KitKat

So i should give up the place with the fantasically large fenced yard because my dog can escape? My older dog, who wears the collar, is only interested in toys, games etc if my younger dog is playing with them, and then only for a limited time. I will not chance a spat by giving the dogs food to keep them occupied since at the times i'd be doing that i wouldn't be there to supervise. Indeed they do...however i don't and i'm fine with that as my dogs are generally outside dogs for all that i have housetrained them. I would have to say my cat probably wouldn't be impressed if the dogs were inside more often. Also if i turned around to any rental agent and asked if i could allow my two 40kg dogs inside on a regular basis i'm likely to be laughed at. So once again i should move house? i spent a lot of time and money finding a house that would suit me and my dogs, in an area that gave me everything i needed, eg public transport, near family, large yard etc etc I'm not giving it up unless i absolutely have to. Great...now that i have a car i could indeed consider moving to a completely different area...if i didn't already have a house that suits me and my dogs. Considering how much it costs to move these days it's unlikely i will do so just because my dog can escape...or are you suggesting my dogs should stay inside when i am not home? Harm has companionship in the new pup Bronx if it comes to that. The only people i trust with my dogs also work much the same hours as i do...and personally i'm not sure i'd put on them to walk two 40kg dogs each day...besides...i walk my dogs at night anyway. As to the doggy daycare...that's a big fat no from me...apart from the fact that putting my two boofers in that each day each week would send me broke, i'm not willing to put my dogs in contact with dogs i don't know and people i don't know on a daily basis. Not to mention that i'm not sure they'd be open at the times i'd be leaving for work. Cripes...all this to change my mind about a collar i have no problem with using? I looked into all this stuff before turning to the zappy collar, i weighed up the pro's and cons and it was the best way of dealing with the issue...neither myself nor my dog have any problems with this solutoin.

G'day, Eddy here. Meanwhile what is the dog owner doing during the time the dog is trying to climb fences and dig under, maybe inside tapping away on the computer too much and not providing what that dog needs. Or maybe...just maybe... the owner is....oh....WORKING? or trying to get the 7-8 hours sleep a person is supposed to fit in? As much as i would love to be with my dogs 24/7 it just isn't possible, my dogs aren't allowed inside (oh yes wait this makes me a bad mum to start with blah blah blah) as i rent. I also need to work that that we can all eat and can stay in the house with the huge yard. And as i said in a previous post...i walked him for at least 1/2 hour a day, we did training two nights a week, we played for all that he isn't overly toy orientated...but he was still escaping as it had become a game to him...gee should i have tried to take him to work? i would have loved to...but my boss wouldn't have been appreciative.

Megan - As has been said over and over again....WE HAVE USED THE COLLARS ON OURSELVES!!!!!!!! I do realise i am yelling...but it's been said over and over again and some people still seem to 'miss' it. Any training tool can be misused, occasionally units can malfunction (haltis incorrectly fitted, check chain put on wrong way and catching, flat collar too tight, the list goes on)...but i always keep an eye on my dogs collar to make sure it's all in perfect working order...the checking includes zapping myself ETA - I also saw all the freaky stories...so i made a point of asking question after question of the supplier in regards to what could set the collar off, what if something happened, what if this what if that...i asked everything i could and checked out everything i could, including speaking to other people who had the system i was looking at. I wanted the safest and best for my dog...and as far as i'm concerned...i got it.

Yup...i'm such a 'shocking' mother these days too :rolleyes:

:rolleyes: :confused: Well...that's one of the beautiful things about the invisable fences...they are good for renters as they can be taken with you when you move. I won't get back the large some of money it cost to put the side fences in....but i spent a large amount of money on the invisable fence but i can take it with me It was another reason why i considered it.

