I recently got two puppies, (A golden retriever and an English pointer) we're thinking about geting one of those invisble fences.
Do they work?
Does anyone here have one?

My dogs need to know.

My feedback is that it depends. My ex got one to contain a smart, 75-lb, 3-year-old dog. During the first 6 months the dog only escaped 2-3 times. To stop that, the intensity was turned up on the collar. Although his yard is large, the dog just wants to run loose and has decided that's worth the momentary discomfort (he yelps as he's going through but keeps on going...fortunately, the collar shuts off once he's through). It's become almost a daily thing and he disappears for hours. Battery changes do no good. $2K down the tubes.

I had posted this question last year and other people have had better luck. Start reading here.

Thanks, Velocity!

Works great for keeping my kids from leaving our yard

we've got a rambunctious 30 lb female that it works great with. of course, it's in the backyard and only used to keep her out of the garden when she's running around like a nut. maybe if a squirrel entered the equation there would be a problem for the petunias

Ahaha, no sorry they don't. Because once the dog walks on the invisible line and gets zapped, he can either go back in the yard or go over it, and eventually he'll figure out to go over it. Even if it means he'll get a little zap. Two of our neighbors had it and it didn't work. Also, incredibly funny to watch. (One was a golden retreiver, FYI)

I think it depends on the distractions. We have bunnies, squirrels, neighbors that chill on their patios.

Congrats on the dogs. As the owner of 2 labs, I think you're gonna love having them. I got myself into the habit of walking my dogs twice a day regardless of weather or circumstance, rather than the issue of leaving the dog in the yard. We never leave our dogs outside unattended. I take them out on leash, occasionally will let them run free, but only while I'm there to watch.

We considered the invisible fence because we couldn't really fence our yard, but chose not to do it because of many factors, including the issue of how well it would work. Really depends on the dog's threshold for pain and willingness to outsmart you. Some question how humane it is, especially given that other animals (and people) can enter the "fence" but the dog can't respond outside the fence.

Just don't ever put a leash on them from day one and they'll never need one.

with the winters we have, that is some commitment

We've been taking them out for an hour of excercise every day. Sometimes a long walk other times playing in the yard.
Thing is I'd like to be able to just open the back door in the morning so they can do their business while I'm getting ready for work.

God I wish we could limit it to 2 walks a day. We walk our guy anywhere from 4 to 6 times a day. There's usually a 2 or 3 medium sized walks (15 to 20 minutes)....and a bunch of short walks just for going to the bathroom. One of the downsides to living in a condo is that we just can't let him out into the backyard to do his business. We also raw feed, and from what I've heard raw food passes through the system about twice as fast as kibble...so that results in more bathroom trips.

As for the electric fence, I'm pretty sure I posted in the old thread that I didn't like them, and I think my reasoning was that they promote aggression in some dogs (we have a bulldog, who's already prone to aggressive behaviour).

We gave our dog up a trainer for two weeks who used a shock collar, and we're still having problems with his aggression (plus the fact that the trainer basically let my dog fight with a Cane Corso for two weeks, which really didn't help his demeanor). Never again will I do any sort of training that I'm not involved with.

yeah. those are good points, nobodies. I do take my dogs out much more than 2x each day... only twice do we generally go for the 15-20 minute walks, however (sometimes 3 x on weekends). I will take them out a few times each day just to pee, especially the younger one. We do have the benefit of having a dog run for that purpose which allows me to stay in the garage while the dog(s) does his/her business, and keeps me from having to deal with the leash and everything each time the dog has to pee.

Sometimes we're willing to go out the front door without a leash, but then you have to be prepared to watch and retrieve your dog, so that's only for a mostly trained dog, frankly.

kibble is good for the dog's teeth as well, which is really important for a dog, so I prefer doing the dry food thing, myself.

on a bet once i crossed the electric fence with the collar fastened to my nuts. i can assure you that those things work like a charm.

I have heard this one before, but it still makes me laugh.

i'm not a big fan of the electric collar or the fence. i know everybody says the dogs can hardly feel pain if you have it at the correct setting...blah fucking blah. it's fucking cruel. how would you like it if you got zapped everytime your fatass was reaching in the chip bag? it just seems either lazy and/or people are becoming dog-owners who have no right to be...um yes sir, i'll take the Pug/Star Wars Package please.
you guys catch this from a few wks ago?
kill this bitch yesterday-like

what works like a charm, the electric collar or your nuts?

how much did you win on this bet?

I did the same thing at a buddy's house a few years back. Although, I opted for my neck and I'm not even sure there was a bet involved.

Not nearly enough

LOL.

Just wait. That is my favorite part of this story.

are you a vegetarian?

Yes kill that bitch, but there's nothing wrong with electric fences. It's not like dogs are getting shocked all day. I believe my parent's dogs were shocked 2-3 times about 5 years ago.

The point is, the dogs LEARN, and don't get shocked. Duh!

And, in return they've gotten 5 years of the happiness of being able to go in and out of the house when they please. The boy dog loves to just go out when he wants and sit on their deck.

I was delivering mail to a house that had an invisible fence, only I didn't know and their two large dogs took off after me.

I don't like invisible fences.