Invisible Dog Fence Questions

[IndyGunworks]

that was my original plan, but a few people now have strongly recommended against that, saying i wouldn't get consistant depth. Also it would get caught up in the woods where the trencher probably would not.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I need to put something like this on the inside of the actual fence because Quarlo can jump the chainlink with little effort. The wire used should be largely irrelevant; just get something that can stand to be buried. When I've buried wires myself, I haven't used a trencher, I just went along with a hoe and pried up the sod, then stuffed it in. Walk on it afterward, and you'd never know I'd been there. May take some effort, but it's cheap, very effective, and nondestructive.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

One thing I learned was that some dogs can't be contained by an invisible fence in all circumstances. Our dog was a fairly large Golden Retriever/Doberman mix and although she was good with people, she didn't like other dogs coming into the yard and would chase them away, running right past the boundary without even a yip. I tried all the things recommended by the manufacturer and it worked most of the time, but I finally gave up and put up a proper fence in a small part of the yard for her.

 

[IndyGunworks]

Well, my dog knows the boudry of my 600 square foot front yard w/ no fence at all right now. She wont touch the road, and if we leave her outside, she will stay in the yard indefinitely even with other dogs walking right past her. I don't think I will have a problem with her understanding the fence. Mostly just need to figure out how to trench in the woods, and figure out what wire to buy.

Oh, and finish the house i cant do any of this until we take possession.

 

[HoughMade]

I went with the invisible dog. Much cheaper.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I went with the invisible dog. Much cheaper.

Oh sure, the dog is cheaper. But you aren't factoring in the added expense of your sudden popularity and increased social outings that follow with the invisible dog.

 

[lovemachine]

I get all my pet safe products here:
PetSafe Warehouse dog crate, PetSafe & Invisible Fence replacement nylon collars, Dog & Pet crates, Pet gates, Underground fence wire, Live animal Traps


And the water proof splicers are worth the money:
PetSafe - SportDOG Dog Fence Wire for in-ground or above ground dog fences

 

[lovemachine]

I have installed the pet safe invisible fence at 3 different properties. My house, parents house, and my inlaws. All 3 times I rented a trencher with automatic wire spool. And when I ran into any roots, I just used an ax.

 

[TaunTaun]

Oh sure, the dog is cheaper. But you aren't factoring in the added expense of your sudden popularity and increased social outings that follow with the invisible dog.

It's the invisible dog piles that are the worst. You smell something, and check your shoe. But you don't see anything....

 

[halfmileharry]

Oh sure, the dog is cheaper. But you aren't factoring in the added expense of your sudden popularity and increased social outings that follow with the invisible dog.

How do you pick up after your invisible pet? That would seem to be an issue in my mind.
DO NOT try out the collar on your wrist to make sure it's working. It'll knock the ^%)$_ out of you.

 

[Woobie]

It's the invisible dog piles that are the worst. You smell something, and check your shoe. But you don't see anything....

That actually answers a question I had. I wasn't sure if invisible doo doo smelled.

 

[IrishSon of Liberty]

I installed the SportDog system at my house. Used a solid core wire with heavy duty jacket. I just stretched it tight (not banjo string tight), and used the staple method.

If you leave a garden hose lay in the yard, what happens? The yard will eventually swallow it. Likewise, I've never had the first problem mowing right over it either. I contained about one acre and it's been flawless.

Two advantages. For one, it's much easier to lay out and test the system when it's on top of the ground. And two, you have a much more consistent boundary field emitted. If the wire were buried 8-10 inches deep in one spot, and 2 inches everywhere else, it could cause a weak spot for the dog to escape. Good luck on your project!

 

[TaunTaun]

I got the SportDog system as well. I had reviewed the major underground fences and that one seemed to be the one with the least number of issues as well as giving the widest array of options for collar settings. I did a double loop through the backyard, enclosing about 3/4 of an acre.

First, we laid it out to establish the pattern, and make sure that all exits were contained. I ended up getting very busy just after that and had finals, wood chopping, overtime at work. So, the wire sat in the lawn for about a month. At which point, the wife proceeded to run it over with the mower. Had to get more wire and fix what was already down.

I used a combination of flat-tipped shovel and a edger tool on by weedeater to get a consistent 2-3 inches down from the surface, to run the wire. The only difficulty was when I encountered some tree roots at one edge of the property. The line there ended up only about an inch deep in some places, and I had to either chop through a root, or go around a bit on a detour. We've had it in the ground for almost a year now, and no problems yet.

One possible issue in the spring, I need to take down those trees that I mentioned, and take a stump grinder after them. So, I'll need to relocate the wires, and attempt to not destroy them.

One thing to look out for though, if you bury it, make sure to provide a little bit of slack in the wire as you are putting it in the trench. That allows for contraction/expansion due to temperature changes. Basically, just leave a little bit of the natural wave to the wire (from it being spooled) and you are good to go.

If you are waiting for it to get overgrown and bury itself.....you'd probably need to do the same thing, else you'll have to go find the break in a few years...

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

That actually answers a question I had. I wasn't sure if invisible doo doo smelled.

Oh, it smells, but it's odorless.

 

[printcraft]

......
DO NOT try out the collar on your wrist to make sure it's working. It'll knock the ^%)$_ out of you.

[video=youtube;qWJP2v8Tjj8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWJP2v8Tjj8[/video]

 

[IndyGunworks]

that video is fake.... that's how people fall when they make themselves fall... subconsciously your body will not let it harm itself.

 

[Ryninger]

I've done two systems, not hard to DIY at all! Try to walk out or measure the perimeter to get an idea of how much wire you'll need. Go to home depot, menards, lowes, etc. and get a roll that has longer than you'll need on one spool. The less splicing the better. If you have to get more than one roll, get the silicone filled splice kits for wet areas. Get the largest wire gauge your transmitter will handle, or a bit larger and trim it down. (Less internal resistance from the wire). Find a rental store and rent a machine that'll trench and bury the wire. I've went through lowes twice now for them. The machine usually have a rod to hold the spool. What we found easier was to thread the machine with wire then walk out the wire. When it was time to bury it, I just picked it up and let it slide over my shoulder into the machine... Have your start stop points be close to your transmitter. If you have to make a cable to connect the transmitter to your loop it's easy as well. Take a length of wire about 2.5x the length between the loop and transmitter. Bend the wire so it is in equal lengths, put on end over a hitch, around a pole, anything stable. Preferably over concrete or gravel. Put the loose ends into a drill, and use the drill to twist it up...

 

[Percolater]

Above ground in the woods is the way to go. In my experience, the wire will inevitably break, and your idea of "easy to find and fix" will be most valuable. I buried 2800 feet at the woods border with a wire trencher and had a break after the first year. It was impossible for me to find the break underground, so I just laid it in the woods and stapled it in a few crucial areas. 4 years later, I still get 1-2 breaks a year, but it's much easier to follow that yellow wire through the woods and splice the break. Good luck, your dogs will enjoy the freedom.

 

[IndyGunworks]

Thanks... I am leaning towards putting it in the woods above ground, and laying a section of wire across the back of the pasture anyways. I will put a chunk of rebar at each end so I can use my dads metal detector to find them. If I get tired of the wooded area or don't like it then I can just dig up the two corners and splice it together there. It would only amount to an additional 165 feet of wire.

 

[lovemachine]

You can order a tool to help you find the break in the wire. If I remember right, PetSafe makes one. It's very easy to do, and it works great. My in-laws bought one, and I used it this past summer to find the break. It only took me 15 minutes to find the break in a 3 acre contained yard.