Yup He was on a chain after he escaped the 3rd time. i then spent oodles on some extra fencing and within 20 minutes of letting him off he was out. So back on the chain he went. This wasn't fair on him as far as i was concerned...we have a lovely big yard, and to me chaining him up all the time wasn't a suitable solution. Penning would cost more then i was willing to pay since i rent and any decent sized my-dog-proof pen would not be something i could take with me...nor am i likely to get permission to build it from my landlord. He had been the only dog...now we have a GSD pup as well...Harm would escape into the front yard to have some quiet time away from the pup :rolleyes: I put in fences to separate the front yard form the back, one side he nearly hanged himself from while trying to escape into the front yard is now zappy, the gate side isn't and he would get under it to get into the front...and away from the pup. I honestly thank you for your concern...but i am happy with the solution i have. I have been told that he is an escape artist and enjoys the challenge, it was actually from a behaviourist that i first heard about the 'invisable fence'. AbzndBonnie i think your girl needs to meet up with my boy...seems they have a lot in common (except the show dog bit...lmao...doesn't seem to worry any of the other dogs that adore my Harm tho...lol)

Urban.... :rolleyes:

Ok...my dog wasn't going after stock...he was just heading out on the town :rolleyes: But he was in a secure yard (not secure enough apparently), he went for lots of walks including obedience training, he is fine off lead, you can tell him to drop at a distance and he will. Only problem is i wasn't outside with him...having to work to support him and the other animals in my household...and needing sleep occasionally. The fence works when you are not there, when you are there it's unlikely the dog will try to get out. And most people cannot be with their dogs 24/7 as much as we might like to be. Urban...perhaps i tried a diff collar or have a diff pain tolerance..

Ok...agree to disagree...but i have felt the zap of my dogs collar...at it's highest setting and it's lowest and what it is currently set at...i wanted to know what it would do to my dog as i had heard all the horror stories. I tensed up all expecting something nasty...and it was nothing of the sort...i'd not appreciate the highest setting very much but the others weren't worth worrying about. Em & Taco - Were they given any training on the use of the collar? if the dog isn't taught what it is being reprimanded for then how is it to know? with the fence collars the dogs are taught to back away when they hear the beep...hence no reprimand unless they push the issue further. The use of the collars etc decide the result...if used properly good result, if not used properly...bad result.

I generally leave the collar on my boy (he doesn't push the fences any more, nor has he for the last few months) but as often a not i take it off at nights...he knows the boundries and i could probably turn the system off...but i'd rather be able to test him on that before doing so...as in a long weekend at home the entire time for a change....which would be nice... Abzndbonnie - yeah...the dog has a great time and they just don't understand why we get so upset and fustrated...lol

The reason the dog yelps is because the 'zap' is a surprise...i yelp as well when i'm playing with it...the dog has learnt the boundry...i haven't :rolleyes: My boy is also a sook when it comes to that, with the whole...'if i sook mum will come and smooch me and i'll get out of trouble' The dog is trained to avoid the fence line, if the dog goes too close a warning beep is emited, the dog is also trained to understand what that means, the dog only gets zapped if it pushes past that then backs away, the dog will learn very quickly that to push that fence line is to be reprimanded so the dog stops doing it. But they still have the freedom of a full yard instead of being chained or tied to a running-line. But it's because of surprise...it's a surprise reprimand, they know it's gonna come if they push it but it's still a surprise....it's a bit like the fence bites really. Also when you get a static zap in the office or getting into your car...do you let out a little yip of surprise? I know i do.

Urban - :rolleyes: Em & Taco - it would be worth checking the brand and age of that collar. The collars now have a variety of strength settings from very very light to that of about a static zap from scuffling across carpet and touching someone. The zap that comes from the collar i use on my dog is less that that given out by those static tenze (sp?) machines...the ones that they use for muscle healing? etc

Then that's fine for you but you shouldn't be trying to push that opinoin on others...or having a go at others for having said system. Also...i'm not going by what the seller 'told' me, i'm going by experiance!

And from the other site...

Afton...just in case you didn't read it...here it is...

I have only one thing to say here "OUCH!!!"

I don't know...there could be a multitude of reasons. The last place i was in i made a deal with the realestate/landlord. I would put in side fences, to block access from front yard to back yard and they would repair the rear fence. Untli that time my dog was on a chain :rolleyes: , i had just moved out of the 'marital' home and had limited choices...i put up the front fences and by the time they put up the rear fence i was at the end my lease and moved into another place. Because i didn't have anything on paper...well...they did as they liked. As to you and your Dobe....you are lucky, but not every one is. And I know for one thing in my area a person is legally required to keep their dog secure on their property, and provide unobstructed access to the front door...which is slowly becoming to mean that dogs are required to have restricted access to the front yard. Friends of mine have a dog, they have a fence around their property...but it's not much of a fence. Their dog has never wandered...but put my dog in that yard and he'd be out after he finished checking the place over. My GSD pup seems to be another matter...i tested him last night while putting the bins out and he dodn't come out the gate...but he was tempted. I find it unlikely that he will need a collar...but my older boy will keep his.

