SportDog SDF-100 Dog Fence Review
Pros
- Powers up to 100 acres
- Durable collar
- Collar vibration feature
Cons
- Bulky collar
- Collar battery is not rechargeable
- No battery backup for control box
Rating
Retail Price
$269.95
Our Price
$219.95
Availability: In Stock
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SportDog, another company owned by Radio Fence, who also own Innotek, Petsafe and Invisible Fence. The SportDog In-Ground Fence (SDF-100) is designed for large properties, up to 100 acres. We use the SportDog with clients who have properties larger than the 25 acres supported by a Innotek IUC-4100.
What we like about the SportDog is that they understand who they are making their products for. The SportDog is for people with large rural properties. Accordingly the collars are built like a tank. The collar (SDR-F) is more water resistant than other brands and can take a beating.
The downside is that the collar and transmitter have similar aesthetics to a tank. The SportDog collar is big. The collars are also lacking in subtlety. The collar is bright orange and the collar box army green. The other thing we don’t like is that the collar battery is not rechargeable. However, the battery is a regular 9 volt (9V) battery that you can get in any drug store. The transmitter also lacks a battery backup which is nice to have, but by no means necessary.
The SportDog also features an in-built grounding terminal in the control box to give you lightning protection, a must for large rural installations. It is a nice idea, but unless you have a grounding rod nearby, you are probably better off getting a regular plug-in lightning protection device. SportDog also commendably includes 1,000 feet of wire, twice what you get with most systems.
Summary: The only choice for large yards up to 100 acres. Complemented by a tough collar. The negatives are the large bulky collar and the absence of a rechargeable collar battery.
If you found this site useful, please consider purchasing your system through our online store. Our price on the SportDog SDF-100 is the lowest price that SportDog lets any Authroized Retailer sell the SDF-100. The price includes free shipping and handling.
Collar
The SportDog collar is a tough no-nonsense collar with great waterproofing. Built like a brick, it also looks like a brick, and I would not use this on dogs under 15 pounds. Also note that the collar band will not accommodate any dog with a neck size under 13 inches. The high visibility fluorescent orange collar band adds to the utilitarian effect. Not pretty, but it does the job.
Generic Battery The collar uses a regular 9V battery that you need to replace approximately every three months. Getting to the battery is a bit of a pain because you need a screwdriver to unscrew the four screws that hold the lid in place, but it does make for a really solid watertight fit. This is great for dogs that will be doing a lot of swimming while wearing the collar.
Correction The corrections level for each dog on the SDF-100 is adjusted on the collar, which means you can have an independent correction level for each dog on the system. To adjust the correction level, you use a coin to remove a little plastic lid (A) that protects the adjustment button underneath it. The collar has four progressive correction levels, that each increase in strength the longer the dog stays in the correction zone. The collar vibrates as well as beeps to warn the dog when they are getting too close to the boundary. The tactile stimulation of the vibration is nice as it uses an additional one of the dog senses to engage them. Vibration is also useful with old dogs or dogs with hearing loss that have trouble hearing the warning beeps.
Battery Indicator The collar has an indicator light that blinks green to tell you everything is fine. The collar blinks red when the battery is low. The indicator also tells you what the current correction level is set to.
Long & Short Prongs The collar prongs are unscrewed using a pair of pliers. Included with the system are long and short probes for long hair and short hair dogs respectively.
Transmitter
The SportDog SDF-1000 is a big black brick. Like the collar it is reliable but ugly. You can wall mount the box using two screws that hook onto the back of the system. It has all the basic features except a battery backup, which would be a useful feature for rural properties. Here is a quick look at the main features.
Range Adjuster Knob – this lets you select the width of the correction zone on either side of the boundary wire. You want to set the boundary width somewhere between 3 and 5 feet. Smaller boundary widths are difficult to train the dogs. Wider boundary widths use up too much of your yard. That said the control box will let you adjust the width anywhere between a couple of inches and 10+ feet.- Power Indicator – lets you know when the system is plugged into the wall socket and power flowing.
- Loop Indicator – lets you know if there are any breaks in the boundary wire loop.
- Ground Terminal – this lets you attach a ground wire for protection against lightning. This is not terribly practical because most people don’t have a grounding rod handy to connect up and putting in a new grounding wire nearby is no usually an option. But, if you can do this it eliminates the need to get an additional lightning protection device. Some of our old school guys prefer to have a dedicated grounding rod.
