Keep your Dog Safe inside a Petsafe Wireless Fence
By Howard Young Jul 07, 2011
This summer we spent a few weeks of vacation with my wife’s brother and his wife. It was their first time to Southern California and they were somewhat amazed how tight they pack homes together here in the Los Angeles suburbs all surrounded by cinder block walls. Of course, we envy their open two acre homestead in Alabama where they can grow a nice garden and let the dogs roam free around the yard.
I’m pretty sure my wife would like to move back “home” even though she has now spent the majority of her life here in California. Our roots are now firmly planted in Thousand Oaks where I doubt we will move in the near future.
Even though I toyed with the idea of taking a job in Florida – nearby my wife’s family – the thought of an alligator snatching one of my Dachshunds sort of killed that idea. I guess my only fear is that in our area coyotes will get our dogs since the 5 ft high fence is unlikely to keep them out of our yard. But at least our dogs won’t run away unless we leave a gate open.
But in case we ever move back “home” I dream of a house without fences on a really big plot of land where our neighbors are not 20 feet from us where I can sing the theme song from Green Acres without bothering anyone.
I digress.
My point is that while my dream home has a boundless area but requires the safety and assurance that my little ones won’t run off. I’m not sure that the two goes hand-in-hand but there are wireless fences that keep your dogs inside a parameter defined by an electrical signal.
(I’m not sure how well they work; hence, I really can’t try experiment too well on our homestead, so I can only ask you readers for advice.)
But I would like to get my in-laws one to keep their “Kiki” on their plot of land. (I hope this won’t spoil the surprise.)
The Petsafe Wireless Fence containment system covers a circular area for about ½ acre which would be more than adequate for their yard. If they place the transmitter on the front porch, the 90 foot radius should keep their little girl from wandering into the street.
I have to warn you that the dog receives a “static correction” if the boundary is crossed. That is, your dog must wear a shock collar. Ouch. I’m not sure I would like that. The good thing is that once your dog becomes “boundary aware,” you can disable the static correction so that the collar will beep. Hopefully after a few weeks of training, the beeping is all that is needed.
I’m not a big fan of negative reinforcement systems and found that praising our three dogs works far better than the alternative. Clicker training may be a better solution than a wireless containment system; regardless, both require weeks of training to keep your dog save inside your yard.