your dog’s boundary is made of the single wire. The twisted wire is used to connect that main boundary loop to the control box and is not active so the dog can freely cross without getting the correction.
Can I use #12 wire with Pet Safe In-Ground fence for stubborn dogs? Can I splice the #12 wire to the wire that came with the fence?
ADMIN – Hi Pete,
You can use 12 gauge wire, but you don not want to mix it with the standard 20 gauge wire that comes in the box. You can mix wires that are close together in thickness, but where there is a big difference I would avoid mixing. The reason is that the sections with the thicker wire tend to have a wider boundary width as well. This becomes more pronounced the bigger the difference in gauge. So if you mix very different gauges, you will have the fence be much wider in some places than others.
Can I connect the Basic Inground Pet fence to an existing aluminum fence that runs half way around my yard to complete the loop?
ADMIN – Hi James,
Generally attaching the dog fence boundary wire to a fence works great. But, you do want to watch out for sheet metal (I am not sure if that is what you have or if it is some other aluminum design like pickets). Often, sheet metal can amplify the dog fence signal, so the dog fence will be wider in the section where the wire is attached to the sheet metal.
Hi,
We need a fence in 2 different locations. The same 2 dogs use both locations daily. Will their collars work in both locations?
Thanks!
As long as you have two transmitters, then yes that would not be a problem!
We were given a Petsafe system and must now buy cable to install it for our big Lab/Weimaraner. For the life of me, and after watching your installation vimeo, I cannot figure out why you recommend that the twisted wire connector be spliced into the main loop. If the two ends of the twisted pair must be spliced to each end of the perimeter loop, wouldn’t it be easier and more trouble free to simply run the cable loop to the perimeter meeting point, leaving sufficient length to create the twisted pair? Then you could use the drill, gripping the meeting point together, and simply wind the connector portion together with enough length to meet the control box? No splices and same circuit, right? Maybe I’m missing something? Thanks for your great help with these issues.
ADMIN – Hi Peter,
There is absolutely no need to splice the twisted wire as your rightly suggest. The way you suggest, where you take the two wires from the loop and twist them together works great, and avoids the need to make two extra splices.
We live on a farm and want to give our dog a large area, maybe 20-30 acres or so. Laying our wire will be a real challenge — lawn, creek, laneway, pasture, fields… My question is, how deep underground can you lay the containment wire? Can we bury it two feet down or so out in the field so farm implements won’t snag it? Or is the field simply going to have to be off-limits for our dog? Thanks in advance!
ADMIN – Hi Joel,
Once you get the wire down below about 1 foot, it gets hard to get a good signal at ground level. This is particularly the case where you have a large installation over 10 acres. I am afraid 2 feet would simply be too deep.
If there is a convenient fence nearby or you want to string the wire up on stakes, that may be a work-around to get the wire across the field without burying the wire.
I think your site is great. I have two questions. I just moved to Bermuda and our house is made of cement blocks which means walls are fairly thick. Will a wireless system with the transmitter inside the house still work? Second question. We have a fairly steep driveway leading up to the house will this present problems for a wireless system?
Thanks once again for your help.
ADMIN – Hi John,
The thicker the walls the more the range of the wireless systems tends to get reduced and the less consistency you get with the boundary. Steep slopes are also problematic, a good rule of thumb is that if you cannot see down the slope then it probably will not work. Since you have both a slope and thicker walls, I would avoid the wireless system and would direct you more toward the wired systems.
Your site is WONDERFUL…lots of great info. I’m thinking about installing a IUC4100 around my 1 acre yard with a typical loop installation, the problem is….we have a flower bed that runs around the whole house except for the patio (which has a block wall around it and one 3 foot opening to walk through), driveway, and front walkway. It runs anywhere from 3-5 feet away from the house. We are trying to keep the dog out of the flowerbed while at the same time allowing him to walk through the opening in the patio wall and the garage, how can this be done?
ADMIN – Thanks Chad,
Could we run the wire around the house in the flower bed, then when we get to the start of the patio run the wire up a downspout and along the guttering until we are on the other side of the patio, then run the wire back down and into the flower bed. Getting the wire up high in the patio area will let the dog pass under and go in and out of the house/patio without getting the correction.
Hey there,
This site has been so very informative, but I have a couple of questions that I cannot find answers to..