- Boundary Wire Terminals – you attach the boundary wire loop to these two terminals. They unscrew to reveal a hole. You put the wire through the hole and then tighten the screws to lock them into place.
Power Jack – you plug one end of the AC power adaptor into the jack and the other into any regular wall socket- On/Off Switch – I know you don’t need our help on this one!
- Range Switch – the range switch boosts the signal strength for large boundary setups. If you are using less than 4,400 feet of boundary wire set it to low, and if you are using more than 4,400 feet of boundary wire set it to high. If you are using exactly 4,400 feet – consult your spiritual adviser.
- Correction Mode Switch – lets you toggle the collar between the following modes (a) sound and vibrate only; (b) sound, vibrate and static correction; and (c) static correction only. The first most is useful for the early stages of training where you will not use the static correction. The second mode is what you will use once the dog is trained. The third mode is useless and you will never use it, unless trying to prank a drunk fraternity buddy.
Boundary Kit
The Sport Dog SDF-100 includes the following as standard:
1,000 feet of boundary wire (20 gauge), enough for about one acre
100 boundary flags – the flags mark the boundary line during the training stages to help the dog visualize the fence layout
2 Waterproof wire splices – used to join sections of the boundary wire
Additional boundary kits are available for purchase in the online store. ($30 per 500 feet). You can upgrade your system to slightly thicker 18 gauge boundary wire if you want (we don’t think it is worth the extra charge)
Instruction Manual
The system comes with an instruction manual which is decent. Of course it is not anywhere near as good as our book!
Warranty
The SportDog like all Radio Systems products has a limited lifetime warranty – sales speak for a one year warranty with discounted repairs after that.
| Model | SportDog SDF-100 |
| Type | In Ground |
| Collar Battery | Disposable – 9V Battery |
| Correction Levels | 4 Levels + Progressive Correction |
| Beep Only Training Mode | Yes |
| Collar Warning beep | Yes |
| Collar Vibration | Yes |
| Independent Correction Levels | Yes |
| Collar Dimensions | 2.5” (L) x 1.5” (W) x 1.5″ (D) |
| Collar Neck Size | 13″ – 25″ |
| Collar Water Resistance | Waterproof |
| Collar Fit Test | No |
| Maximum Number of Dogs | Unlimited |
| Minimum Dog Size | 15 lbs |
| Minimum Age | 6 months |
| Maximum Containment Area | 100 acres (10,000 feet) |
| Boundary Width | 0-10 feet (adjustable) |
| Control Box Dimensions | 8.5” (L) x 7.5” (W) x 2.5″ (D) |
| Control Box Power Source | Wall Outlet (110V) |
| Control Box Battery Backup | No |
| Indoor Pod Compatibility | No |
| Outdoor Pod Compatibility | No |
| Included Boundary Wire | 1,000 feet + 2 wire Splices |
| Included Boundary Flags | 100 |
| Training Materials | Manual |
| Other | Boundary tester |
| Package Dimensions | 15” (L) x 10” (W) x 6″ (D) |
| Package Weight | 11 lbs |
| Warranty | Limited Lifetime |
For a copy of the SportDog SDF-100 Manual click here. (PDF) You will need adobe acrobat to view the document.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I am confused about what is wrong with my SDF-100. We installed it in April, and it worked fine until recently. The loop light and power light are both on. I replaced the battery in the collar with a new one that was previously tested. I have not changed the range setting; however, nothing happens anymore when I take the collar to the boundary. We have not installed any large appliances or wires that could be interfering, nor has our neighbor installed a wireless fence of his own. What is going on?
ADMIN – sounds like either the collar or the main box is shot, most likely the collar. The good news is that you are under warranty. Time to call SportDog! 1-800-732-0144
I would like to add an invisible fence on my property. I have electric livestock fence that contains livestock but will not contain dogs. They do respect the electric fence but they will dig under or jump over being sure not to touch the fence. I think an invisible fence will reinforce the physical barrier that is already there. Will the frequency given by the electric fence interfere with the invisible fence? Does it matter what kind of wire I use for the invisible fence? I would like to add a wire to the electric fence line that would be dedicated to the invisible fence transmitter and not hooked up to the electric fencer.
Admin – Hi Mac,
You can sometimes get interference between the electric fence and the dog fence. One way to reduce this risk is to put the dog fence as high above, or as low below the electric fence as possible to get some separation. Afraid the only real way to figure out if your unit will cause intereference is to try one out. Just rig up a small section and see if everything works ok.
