.jpg)
Because Chihiro is at least part hound dog, we can’t rely on her to stay with us in our yard. She might be good most of the time, but all it takes is one squirrel or neighborhood cat and she’s off on the chase. So we made the decision to purchase an electric fence.
This is a decision I made with much trepidation. I abhor the idea of causing any pain to my dog. But we just don’t have the budget for a real fence at the moment, and our yard is so large it would be a shame if Chihiro couldn’t run free in it.
We bought an electric fence after much research and a personal recommendation from friends. I’m disappointed that it doesn’t cover the full length of our yard, but every review we read of fences with a wider radius said that they were unreliable, often going off if the dog so much as stepped out on a porch.
Here’s how a wireless electric fence works: somewhere in your house you plug in the radio signal transmitter. The box on the dog’s collar and this transmitter “talk” to one another and send a quick jolt to the dog when the dog is out of bounds.
When first training a dog to stay within the fence, place the flags that come with the fence at its borders. Don’t turn on the collar all the way, just so that it will beep but not shock. Take the dog to the edge of the fence and when the collar starts beeping, lead the dog back within beep-free grounds. Reward the dog.
Once you set the collar to shock, continue the same process. Never take the dog out of the safe range, but train it that when it hears beeping, it’s time to come back into “safe” grounds. After a few weeks you can take down the flags; the beep will be enough to inform the dog of its boundaries, and soon it will know them without getting close enough for the beep.
Ideally the dog is rarely, if ever, shocked. I still don’t like the concept at all, but my husband assures me that it’s only ever a “surprise” shock, like a static electric zap one might get in the winter. When it was time we set the collar to its lowest setting and proceeded to start the training.
Sadly Chihiro got a zap much sooner than we’d hoped: the first time we set the collar to it. She went dashing for the border when suddenly she leapt up in the air, tail firmly between her legs, and came running over to me. For days after that we worked on the beep training, but she stuck to my side and only seemed to get excited when it was time to go inside. She’d only play in the house, as well.
Yesterday, however, my husband finally got Chihiro to feel comfortable with playing fetch and running around within the borders of the fence. As upset as I was by causing her pain the first time, I’m glad she’s back to normal and now has a safe place to play at our new house.
Related Articles:
Landscaping in a Yard with Dogs
*(This image by Rhian vK is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