1) I am fencing in a very small area. I live in a development and there is just about 13 feet between the houses. I am fortunate enough that my neighbor on one side is allowing me to run the fence directly down the side of their house to give my dogs passageway from the back to the front yard, However, there are a few small gardens that I would like to protect. They are only 2 feet deep, but if I twist the wire in and run a loop all the way around, I am afraid my dogs will no longer have the necessary room needed to pass though…. can I twist in, run the active wire along the very back of the bed and then loop right back and then twist out?? So basically there would only be active wire at the back of the beds, but with the 3-5ft range they wouldn’t be able to go into them. Would this work or does there have to be a certain amount of space between the active wire??
2) When twisting the wire, can I just run the wire in and around the area and then twist the wire going out with the wire coming in and continue with my loop, or do they actually have to be cut and spiced??
Sorry if this is all confusing, but I don’t know how else to explain it. =) Thanks in advance for any advice!
ADMIN – Hi Shannon,
1) If you plan on buying the Innotek 4100 or 5100, you can buy the outdoor rocks to set up boundaries around your flower beds. The issue with running twisted wire off the boundary to create a secondary loop around the flower beds is that the wire will transmit the same boundary width. This means it’s will cancel the boundary width signal when when the loop around the flower beds are so close to each other. You can plug boundary wire into the outdoor rocks and run a loop around the flower beds, then dial the boundary width signal down to something minimum. This works great for places like your describing that are a tight squeeze for your dog.
2) I’m not sure what your describing here. If you like, feel free to draw a diagram and email it to me. I’d be happy to take a look at it and make suggestions. My email is jody@dogfencediy.com.
Hi! We just recently got the SD-2000, while we were figuring out the lay out of the wire; mind you we have about 2-3 acres to cover. While discussing it we realize we don’t have enough wire, we bought some more and now we are wondering how do you connect the two wires together with out buying another transmitter? Can we just strip the two ends of the wires and join them together? Thanks for your help and time
Admin-Hi Irene,
Absolutely, you can splice the cable together to complete the loop. Please see our instrucational video on how to do it. (http://www.dogfencediy.com/installation/laying-wire/splicing-the-cable/)
We have 2 dogs that we want to use the electric fence. One is a labrador & the other is a small dachshund. Which system is best for them both?
ADMIN – Hi Robbin,
For dogs of greatly different sizes and temperaments, we recommend going with a PetSafe system because the collars are interchangeable. If you have a strong-headed Lab, I’d recommend going with the Stubborn fence for him. If he’s laid back, I’d recommend you go with the PetSafe Deluxe for the Lab. If your Dachshund is under 12 lbs, you’ll need to go with the PetSafe Little Dog Collar. If he’s over 12 lbs, I’d recommend the Deluxe collar.
the edge of my driveway forms the boundary to my property line. I want to put the electric fence loop in around my entire property except for this one area. The reason is that we want to be able to let the dogs on that part of the driveway without fear of getting too close to the edge. I cannot bury down more than six inches and I cannot go above. I know two wires would block a signal, would three wires block the signal as well, because its the only way I can see getting around it. I can submit a drawing if I have an address to send it to. -Erik
ADMIN – Hi Erik,
Three wires do no block the signal, the third wire makes the signal active again. You can email a diagram to us at questions@DogFenceDIY.com and we would be happy to try and figure out something that work.
I have a lakefront property and was thinking of a different way to only have to make one loop. I was wondering about splicing in some coaxial cable along the lake edge. Wouldn’t that prevent the signal along that area and allow me to just make one loop? Great site by the way! Very useful.
ADMIN – Hi Spike,
We have tried coaxial cable and had customers try coax with little success. I presume your thinking is that the coax is shielded and so you won’t get a signal along that section of the fence. That doesn’t seem to work for us. That is not to say someone smarter than us couldn’t figure it out. If you get it working we would love to know how you do it – it would be very useful!
I have read the posts about the inability to create dead sections of wire run. So, I was seeking a recommendation for a layout. I want to do the back yard. I have a smallish yard with physical fence on each side of the yard (neighbors fencing). Across the back of the yard and a short run on each side of the house to the side fences is the area I want to be active. I really want to keep the signal away from the current fence in order to give the dog as much space to roam as possible..allowing her to go up to the current fence. I know I can do a loop at the back of the yard only but that does not solve the one side of the house. Any suggestions?