As to wire, pretty much any insulated wire will do. Try and get something weather resistant because this will last you a bit longer out in the sun all day.
Love your website, very informative!! I was just wondering if you could suggest the best fence for us. We have a large yard 153 acres but I don’t want to fence it all just a large enough portion (mainly block the front due to the highway) and we have one large dog but will be getting a new puppy that will require training. We would also require the collar to be waterproof (dog loves to go through the creek) and also be equiped with lightning protection. An added bonus would be a Li ion rechargeable battery. Which product would you recomend that would best suit our needs. Thanks
ADMIN – Hi Sheri,
153 acres is tough, but there are options up 100 acres. Three good options below. All are waterproof and can take lightning protection:
Sport Dog SDF – 100: up to 100 acres; toughest of the lot; uses regular 9V batteries; largest range
Dogtra EF-3000: 40 acres; rechargable lithium polymer battery; little older design
Innotek IUC-4100: 25 acres; smallest collar; rechargable lithium ion battery; smallest range
Hope that helps
what is the typical lifetime of the typical alkaline 9v batteries? I know they may rechargeable 9v batteries, which will have variable lifetimes.
ADMIN – Hi Craig,
A good quality battery lasts about three months.
Hello,
I am considering an invisible fence and came across the SportDog SDF-100 at a great price. While searching for reviews, I came across your site which I must say has been very helpful. I have a few questions and was hoping you could answer with your opinion.
1) I have a subdivision neighborhood sized yard, probably less than a 1/4 of an acre. Would this system be way to big for my sized yard since the SDF-100 can handle up to 100 acres?
2) Would a system that can handle 100 acres use much more electric than a system that handles say up to 25 acres or does it use electric based on how much wiring you use?
Thanks for your help.
ADMIN – Hi Robert,
The SDF-100 works fine on smaller yards. There is a switch on the side of the SportDog transmitter that you use to reduce the amount of power coming out of the unit for smaller installations.
Generally these are very low drain devices. The unit does use more power when used for larger installations when we turn up that installation size switch. But you will have it turned down, will not use that extra power.
For a smaller yard, I might consider some other systems. The SportDog comes with 1000 feet of wire which you don’t need and are paying for. There are a couple of other systems that come with 500 feet of wire which will be plenty for your situation and are worth considering. The PetSafe Stubborn is very similar, and significantly cheaper. Or if you want to pay a little more consider the Innotek IUC-4100 which is rechargeable.
Our house is in the middle of a 20 acre field. We bought the sport dog system. I have a question about what you recommend about the size of the area we should enclose. My first thought was to run the wire around the whole 20 acres, there is a fence row so we could just weave the wire through the existing fence. We have an older dog that rarely strays more than serveral hundred feet from the house and a new 1 1/2 year old lab for whom the fence is intended. I am sure that 5 acres would cover plenty of space, but would require more work because we would have to bury 1,000 feet or so of wire. Should I take advantage of the fence row with the downside of having 3,500 feet of wire to maintain, or go with the smaller area? A second related question: In the training manual it is recommended that the trainer let the dog wander around and encounter the border without leading him/her to it. With a 20 acre field, they could wander for quite a while without encountering a boundary. At best they would come upon one line that is close to the house. Can we train them on one side of the boundary?
ADMIN – Hi Lyle,
I would do the whole 20 acres, like you say it is a lot easier to make use of an existing fence for installation. Plus breaks are a lot easier to find and repair. The only reason I would go with the smaller is if you specifically want to keep them in the smaller 5 acre space (for example if you always want to keep them within the line of site)
I would train them in lots of different spots in the field. What they mean is don’t lead them through the electric boundary border. But, you can definitely lead them close to the border. (i.e. take them on the lead to within say 5 feet of the boundary flags). Letting them wander completely unfettered does not make sense when you have 20 acres in the same way that it would if you have half an acre!
I have just purchased the SportDog SDF-100 for our yard- I have seen other brands not for DIY which offer an adapter you may put into a room in the house to keep dogs out of certain areas– Does Sport DOg offer this and if not what do you suggest?
ADMIN – Hi Sarah,
The SportDog SDF-100 is compatible with the Petsafe InGround Systems. So you can use the collar with the PetSafe Indoor Zones. You can also use any of the PetSafe In Ground collars with the SportDog (and vice versa)