As a dog owner, you want to make sure you do whatever you need to do to keep them safe. The first step in your dog’s safety is making sure that they never leave your yard. One of the most dangerous things a dog can do is escape from your home and go out into the unknown world of cars passing by, other animals, and strange smells and people. Leash training your dog is helpful but since you cannot always be with your pooch, at pet containment is always necessary.
While a pet fence, in general, is the most common solution to this problem, wireless dog fences have gained in popularity recently for a lot of reasons. A wireless fence has many advantages, but the main thing is that it works. Traditional fences can be dug under or jumped over, but a wireless fence relies on technology to keep your dog in a predetermined area that you can train them to know and understand.
What Is A Wireless Dog Fence?
When you hear the word “fence” you automatically think of a physical structure. Whether you picture a chain link, wooden, or vinyl fence, the most common type of fencing is a physical barrier that both you and your puppy can see. A pet fence usually takes one of these forms.
A wireless fence, on the other hand, is not a physical barrier. They instead are created through radio frequencies produced by a fence transmitter that you place in your home. The transmitter sends out frequencies in a circular boundary around your home at predetermined distances from the transmitter. Your dog, in turn, has a receiver collar that receives the frequencies produced by the transmitter. As your dog approaches the boundary, a sound is made and if your dog walks through the warning sound they receive mild electric stimulation that teaches them to stay inside the “fence”.
Benefits Of A Wireless Dog Fence
If you have ever sat and watched your dog stare out your window longingly, then you know that one of their biggest joys in life is running around outside in their own yard [1]. One of the greatest benefits of wireless fences is that they allow your dog to do just that. Once you set your pet containment system up correctly, you do not have to worry about it again and your dog can play outside for hours. Here are some other great benefits that you will find:
Installation Is A Breeze
We have briefly described the installation process, but the bottom line is that it takes very little manual labor and only minimal planning. Any type of physical barrier that you erect in your yard is going to be very expensive and labor-intensive, wireless fences are not. There are some aspects of training your pet that go along with wireless fences, but for the most part, this product is intuitive for you and your dog.
You Can Keep Your Existing Landscaping
Unless they see your transmitter or the receiver collar on your dog, nobody will ever even know that a fence exists on your property. You can keep your landscaping the same and you will not have to change the topography of your property at all to make this type of fence happen.
Little To No Maintenance
Once your dog is trained on its new boundaries and your transmitter is set in place, you can pretty much move to autopilot unless something out of the ordinary happens. Using radio frequencies is great because a battery backup can be used in case the power goes out so you really can just set it and be finished. In addition, even if something happens to the transmitter, your dog is probably already trained well enough to stay within the boundaries without the electric stimulation.
Portability
When you take a trip, go for a picnic, or move your family to a new address, you can change the boundaries of the fence so that your dog stays close. There is really no such thing as a portable fence outside of these wireless fences and sometimes portability is very necessary— this is the specialty of the newer types of pet containment systems like GPS dog fences.
How To Install Wireless Dog Fence
While the installation process may vary from brand to brand, the concept of wireless fencing is the same across brands. As mentioned before, unlike installing an in-ground dog fence, installing wireless dog fences does not entail a great deal of physical labor or planning and it only takes a small amount of training for your dog to understand and adjust to this fence. The following is a step-by-step description of how wireless fences are installed.
Find A Position For The Transmitter
The first step is the most important step in the installation process. You have to find the ideal place for your transmitter. To make it an effective dog fence, you have to make sure the transmitter is in the right place. Here are some things to consider:
- The transmitter has to have power, so a nearby outlet is a must.
- You want it to be either on or close to an outdoor wall. Concrete and brick walls can affect the transmission of the device.
- Keep it away from metal appliances so that they cannot cause interference. At least five feet away is a good rule, but if you can put it in a room without large appliances that are even better.
- Keep it out of the reach of children or other people who may see it and get curious enough to touch it.
- It should be on the ground floor of your house and preferably at least three feet off the floor.
- For aesthetics, keep it in a rarely used room so that it does not become a part of the decorations.
