Huskys and hidden fences
Dave Baugh
Will a hidden fence work with Huskys? Is their hair too thick on the
neck? Or do they think the shock is worth escape? Just wondering if it
is worth the price.
p.s. does it harm the dog?
Dave Baugh
--
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
(Proverbs 27:17)
Diana
Dave Baugh <dba...@shadetree.com> wrote:
>Will a hidden fence work with Huskys? Is their hair too thick on the
>neck? Or do they think the shock is worth escape? Just wondering if it
>is worth the price.
I assume you are referring to *invisible fencing* using underground wire and receiver collars. I own
4 large dogs and have used the DogWatch system for 3+ years now. One of my dogs is a Shep/Husky with
very thick neck hair. DogWatch carries a heavy duty collar which takes a larger battery and has 4
prongs instead of the normal 2. I use this collar on my Shep/Husky and also per instructions,
clipped his hair in the area where the receiver is located. This has worked very well on this dog.
And this dog was a roaming and hunting fool who could and would escape from every fence, kennel,
collar, known to man. He does not leave our yard even when tempted by an assortment of very enticing
animals, people, and vehicles over the years. One of my dogs has developed a very aggressive,
territorial behavior over the years toward strangers (especially men) but even she does not leave
the yard (these fences always include a disclaimer about not being able to confine highly aggressive
dogs - again I think it all boils down to proper training of the dogs).
One hint: in addition to the surveyor type flags that are included with the fence to mark the
boundary - we also spread a line of lime on the lawn where the wire was buried. This helped the dogs
to realize where the boundary was even easier IMO.
Proper training of your dog after the fence is installed is THE MOST IMPORTANT part of having your
fence work. It takes 2 weeks to a month in most cases in order to properly teach the dog where the
boundary is and that the warning sound means come inward, not jump forward.
>p.s. does it harm the dog?
My collars do not. The dogs did yelp when they received a shock from the collar but I tested it on
my own arm and it was unpleassant but certainly not painful. My dogs have not received a shock from
their collars in a very, very long time now. They know where their boundary is and will not cross it
even when their collars are off for some reason. We do take our dogs for rides in the car/truck
(after removing their collars) and that does not bother them at all.
I know there are many people who believe this type of system is cruel but for my dogs it has been
great. They have free run of their yard (2+ acres), access to the garage and do not have to be in a
kennel, tied up or left in the house for hours. They protect our property but do not bother the
neighbors or get hit in the road.
The one major drawback to this type of fencing though is the fact that it does not keep anyone or
anything out of your yard. This is not a problem for us, having 4 large dogs, but for a smaller dog
or a timid dog, this may not be the best system.
Hope this info has helped you.
~~~Hawk Meadow Morgan Sport Horses~~~
Home of Funquest Black Hawk
Hawk Meadow Morgans: http://www.pipeline.com/~hawkmeadow/index.htm
The Funquest Club: http://www.pipeline.com/~hawkmeadow/funquest.htm
**remove 'nospam' in order to send email to this address**
Charlene Vickers
Diana brought up some good points including:
> The one major drawback to this type of fencing though is the fact
> that it does not keep anyone or
> anything out of your yard. This is not a problem for us, having
> 4 large dogs, but for a smaller dog
> or a timid dog, this may not be the best system.
>
Invisible fences are very good as a secondary line of
defence (pun not intended). I know people who have both the
IF and a regular fence, and they are very happy with the
arrangement. However, friends and FOAFs who have used only
the invisible fence have sometimes been disappointed.
As Diana said, the IF doesn't keep anything out of your
yard. Other dogs (some of whom may be aggressive and
vicious), cats, small children, dogthieves, and other
individuals you might not want in there can come and go at
will. If this happens a lot, your dog may be tempted to take
the shock in order to leave the property. The IF works both
ways, though; once he's out, he has to withstand a shock to
come back in, and he might not want to. Of course, the shock
collar won't stop him from leaving the property if he's
being carried out by a thief, a mountain lion, or a wolf.
If you live near certain types of power transformers (not
just the huge house-sized ones, but the step-down ones found
on power poles too), you may find that the dog gets shocked
when he's nowhere near the fence line. This can freak out
the dog to the point he becomes uncontrollable, AND he won't
connect the shock with leaving the yard.
There was a scary story on one of the dog newsgroups earlier
this year. An owner contracted to have an IF put in. The
installer put the fence in, put the collars on the cat and
the dog, and drove away. Apparently, the cat tried to get
the collar off its neck, and accidentally strangled itself.
The moral of that sad story seems to be that until your
animal is trained in using the IF collar, don't leave it on
him when you're not there to supervise. Training is so
important, and especially so with an IF system.
--
Charlene Vickers, Yellowknife, NWT
Cast your vote for Dead Prime Minister of Canada at:
http://users.internorth.com/~cvickers/Deadvote.htm
Diane Blackman
Dave Baugh (dba...@shadetree.com) wrote:
: Will a hidden fence work with Huskys? Is their hair too thick on the
: neck? Or do they think the shock is worth escape? Just wondering if it
: is worth the price.
: p.s. does it harm the dog?
Feelings on the utility and advisability of radio collar
containment systems vary widely. Only you can evaluate
what is right for you.
Some people have very positive feelings in favor of the system.
Others have had unhappy occurences. In order to decide whether
the system is right what you want, you need to be aware of
possible risks. You can then evaluate the degree of risk
according to your individual circumstances.
This kind of containment system works by a transmitting wire and
a radio collar receiver. The reciever senses how close it is to
the transmitting wire and gives the dog an electric shock if the
dog gets too close. This is enough to keep some dogs
inside the perimeter. Other dogs will ignore the shock if they are
excited enough. You can and should test the collar on yourself.
I found the shock to be noticeable, startling but not painful, and
not particularly traumatic.
This kind of restriction requires dedicated training by the dog owner. It
cannot protect the dog against other dogs or animals entering the property
and getting into a fight. It won't deter a dog thief. It doesn't protect
people or animals entering the property from a territorial dog that might
bite. In most states the dog owner will be liable for dog bites if the
person who entered was only a casual trespasser. In some communities the
device is not a legally acceptable means of restricting a dog.
Postings in the dogs newsgroups have demonstrated each of these
problems. One dog killed a puppy that entered the yard. One
dog was due to be destroyed because it bit a trespassing child.
Several people reported that their dogs ignored the shocks when
chasing anmials or otherwise becoming excited. My co-workers
dog was carried off by a coyote. At least one person posted
that their dog was attacked by loose neighhors dogs. There were
several persons who had no trouble and were quite pleased with
the system. All of these were posted between February 1996 and July
1996. More recently was posting about a delivery person who successfully
sued when he was struck by a vehicle after running from the dog which
appeared to be uncontrolled.
It can't electrocute the dog, but rare cases some
malfunctioning collars will cause serious burns. Also the probes that
give the electric shock can wear away the fur causing bare spots. In
unusual cases infections can occur. There have been reports of
head shyness or nervousness, but I have no knowledge about the
objectivity of the observations and would want such before I relied
much upon those reports. All in all the health risks appear to be
very very small, certainly less than the risks faced by dogs that
run free.
It can be a useful tool to avoid the risk of the dog bolting during
training or play sessions or when someone is otherwise there to prevent
the above problems from occurring. It also might be a good back up to
prevent an escape artist dog from going under or over a real fence.
Putting such a device along the fence line might deter the dog from
approaching the fence.
I hope this helps in evaluating whether the containment system is
appropriate for your needs.
--
Diane Blackman
di...@dog-play.com http://www.dog-play.com
- - - - - - - - - - - -