Hance wrote:How well does the invisible fence thing work ? I have a dachshund than can dig under the fence and be gone in a matter of a couple of minutes. How much does it cost also ? My back yard is probably 60X100 or does size of the yard not matter that much. Finally do they make a model of collar that would fit on a 5 year old boy
OK, this is going to get lengthly.
The invisible fence concept is pretty basic. You bury an antenna wire around the space where you want the dog to stay, then hook up that wire to the "Invisible Fence Box". All DIY kits will have all of the instructions you need. A rented lawn edger (assuming you don't own one) is all you need to dig the "trench" the antenna wire goes in. If your box ends up in the garage like most IF boxes, all is easy. A small drill hole out the side of the garage is all you need to hook up the wire to the box. When I installed mine, I dug the trench with a lawn edger all around the house, then put the kit wire (18 or 20 gauge stranded wire) into the trench. Since the kit came with 2 spools of antenna wire I put each spool at the end of the trench between the perimeter and the hole in the garage wall that leads to the IF box. I ran each spool around the house to the other side and used a crimp terminal to join the wire. That left me with two ends needing to go from the perimeter to the IF box. Pull off enough wire to reach the box, add 20 feet or so, and then clamp the two wires into the chuck of your cordless drill. Slowly spin the drill until the entire length from the perimeter to the box is tightly twisted. If it isn't, the signal will never get to the antenna wire. Make up the connections to the box per the instructions.
Once the infrastructure is in place the real meat of this program begins. Invisible fences are all about the training of the dog. They are NOT simple "set it & forget it" devices. As you install the fence wire you'll need to plant a small flag (they come in the kit as well; they're a small plastic flag on a 18" wire) every 2 feet or so all around the perimeter. Once everything's in and running, put your dog on its leash and grab the fence collar (not by the prongs unless you're a "don't taze me bro"), holding it close to the dog's head. Walk the dog around the fenced perimeter (visible by the flags) crossing over the wire every 3-4 feet or so. As you get close to the wire the fence collar will emit a warning beep. Loudly yell "NO" and yank the dog back on the leash as soon as the collar emits its warning beep. Repeat this every 3-4 feet around the perimeter. After you've gone around the perimeter once, put the fence collar on the dog. Repeat your round but don't let the dog get into the shock warning zone then yanking back on the leash and yelling "NO".
For the third orbit around the lawn, keep the dog on its leash, bring it to the boundary, yell "NO" when the warning tone beeps, but allow the dog to push forward into the "shock zone". Most fence collars have a different beep when the shock is activated so you'll know if it's happening. Complete an orbit around the fence line allowing the dog to hit the shock. If the dog hasn't gotten the point after one orbit, keep going around.
Once it's clear that your dog understands the collar and the unrestricted range allowed by the collar, remove every other perimeter flag every other day. After a month you should have no flags and a dog that knows its boundaries. If not, it's time to call in the professionals. As for your Dachhsund being a digger, it'd need to be exceedingly pain-resistant to burrow under the IF antenna wire. My Radio Fence brand box has a signal strength knob; if yours has the same a wee crank will back the dog far enough away that it won't try to dig.