ADMIN – Hi Marla,

The PetSafe collars will not work with an invisible system, unless you also switch out the base station. For an invisible fence dog containment system, you either need to use an Invisible Fence collar, or one of the Invisible Fence compatible collars made by Perimeter systems.

ADMIN – Hi Clarissa,

Containing a dog when there is already a physical fence in place is usually straight forward. You can either run the wire along the fence (stapling it or using ties), or can run the wire along the ground near the fence.

For a backyard only loop, the easiest solution is to complete the loop along the house side by running the wire up a downspout, across the roof-line (through the gutter) and down a downspout on the other side. The height of the wire above the ground, stops it from activating the collar down at ground level. There are also a few other options to do a backyard only layout, for more details and diagrams, check out the Installation –> Layouts section of our website.

You don’t want to have to switch the system on and off all the time. It becomes a royal pain, and our experience is that when it is a pain it doesn’t get used.

Note, in your case, where you only have one escaping dog, you can just put that dog on the system (i.e. you don’t need a second collar).

ADMIN – Hi Tim,

I like the way you diagnosed the problem, making sure the dog was actually getting the problem and then trying some retraining. Sounds like you need to make the correction more serious for him. You should make the boundary wider, at least five feet on each side of the wire and increase the correction level. If you are already at the maximum, you can either add a second collar with the system you already have (i.e. the dog wears two collars) or use a stonger system like the PetSafe Stubborn.

I will be unable to maintain the 6′ distance required on my double back perimeter loop. Can i narrow my perimeter to the twisted wire technique to cross (expansion joint) in my driveway, then open my loop back to the at least 6′ requirement to finish my loop on the other side of the driveway?

I’m not concerned about the twisted wire over the driveway being a dead zone as i have a 6′ chain link fence and a gated driveway. I’m only trying to keep my 2 English Mastiffs off my front lawn so i may again enjoy the pleasures if GRASS

ADMIN – Hi Andy,

Yes, you can bring the wires close together if you are not concerned about the wires being active in that local area. The perimeter will be active in the sections where there is sufficient (more than 6 feet) of separation.

ADMIN – Hi Charity,

Where you have a big range in sizes, the PetSafe systems come into their own. The collars are interchangeable in the PetSafe containment systems, so you can use the collar that is right-sized for each dog.

I would install a PetSafe Stubborn system, and use the included dog for the German Shepherd mix. For the Chihuahua mix, use a PetSafe Little Dog collar. If you give me age, weight, breed, and temperament of the other two dogs I will be happy to make more specific recommendations. But generally, for anything under 12 lbs we use the PetSafe Little Dog collar. For dogs between 12 lbs and 40 lbs, I use the PetSafe Deluxe collar. And for dogs over 40 lbs, I use the PetSafe Stubborn collar.

About 4 months ago, he decided to bite the bullet and run through the containment zone. Now he does this daily whenever he sees some kid or another dog he wants to play with. I can see him react as he runs through the zone, so I know he is receiving correction.

Regardless, I replaced the transmitter and collar through Innotek to make certain they weren’t malfunctioning in some way. I have verified that the wire is not broken. The correction level is set to MAX. I have a ¼ acre city lot, and if I increase the size of the containment zone any more, he won’t be able to get out the front door.

Do you think it is worth switching systems to the PetSafe Stubborn Dog Fence, or would you recommend trying some training techniques to correct this behavior?

ADMIN – Hi Matt,

Since you are seeing him react, he is getting the correction. It is worth using the collar check feature on the Innotek 5100 collar to make sure the collar is properly placed. It is possible he is getting a reduced correction because you don’t have a very good connection between collar probe and the dog’s skin.

I would make the fence wider, by turning up the boundary dial and do a little remedial training (Step II and Step III in our protocol). I presume the fence is currently at least five feet on either side of the wire.

If the problem persists, then you can look into ways of increasing the correction. You can either use a second IUC-5100 collar or switch to a PetSafe Stubborn system. It is very few Golden’s that require a collar that strong.

ADMIN – Hi K’Lee,

If the problem is the Husky digging out, or they are digging up a particular part of the garden, then an electric fence that we wire to keep them in will definitely help. If they are just generally digging up your lawn and you want them to stop but want to still give them access to the lawn, then the dog fence is not going to be of any help.

ADMIN – Hi Leigh,

To help us diagnose the problem, you want to watch him cross the fence (there might need to be a lure on the other side, like a neighbor’s dog or some food). You want to see his reaction and whether he reacts or not.

If there is no reaction or a small reaction (scratching, etc), then he is not getting the correction – that is usually because the prongs aren’t touching the skin – you may need to thin out some hair and be particularly careful when you put on the collar so you can feel probes touching the dog’s skin. The collar also needs to be tight enough that you cannot insert more than two finger between the collar and the neck. From your description of his reentering, I suspect this is the issue.

If has a big reaction reacts (flinching, yelping, etc), then he is getting the correction, but going through anyway, you need to make the boundary wider, with 5 acres, you should be able to make it extend at least 10 feet on either side of the wire. You should also turn up the correction level, and go back and redo the training, starting from what we call stage II.

ADMIN – Hi Molly,

I would try and watch them escape and see if there is any reaction from the dog when they cross. From your description, it sounds like they are not getting the correction at all – otherwise they would not come back through the field.

This usually happens because the collar prongs are not touching the dog’s skin so they are not getting the correction. Check you are getting good contact – you may need to move hair out of the way or thin out the hair a little. You also want the collar to be tight enough that you cannot insert more than two fingers.

Which Innotek system do you have presently? If you have a 4100/5100 then you should use the collar-fit checker mode to make sure you have solid contact between the collar prongs and dog’s skin.

Once you have the collar fitted, redo the training starting from Step Two. You will want to turn the correction level back down (max sounds too high for your dogs), and you should see a whole lot more reaction from the dogs.

A stronger system is unlikely to be the solution for the breeds you have. Neither the Lab nor the Aussie usually requires a whole lot of correction.

ADMIN – Hi Michael,

You cannot turn off the warning beep or vibration on any of the systems except the Dogtek systems. (I am not sure why anyone would want to turn off the warning, but I presume you have a good reason). PS – we have all the system manuals on our site, just click the “manual” tab on each product page.