M-J...i have tried everything...and there is already cement along the fence line, i tagged chicken wire to the fence and pegged it to the ground...my boy pulled out the pegs, nibbled off the tags, nibbled off the clips i had used to fasten the cyclone fence to the guide wire...and then rolled out under it. People don't usually believe it until they see it...he can get out from very very small gaps. That's a handler issue then isn't it? Rather cruel to tease a dog like that. Mind you if you toss a ball near my fence line my dog won't go after it because he knows he's not allowed near the fence. This is out and out cruelty by the handler again, after all the collars can be taken off. If the person walking him thru it is lousy enough not to take the collar off the dog then they have some serious issues. And my boy has learnt that he if is on a lead he can move past the fence line, as i put his training collar on and take off the zappy collar, but otherwise he's not allowed.

Zapped into submission? perhaps come back once you have once you have felt a 'zap' or seen the thing work. No one on this forum likes to see a dog beaten into submission...but this isn't what these fences do. And i have my boy trained...in fact if we could both be bothed we could walk in and get a quali in a UD ring with only a smidge of refresher practice Here is a pic of my supposed 'zapped into submission' dog, If you look closed on the left side of his neck you can even see his zappy collar.

They can be used without a 'main' fence, little flags are put up to indicate the boundries, training is done around the entire boundry so that the dog knows the beep sound is the same as 'aagh' or 'no' etc. But it's not how i would use it myself. The problem i have is other dogs can wander in to the 'yard' adn if the dog with the collar on races out, it gets zapped....but can't get back into the yard due to it knowing it will be 'reprimanded' by the fenceline again.

I know where i stand legally...and i don't live in NSW...and if i need to i can get 'authorisation' from a vet. If required i can provide all i would need to plead my case if such a little thing was to go to court, which i doubt it would get to. And personally....if people want to run around and stickybeak at my property to see what type fences i have, just to dob me into the RSPCA...they they need to get a life. Now if they were concerned about the health and well being of my dogs then that is another matter. Edited as i just read MaxSpots replies thanks for that info :rolleyes: Also..the RSPCA does not like the collars/fences and keeps stiring up the issue...and each time they have had their complaints refuted in court and the RSPCA''s complaint thrown out.

The RSPCA doesn't like the invisable fences....but i couldn't give a toss about what they think. I am acting in the best interest of my dog and that is all that matters, if they want to knock on my door and say i can't use one...then they are going to get fight on their hands. These fences are illegal to import without a licence, adn in some states they may well be illegal but you can get around that with a vets recommendation usually. The RSPCA would like to be able to ban them nationally, as to if they will or not is another matter. Hmm...nice choice for me....zappy fence which my dog doesn't push so doesn't get zapped thus it;s humane....or....on a chain for the rest of his days...or...third choice at the nice old age of 9ish he gets rehomed? hmmm...i'll stick with my zappy fence. Oh...before i has my fence installed i asked to be zapped...it was quite a bit less then the static zap you might get after scuffling across some types of carpet and touching another person or some metal.

I did try everything...i was at a point where it was either give up my boy, put him back on a chain or find something....so i did. The invisable fence has been a godsend, it's let me keep my dog as well as keep him safe. As to boredom...nope, it was a game to my boy....for example, once i was out and playing with him for about an hour...he was puffed..and so was i. I went inside to get a drink and within 10 minutes the kids next door brought him home. It just became part of the game, he started doing it to my little side fence that i put in, it separates the front yard from the back yard. For ages i'd come home to find him in the front yard...for no real reason...because it was a good game, still do on the odd occasion as it's an unzappy fence and he likes to keep his escapist skills honed apparently EFS

This is a link to the company i went through. I'm not sure if they are interstate but check out their website and if it doesn't say then give them a call they should be able to perhaps put your friend onto someone in their vicinity

Perhaps too much was eaten to quickly...