Have you ever wanted your dog to be able to run around your yard freely, but you haven’t been able to do so because of the dangers of them running off into the woods, your neighbor’s yard, or worse – the street? It’s a common thought among dog owners because we know how much they love to run around when we take them to the park to chase frisbees, tennis balls, or otherwise. If you don’t have a fenced-in yard this amount of freedom for your dog may seem unachievable. That is unless you’ve heard about electric dog fences.

How Do They Work?

These electric dog fence systems may seem complicated at first glance, but in actuality, they are fairly simple. This topic is covered quite extensively on the internet, so I’ll try to keep it just to the basics. There are two essential components to an invisible dog fence system – the boundary and the collar. The idea is that you set the boundary and your dog wears the collar, and when your dog approaches and ultimately exceeds the boundary the collar will start with a warning signal and ultimately issue a correction when they cross over.

Are They Safe For Your Dog?

A primary concern among prospective owners of electric dog fences is whether or not they are safe for the pet wearing the collar. This probably has to do with the image associated with the term “electric fence”. I don’t know about you, but to me, it invokes an impression of a wired fence charged up and ready to shock any poor animal that happens to brush up against it. Rest assured, these electric dog fences are far from that extreme, and to calm that sensation they are often referred to as invisible dog fences. While shocking is the primary and most effective mechanism for teaching your dog where the boundaries are, there are a number of things to clarify.

First, the shock level is entirely humane and can be set to only be strong enough to get your dog’s attention. Many pet owners have even tested the shock on themselves prior to putting the collar on their dog. This is obviously not recommended, but it does illustrate the fact that they are humane. The other thing to consider is that if you have properly trained your dog, they won’t be going near or exceeding the boundary very often, if at all. You can make your dog aware of the boundaries using training flags, and once they get the idea then you can set the collar to beep or vibrate rather than shock to let your dog know they are too close to the edge.

Should You Get An In-Ground Fence or a Wireless System?

The appeal of a wireless system is fairly obvious at face value. It’s so much easier to install, and if you ever need to change the boundaries it’s a sinch. There are a few issues with them though, and for that reason, the in-ground systems are widely touted as the superior technology.

Most of it comes down to the technical aspects of the boundary. While in-ground systems take quite a bit more effort to set up, the level of customization that they offer you is simply unrivaled by wireless systems. If you want to avoid particular areas of your yard, such as a garden or a patio, it’s as simple as burying the electric wire appropriately. The biggest place where in-ground systems have the upper hand is in their reliability. They are far superior when it comes to ensuring the signal gets transmitter. Wireless systems are fairly robust, but they are susceptible to weak signals as well as interference from other strong signals nearby. At the end of the day, dog owners tend to be far happier when they choose in-ground electric dog fence systems.