ADMIN – Hi Mike,
When you get to the fenced sections where you want there to be no signal, run the wire along the top of the fence (instead of buried at ground level). When the wire is up high, the signal has a longer path to reach the dog at ground level. This makes the boundary width much narrower in these sections. Depending on how tall the fence is and how wide you set the boundary width, the dogs may be able to get right up to the fence.
I have found your website very useful and I purchased the Innotek IUC-4100 from your site about a month ago. I installed the fence fine and it is up and working. I also purchased the twisted wire at the same time so I wouldn’t have to worry about trying to twist it myself.
However, the twisted wire is not working as it should. I noticed that everytime the dog crossed the twisted wire it was beeping. So I checked the collar myself and it is giving a correction whenever the collar passes over the twisted wire just like crossing over any normal boundary. If I had twisted it myself, I would think I didn’t do a good enough job, but I have spliced the boundary wire to the “white twisted wire bought from this site”.
ADMIN – Hi Perry,
Can you email me a quick sketch or a description of your layout? My initial guess is that there is a problem with the layout. Twisted wire can only be used in specific ways (to connect the boundary loop to the transmitter(. If the twisted wire is part of the main boundary loop it will just act as regular wire.
From your symptoms, it is unlikely there is anything wrong with the twisted wire. When the twisted wire fails, the whole systems stops working and you won’t get the collar triggering in parts of the fence beyond the twisted wire if anywhere.
We love your website…very informative! We are building a house on a lot that is bordered in the back by a creek. Our dog loves to play in the creek but we want to contain him to our property and allow him the ability to get his energy out by running free. Are there any options for crossing the creek or include the creek inside of our electronic dog fence? Thank you!
ADMIN – Hi Terri,
Thanks for the compliment. You can run the wire through the water without any problems, or lay it on any convenient fallen branches crossing the creek. If you wanted the dog to have access to the creek, then you woudl run the wire across the creek and establish a border on the far side of the creek.
PS – often when people enclose a creek they change the layout within a couple of months to stop giving the dogs free access. The dogs end up constantly in the water (especially labs), and then they constantly track mud into the house. Just something to keep in mind.
I’ve purchased an Innotek 5100 invisible fence system and I have a question . Installation calls for attaching the twisted wire to the control unit . Can I attach the regular wire to the control unit ? I plan on bringing it through the wall of my garage . The dogs will have access to the fenced area through a doggie door and I will run the wire along the roof eave of the house above the door so there will be unencumbered access for the dogs through the doggie door . So again , my question is can I attach the regular wire directly to the control unit ? Thank you
ADMIN – Absolutely. There is no need to use the twisted wire if you don’t need it. You can connect the regular wire directly ot the transmitter box.
I am planning a wired system which will start in my garage and then surround a field I have to the left of the garage. I understand I can use a twisted pair to get from the garage to the field and then surround the field with the buried wire. How do I leave an opening at the gate to the field so that I can bring the dog in and out without getting a shock? Thanks, Alan
ADMIN – Hi Alan,
The only ways to create a gap in the dog fence boundary is to raise the wire high up above the dog’s head or bury it (very) deep below the dog’s head. Otherwise, to take the dog in an out of the field, you need to take off the collar before they exit.
In illustration #4 why can’t you simply twist the wires entering the house without cutting (and twisting) them?
ADMIN – Hi Martha,
Yes, you can. These illustrations on this page are not intended to display installation technique as much as to clear up the twisted wire concept. The illustration demonstrates that a connected loop without twisted wire is actually the same as a loop with twisted wire.
I am buying the Pet Safe Little Dog fencing system for my 2 Yorkies 6# & 11#s. First they are both quit old 14 and 16 yrs old, but are both still very active. I’ve been luck so far… First question is due to their age the signal won’t hurt them in any way will it? Second question is I want to fence just the backyard (where their doggie door is) without having to double back or twist the wires – am I on the right track with the following? I want to fence in the back yard only so I want to start at the middle of one side of the house going down the side of the house from a window about 10-12 feet off the ground then come away from the house about 4 feet to cross a sidewalk and then go around the backyard to the middle of the other side of the house and then go up that side of the house and over the roof then back down the original side of the house into the window where the beginning wire and transmitter are. I wouldn’t have to twist any wires would I since they are both going to meet at the same window where the transmitter is. Third question is – Will going over the roof and up/down the outside of the house allow the signal to come into the inside of the house if they have their collars on inside?
