Pampered Dog Blog

One way to keep your dogs or livestock within your area is through physical fences. There are supposed to prevent animals from entering and leaving the specified area. Some fences are equipped to release a current when touched. If you’re worried your dog may never come home again from his neighbourhood strolls, such a pet containment system is available. Many dog owners claim that this pet containment system tends to be more cost effective over time. In areas where it’s prohibited to erect physical fences, electronic dog fences are preferred.

A fence without a fence? How does that work?

The aim is clear – for your dog to remain inside your area. An electronic dog fence is essentially an area bound by buried wires instead of erected fences. There are usually marker flags visible, and planted at intervals – these flags are small, unobtrusive ones. The dog wears a collar that emits a warning sound when it nears the boundaries. The collar sends out a mild shock every time he leaves the boundaries. With some training, the dog realizes that he is not to go beyond the area wherein he hears the warning sound.

So even though there are no physically erected fences publicly visible, there might as well be, since the dog will keep inside the area marked by the flags. Naturally, any other animal (human beings included) who does not wear the collar, are unaffected by the virtual fence. Because of the space retain, or reclaimed, some dog owners choose an electronic dog fence to physical fences.

The same principle but using other means

There are alternative ways to this pet containment system’s set up. Marking the boundaries of the area, in an alternate set up, makes use of radio signals broadcast from a central device. When the dog walks outside a certain radius, the warning sound, and later, a corrective shock activates. Another set up uses the Global Positioning System to mark boundaries and track the dog’s movement. Should the dog try to ignore the warning sound, the static correction sets in – this is the same condition that applies for all three sets ups: the buried wire, the radio signal set up, and the GPRS system.

You can adjust or increase the intensity of the static correction the dog receives when it tries to get past the marker flags, and ignore the warning sounds. It must be emphasized that the dog takes some time getting used to interpreting the warning signal, hence the dog must be trained to and rewarded when he decides to remain inside the electronic dog fence.