Invisible fences and hot wire fences - country living
If you live in the county then invisible fences and hot wire fences are a common place. But just because they are common doesn't mean they are safe or good. Invisible fences can have multiple security/safety issues not to mention causing pain and emotional anxiety in some animals. Older models would also burn if left on when wet. Here are two videos of people 'testing' what it feels like to have an 'invisible' fence device work.
Here's an excellent BLOG about this topic: Invisible Fences: Not a Recommendation
More often then not, it comes down to finances. What can contain an animal at low cost? There's little regard for how safe these devices/products are. I strongly believe that if you have an animal, the best way to contain it is with safe fencing.
Once you've lived on your property or in the area for a while, your dog gets to know what the "loose" boundaries are. You can invest in boundary training but there will always be something that Mother Nature throws at you that will just be too tempting for your dog to leave alone. Why take the risk. A proper fence keeps your dog safe and secure and unwanted animals out.
Here's another article against electric fences: Why I Really Hate Electronic Shock Fences
This also 'bleeds' into the unecessary use of electronic shock collars for training. They should be banned.
Wales - the first part of the UK to ban shock collars
Just as an aside - we've move 891miles from California to Washington state. In CA we lived on 3.7acres in a country setting. We had cats, deer, coyotes, jack-rabbits, skunks, cotton-tails - all in our 'yard'. Gunner and Isabella stayed within their boundaries as long as there wasn't wildlife to chase. We've been in our new location for less then two weeks. Our road has horses, a couple of cows, some peacocks, two cats that like to hang around our house and Jim saw a rabbit. I've also heard a band of coyotes howling the other night. There is no fencing around our new location except for a special 'dog yard', so I've been keeping them on leash until they become more familiar with their new surroundings.
One day last week, we were coming home in the Vanagon with the two dogs, I opened the door to get their collars on and OFF they went at full speed chancing a cat. No response to the recall cue or 'freeze' cue. The intensity of the stimulus was too intense for them to comply. They managed to run into a neighbors enclosed hot wire field. After some time, Bella was able to come back. I was worried how she was going to cross the hot wire. She managed to go under the bottom wire without touching it. Gunner, on the other hand, turned towards another fence out of my sight. I heard him cry and I immediately saw him coming my way. He lacerated his upper arm, a little cut on his nose and a burn mark on his other leg. He yelp and came back to me.Seems he may have ran into a barb-wired fence.
The laceration was deep enough to require sutures so I loaded him up and off we went to see our new vet. A few stitches later a lessen learnt. They aren't familiar with their boundaries yet; I have to factor in some 'come when called' with moving critters; they have to learn to avoid hot wire fences; and leashed will be part of their new life in WA for a while.
Invisible fences do nothing in regards of protecting your dog from 'intruders' such as other neighborhood dogs or wildlife like deer, coyotes, cougars, etc. It also doesn't bode well for some neighbor relations. Having a physical fence not only is the safer option for your dog, it also provides extra privacy from nearby neighbors. A solution to dogs that escape from a fenced yard is to FIRST identify the motivation of the escape. Is this dog bored? Is it an intact dog attracted to smells away from the house? Is it panicked due to some loud noise? If it's anxiety/panicked driving behavior then a SHOCK fence is NOT the solution. For dogs that like to climb over- a Coyote Roller is an excellent product. Most often then not, escaping dogs are either not physically/mentally challenged enough during their day-to-day life or it's a panic behavior.
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