I will wait to hear back from you before I begin my installation. Thanks for your awesome support!!
Kim
Admin-Hi Kim,
1) No, you will be able to set the correction level on the collar to fit each Yorkies needs.
2) It sounds like your layout plan will be great. Also, please view our back yard only diagrams.
Back yard only- http://www.dogfencediy.com/installation/plan/#backyard
3) There is a chance that the signal may come into the house. Once you have the system installed. You will need to take a collar and provided tester around the house where you might receive the signal to test before you apply the collars to the dogs.
Can I use a twisted pair within a cat5 wire that is already running in conduit under the driveway from the garage to the outside loop?
ADMIN – Hi Gary,
As long as you’re running twisted wire through the conduit and not single boundary wire, you’ll be fine. The twisted pair does not transmit a radio frequency, so there’s no interference problems.
i have a side entry driveway how can i run the wire under the driveway to allow the dog to get to the otyer side of the yard?
ADMIN – Hi Reggie,
The most common way to get across the driveway is to cut a shallow slot with a circular saw, lay the wire in the slot, then seal it in place with caulk. See our Installation –> Driveways section for more details and other methods.
When you talk about using “twisted wire”, I thought you just meant to twist the wire together. However, I see that you sell another wire that is called “twisted wire”. Do I use a different wire called “twisted wire” or do I simply twist the wires together? Also, do the systems come with this special pre-twisted wire that you sell? Thanks
Admin- Hi Kim,
The twisted wire is the same wire that will be installed in your boundary. It is simply two boundary wires twisted together. Please view our instructional video about twisted wire.
http://www.dogfencediy.com/installation/plan/twisted-wire/
Hi i was wondering how the wire and fence strength holds up in areas where there is a lot of snow.. will that affect the signal for my dog. I’m looking at getting the sport dog system to encircle the entire house and garage and put the control box in a warm area. It would be about 3 to 4 acres total… thanks.
oh and one more question.. .what is the length of twisted wire I can use to get the main loop away from the house… ex… from the power box in the house to the main loop… is there a length limit? Casey
ADMIN – Hi Casey,
As the snow accumulates you need to turn up the boundary width at the base station so that the signal can penetrate the snow. It works fine up to about 1 foot of snow, then gets patchy depending on the strength of the transmitter and the type of snow (packed vs. loose). The SportDog is a good choice, with a 100 acre capacity, it has plenty of power in reserve so you can turn it up when you need to in order to get through the snow.
There is no limit on the amount of twisted wire you can use in your containment system layout.
Is it absolutely necessary to use twisted wire? The way we want to do it there is no need to for the dog to cross where the wire will connect to the receiver so is the twisted wire used just so the dog can cross the wire safely or is it necessary for the system to work properly? We would be going into the basement on the side of the house where our dog would have no access, we are simply going up the side of the house to complete the loop. Our yard is fenced on 3 sides so we need to close off the driveway and hopefully keep the dog from trying to dig under where there is chain link fence. Any advice greatly appreciated…
ADMIN – Hi Diane,
There is no need to use twisted wire. The only reason to use the twisted wire is if it is convenient in creating a layout. The system will work perfectly without the twisted wire.
My dog jumps our fence like it is nothing. We are looking at using a invisible fence not only to keep him in a particular part of the yard, because we would like to use our carport (having a baby), but also to keep him from scaling the fence. Do these systems work for that?
Thanks for all the useful information.
ADMIN – Hi Thomas,
Yes. These systems work very well and they work extremely well when combining them with a natural fence. The wire is simply an antenna transmitting a radio frequency in a radius around the wire. If you attach the wire halfway up the fence, your dog will not be able to jump over or dig under it. Also, you will be able to keep them back from the fence several feet.
my neighbor and I each have Invisable Fence transmitters and I have the wire already run. We are trying to figure out a way to connect our 2 yards so that our dogs can have free range between the 2 properties without having to do a double back on the loops. (2 acre lots, thats alot of expensive wire!) Can we run twisted wire from each house to a point close to each other then start the 2 individual loops from that point? Also, what would the minimum width of a no-correction pathway have to be? 15-20 ft? Thank you
ADMIN – Hi Sharon,
The only way you can accomplish this is with one loop that encloses both properties.