Activate The Collar
After you get the transmitter in the right spot, the collar is the next important piece of the puzzle. The collar will serve as the receiver of the radio waves put out by the transmitter and will ultimately be the thing that holds your dog within the containment area. To be as simple and straightforward as possible, our first advice is to install the battery and turn it on! Another tip would be to find a receiver collar with a rechargeable battery and do the recharging at night when your dog is inside. To sync the collar with the transmitter usually, just push the button and walk towards the transmitter with the collar turned on until the two are synched up.
Map Out The Boundaries
Creating the boundary is probably the most difficult step in the process and one that really is a two-person job. In general, and depending on the model that you purchase, your boundary radius can be anywhere from 90 feet to 250 feet. Either boundary, for most homes, gives you plenty of space for your dog to roam. While this process can differ slightly between brands, the general idea is the same.
You will need one person to stay close to the transmitter while the other walks around the desired perimeter of the fence. The two people chosen for this job should maintain cell phone contact throughout the process. The person at the boundary should hold the collar at about the height that your dog will wear it. When the person is at the desired radius, the person at the transmitter should adjust the radius distance until there is a beep and/or electric shock of the receiver collar. When that beep happens at the correct position, you have set the boundaries for your fence.
Plant Flags To Show Your Dog (And You) The Boundaries
This step actually happens in conjunction with the previous one and is important in the training that is necessary to teach your dog about their new fence. You want to plant small flags around the perimeter of the electric fence so that both you and your dog get to know and see the containment area. The flags will not need to stay for long, but they serve as a visible representation of the boundaries that your dog will have to roam.
Install The Transmitter In The Chosen Position
Once you have the boundary set and you know exactly where the transmitter should be placed, you should install it more permanently. Do not install it prior to this step because it will be impossible to know what type of interference might exist or where exactly you want the boundaries to be until they are officially set. In this step you want to mount the transmitter on a wall, away from high traffic areas, and in the predetermined space based on the boundaries.
Train Your Dog
There are so many instances where a dog needs to be trained and so many ways to do it. From clicker training, to shock collar training, and everything in between, training your dog is vital to almost every aspect of its life. Training your dog for their new invisible fence is simple and should happen pretty quickly.
The training is done through the collar itself with very little work needing to be done by you. Some virtual fences come with dog GPS tracker collars that work as pet tracking, monitoring, and for training. These combination fences are referred to as GPS dog fences, mentioned above. As the dog approaches the boundary, it will hear a beep and when it gets past that point it will receive a mild electric shock until they turn back. In a few days, not only will your dog not run past the beep, they will probably naturally settle into the boundaries provided.
FAQ
How do you set up a wireless dog fence?
The most important part of setting up your new fence is determining where you want the boundaries to end and where you want to install your transmitter. The receiver collar is about the size and weight of a normal collar and will feel natural to your dog. All you have to do is determine how much space your puppy needs and set your transmitter to that radius. This process is described in detail above.
How do you install a wireless fence?
The installation of a wireless pet fence is as simple as turning on the transmitter, putting the collar on your dog, and setting the correct boundaries. As opposed to traditional fencing, there is very minimal labor and only a small amount of planning. If you can plug in a transmitter, but a battery in a collar, and mark off a boundary, then you can easily install your new fence. This process is described in detail above as well.
Can you install an invisible fence yourself?
While you can do almost everything by yourself when it comes to the installation process, you really need a second person to mark off the boundaries. You need one person changing the radius of the transmitter while the second person is walking off the boundaries. These two people should be in constant communication so that the person at the boundary can tell the person at the transmitter the exact moment when they should stop adjusting the boundary radius. Neither person needs to be a skilled laborer, but you do need two people to make this work effectively.
Do wireless dog fences work?
Not only do wireless fences work, but they also help your dog in numerous ways. You are able to leave your dog outside more and in their crate less, your landscaping will remain great, and you will have the peace of mind that your dog is safe and protected. They not only work, but they also give you a lot of advantages over traditional fences and the upkeep and installation are as easy as you will find.
