Electric dog fence - are they any good?

[Doublechocolatetiffin]

I am considering getting an electric dog fence for my dog. I've always said I'd never do it, but having spent £'000s on fencing my property and her still finding ways to get out I feel like it might be my only choice.

Has anyone got one? Does it work? Does it really cause lots of issues? My dog is highly intelligent and quite sensitive and I really really don't want to do anything that might make her fearful outside. Equally, I really do need to have a permanent solution to the issue of her escaping as its so dangerous for her. If anyone has any experience of these fences good or bad I'd love to hear from you.

In a word.....NO. read the reasons why here

And here.

How is your dog escaping from your current fence?

Thanks for the links LilCamper I just wanted to be clear, there is decent stock fencing around the entire of my property. However she sometimes manages to get under/over (not sure) the fence. I'm thinking of this as an additional layer of protection.

Usually when she escapes, it'll be because an animal has burrowed under the fence (there is a lot of wildlife here) and left a gap she can get through.

Links like LilCamper has shared is exactly why we haven't done this yet, but having chased her to within 30 meters of a busy road last time she escaped, I really really need a solution!

What about a stake and long line while she's in the garden unsupervised?

Does the fencing go deep into the ground? I had to bury wire fencing into the ground along part of our boundary as next doors fence was not adaequate for digging dogs?

Suggestions on dog proofing a fence here.

Otherwise taking her out on a lead might be the safest bet.

The fencing doesn't go into the ground, its nearly 9 acres of fencing and a lot of it is on the treeline with roots etc making it incredibly difficult to bury the fence.

Could you fence an area within your property which the dog can safely wander about but doesn't mean you have to 'fix' the full length of your property. Appreciate that would probably affect the aesthetics of any garden etc.

Can you make a smaller secure 'garden' enclosure for her?

We've got a smaller area of about 2 acres that is enclosed around the house. Maybe I should try again with that and put up even more mesh. She just always seems to find a way, I think I've solved the problem then she gets out again. It scared me so much last time.

Currently she's on long line walks only (out of the house and in the garden) - we are going back to basics on recall!

We have two acres but that was still way to much ground to give a pup/young dog free range of in my view. Our pup was easily over stimulated by so much space and excitement so we fenced off our patio with direct access to a small grassed area for toilet training which she still uses for a last pee before bedtime and half the rest of garden is securely fenced for a good play and runaround. We have gates in every direction and a temporary barricade so my DH can mow the other half but it won't be forever and at least we can relax knowing which part of garden she is in ( the part where the rabbits don't seem to go😁).

My parents in law had an escaping dog and installed electric fencing - it didn't work dog still escaped , seemed to shrug off the momentary shock and carry on. I assume it would be pretty expensive to install and you may be no further forward in terms of a solution.

Seriously?

Like everybody else has said, a big NO on the electric fence.

She needs to be supervised outside if you can't improve the fence line (lovely to have so much land, but that is a LOT of fencing!), or perhaps you could put up a secure run for her to be in when you can't be out there with her. Or perhaps a mobile pen of the type they use for horses (like a giant 'playpen') which could be moved around and stored away when not needed.

Thank you for your replies, its confirmed my initial thoughts that I don't want to go down this route. I'll keep working on the recall and see if we can maybe fence off a smaller area of garden (again!) its not easy though there is no obvious place for an internal fence.

Nope.its pretty common to see strays wearing the collars.
They can run through the shock and often do if there are driven/stubborn enough to ignore the discomfort...And once past the fence they cannot get back in without being shocked again..

Not a fan

When my dog was a puppy we were out walking with her on the lead when she walked into an electrified fence, I had no idea it was electrified, we'd just got near it and I hadn't seen the small information signs at that point.

Her reaction was horrible to see. The stock clearly terrified her. She screamed loudly and fell on the ground. Thankfully she was fine after a short while but no dog needs that sort of experience.

Later I was talking to another dog walker who walked his dog there all the time, he told me that he'd seen quite a number of dogs bolt - so clearly doesn't stop dogs running away - after touching the fencing and had spent many hours helping various dog owners while they tried to find their terrified animals.

Glad to see you've decided it's not for you OP.

Pigsdofly it isn't the same electric shock for the dog fence as it is for stock fencing. The latter is much much much stronger - not nice for a dog at all!

Double I realised after I posted that it isn't going to be as strong for dogs as for keeping sheep in, as was the case with the fence my dog walked into.

However, any electric shock for a dog is going to scare them, even a mild one. Don't like the idea of using adversive methods of control on dogs.

Might a rabbit proof fence work? I know more £££ on fencing, but if you bury some (wire) fencing that is attached to your regular fence, you reduce the risk of animals digging their way in/ out of your garden!

Electric fence is a big NO NO!!!