I'm looking a bit of information.  Someone I know is considering adopting her daughters GR.  She is still in the preparation stage but it's likely a change in circumstances means he will need a new home and she wants to save her daughter the heartbreak of him going to a stranger.  The dog (and daughter) are currently overseas.

One of the things she has asked me about is electric type fencing.  We live in Somerset where 'wet' fencing is very common, many boundaries are marked by drainage ditches into which the water is penned during the dry seasons (!!).  They live in an old farmhouse, the garden of which has one lengthy ditch boundary and they also have another that crosses the main garden at the back of the house.  Whilst it would be possible to section areas off with conventional solutions I understand she is keen to look at invisible fence options to preserve the views and maintain the essential character of that area in the village.

I have to admit that my first thought was that I wouldn't subject my dogs to that but equally mine don't go in our ditch unless I encourage it - if they want to cross to the opposite side one will always use the bridge and the other is happy to jump over.  Ours is also dry in the summer whereas hers is permanently wet and the GR is a water baby.  Also mine can't escape that way as we are fenced on the opposite side but her garden is open to the fields beyond the ditch.

Does anyone on here have any experience of this type of fencing?  Will it suit the circumstances I describe?  Are they cruel?  Obviously it's not up to me whatever decision she makes but as she's asked for my advice I'd like to check whether it's a good idea before replying.  I don't know her that well but she knows I have dogs, and a bit of experience, so she's asked me to go over and talk to her next week about what she may need and to have a look at her garden.  Thanks for any input you can give me.

no idea about electric fencing but i think you can get a thing that sends out a pulse of some kind that the dogs don;t like to cross (sorry, i know that makes no sense). apparently they are popular in the US

hi its called a freedom fence the dog has to have a collar and when he goes near the designated area to which he is not allowed it gives them some kind of smell or tone to stop them going any futher

I have heard that it is possible for dog to get excited enough to run through pulse from fence but once it is calm it won't come back because it feels pulse. Also electric fencing won't keep other dogs out.

Only what I've heard though

I've read the same thing, on a hound forum someone's grey chased a squirrel through the 'fence' and was run over :-(

It's not something I would use. I would keep the dog on a lead in the garden until I had it fully fenced.

hey, i'm not nuts :)

it's something that would concern me to but thought i would mention for the op;s information

>> hey, i'm not nuts  >>

are you sure :-)

> Does anyone on here have any experience of this type of fencing?  Will it suit the circumstances I describe?  Are they cruel?

One of our club members got some of this stuff for their standard schnauzer as she would not stop chasing their sheep. Despite the highest setting being used the dog had such prey drive that it went pass the fencing(which is in the ground)& still went after the sheep. When it finally decided to come back it couldn't because it got the shock as it approached the range of the fencing.

To be honest I don't think it will suit the GR if it wants to swim it will & then will have to be shocked again to get back.

If she is so concerned about the garden & views, then I would advise her not to have a dog as I would think legally if the dog escaped & caused an accident they would be treated as negligent for not having a conventional barrier

> when he goes near the designated area to which he is not allowed it gives them some kind of smell or tone to stop them going any futher

It is an e collar system & gives an electric shock after the tone

The new programmable XXXXXX Receiver collar with 10 levels of correction (includes, probes and batteries)

Not popular as you see :-) and for good reason.  Dogs don't really need large gardens and they have to be taken out and exercised properly anyway, so is there no scope for securing a much smaller area.  Perhaps at the back of the house where the appearance may be less important.

um. no actually.

> It is an[url=http://www.freedom-fence.co.uk/pet-containment/index.php" rel=nofollow] e collar system[/url] & gives an electric shock after the tone
>
> The new programmable XXXXXX Receiver collar with 10 levels of correction (includes, probes and batteries)

ohh, maybe not then!

Hi dogs a babe

as you can gather from responses this is not a method recommended in the UK by animal lovers.  Indeed I understand that some welfare agencies and the KC have called for them to be banned (although that may refer specifically to electric collars for general control - doubtless someone will find the link :) )

Hopefully you will be able to deter this lady from considering this a safe, kind and practical method of containing the dog.  Perhaps print off details of the link to take around with you :)

regards, Teri

hi just wanted to point out that i in now way endorse this product or have any experience of this product just pointing out the name from the previous post.

thanks

Just wanted to add my 2p for this one.

I would NEVER recommend electric fencing for any type of dog, regardless of the reasoning - there are too many potential downsides.  The risk of the dog running through then not coming back because of the shock is one, and of course stray dogs can come through no problem.

But it's the behavioural issues that are the big ones for me - I have read so, so many stories of severe behavioural issues resulting from these fences that it's just not funny. To name a couple;

A schnauzer that barked at passers by.  He would run at the fence and get shocked, and associated the shock with the passers-by.  He eventually got so aggressive because he thought they were causing him pain that he ran through the shock and attacked a dog.  He may have actually killed it, not sure on that.  What if he'd associated that shock with a child?

Two irish setters, sisters.  Raised together and absolutely adored each other.  Both got shocks going near the fence, but ont of them started to associate them with her sister.  Again, she eventually attacked the other dog severely and from that point on the two dogs could never be kept together and the aggressor was rehomed.

And a medical issue too - something went wrong with the collar on a GR, the family came out to find the dog's neck bald around the two shock points and green pus there also.

For me, just those examples alone are more than enough reason not to get an electric fence - and there are many more besides.  Those are the ones that just stick in my mind.

Could your friend perhaps invest in some stock fencing?  You can get it at a reasonable price on ebay and it wouldn't block the view very much, only really the fence posts would do that.

Thank you, I thought this was a bad idea and now I'm quite convinced.  If anyone has any more examples to illustrate the negatives I'd love to hear them.  I recall an article about electric collars being banned in Wales - I'll try and find that story too.

Teri your mention of the UK made me think - the daughter lives in Bermuda, I wonder if this type of fencing is more common there and is the reason it was suggested?

If I recommend she uses stock fencing round the perimeter is there an alternative way of discouraging the dog from going in the ditch/stream that crosses her garden?  As I say, mine won't go in water unless invited - too many problems associated with leaping without looking - but I've never lived with a manic water baby either. 

I have a GR who lives to swim, is well trained but just can't resist the lure of the water :-) It took ages to train him not to swim in our two ponds and I have given up trying to keep him out of the water when out walking. Swimming is brilliant fun as far as he is concerned and to be honest I wouldn't want to deny him that pleasure. If your friend's GR is a water baby they might find it very hard to keep her out of a water filled ditch which would seem like heaven to my dog. I have now divided my garden in two and fenced off the pond area so the dogs can have one side of the fence and the fish can remain in the ponds on the other side.

If they are that concerned about the ditch and water then i would fence up an area of the garden for the dog to be in without the water and then there would be no worries.

The electric fences appear to be very popular in America and being that Bermuda is off the east coast i would guess they get many American products over there as well, hence maybe where this idea has come from.
We have stock fencing around our garden and it works, though if the GR is known to dig then i would make sure the fence is dug into the ground otherwise they may find they have an escape artist on their hands.

The only downside i find to stock fencing is that dog can see rabbits and other animals the other side. This can get some dogs very excited and some may try to jump the fence, so again making sure its high enough for her not to be able to get over if she has a prey drive.

> If anyone has any more examples to illustrate the negatives I'd love to hear them.

I knew someone who had this system for their german shepherd.  The fencing was set up around the border of the garden which was a good size but the dog was so afraid of it that she wouldn't use the garden at all, she just sat at the back door wanting to come in.  She was a nervy type anyway but it really knocked her confidence and the owners really regreted it.