With regards to the 2 adjoining properties: I’ve been doing more thinking
imagine two pies with a slice out of each. the missing slice parts are facing each other, 6 ft apart. Is it possible to run 2 twisted wires sets from each transmitter out in a V and have the loop start from the end of one twist and end at the other. does that constitue a continuous loop?
ADMIN – Hi Sharon,
I’m not sure I follow your layout. One way to understand the twisted wire is think of the boundary loop like a rubber band. It is in a complete loop. If you stretch it flat and twist it halfway up, you’ll see that the untwisted section of the rubber band makes a loop. However, the rubber band is still in one loop. This is how twisted wire in the boundary loop works.
My question is about twisted wire. Instead of splicing in twisted wire, I ran the boundary wire into the location where I am housing the transmitter. I then twisted the same wire around itsel back out to the boundary placement and continued on. This was rather cumbersome to do. My now twisted wire has some kinks and spots where the twist frequency isn’t as dense as the video recommended. Also, I went around sharp corners when I attached the twisted wire. When I hooked up the system, the alarm sounded (I did a short loop test and the transmitter is working fine). Could the kinks and gaps be causing the alarm to go off?
ADMIN – Hi Joanna,
The kinks and gaps in the twisting will not cause the transmitter to register a break. Gaps and kinds may stop the twisted wire cancelling out the signal in the area of the gaps – but will not cause a wire break alarm. The only thing that will cause the transmitter to register a break is a discontinuity in the loop (a wire break or non-continuous layout).
I couldn’t quite picture your layout, but I presume you have a big loop (if you have something else, email me a diagram) with the two wires coming in twisted together and going into the transmitter box). You could also be getting the wire break alarm if there is something funky going on with your layout (i.e. if it does not form a continuous circuit starting and ending at the control box).
Hi, I have the IUC-5100. I have one big loop, covering about 2 acres, with my house (and the transmitter) in the middle. My twisted wire runs out from the transmitter about 70 feet before it connects to the loop. Recently, I noticed that the twisted wire is activating the collar when it gets within a couple of feet! So my poor dog is getting shocked when she goes across one part of the yard. I played with my transmitter, and changed the containment area from “large” to “small” and that seemed to fix it.
However, I’m not good at leaving well enough alone. I wanted to add a second loop to go around a flowerbed, so I ran all that wire and hooked it in. After I did that, my twisted wire was activating the collar again. I tried adjusting containment area and field size, but it still did it. So I took the new loop out and put it back like it was before, and now it still activates the collar. I replaced part of the twisted wire that I suspected might be damaged, but to no avail. My twisted wire is a combination of Innotek wire and twisted wire from Lowe’s that I twisted tighter with my drill. It’s all pretty twisted, more than 1 twist/inch.
Any ideas why my twisted wire might be activating the collar?
ADMIN – Hi Mathew,
Email use a diagram of the wiring layout. If the twisted wire is triggering the collar, most likely it is to do with the wiring being incorrect.
We have a small city lot with a six foot tall wood fence. I would guess 20 x 30 feet We would like to get a invisible fence to contain an English pointer foster dog that could be a fence climber or jumper. Is there a way to arrange the wire so there is no correction until the dog is right at the fence?
ADMIN – Hi Jen,
You can run the wire along the top of the fence, then adjust the boundary width control dial so the correction does not reach all the way down the fence. That way the dog will only get the correction when they are climbing the fence and not while they are still on the ground.
I would however encourage you to have a few feet of buffer between the dog and the fence, particularly when you do the training. Once the dog has a full head of steam and is sailing over the fence, even if they get the correction there is nothing that they can do to change course. It is better if they get the correction a few feet before the fence.
Most of the instructions show adding a splice on each wire separating the twisted portion going to the box inside from the non-twisted wire that forms the boundary loop. What is the purpose in using a splice at this point? Why not just twist the wire and use a non-conducting piece of material to keep the twist in place. Thanks for your help.
ADMIN – Hi Ron,
You don’t need to add a splice when you transition to the twisted section. As you suggest, you can just get the two regular boundary wires and start twisting them at the point where they come together. (You usually don’t need anything to hold the twist in place, the stiffness of the wire usually does the job – although it would not hurt).
The reason we show a splice is that most people purchase the twisted wire separately. And where they twist the wire themselves, it is easier to twist the wire in your home or workshop than to twist it on site. But, your way will work identically.