One of the best ways to fence your yard without blocking the view or impacting the landscaping is to invest in an invisible fence.  These fences are rendered invisible by being placed under ground.  Simple enough to be installed by most homeowners over a weekend, they can also be set up by a professional installer if time is of the essence.

Doing the Job Yourself
Before investing in an electric fence, make sure to assess your dog’s temperament.  A particularly aggressive dog or one that is very enthusiastic will not do well with an invisible fence.  On the other hand, if your dog is more mild mannered, then search online for a good kit.

A kit should come with enough transmitter wire to run around the perimeter of the space you desire to fence, a power box, flags, directions and a collar for your dog.  To set up the system, simply mark the area in which you wish your dog to remain and dig a trench about 6-inches in depth.  Place the transmitting wire in the trench and cover it back up, making sure to leave enough wire at the ends to allow you to pass it through the garage wall and hook it up to the power box.

Lastly, set up the power box inside the garage and connect the wire ends as directed.  Plug in the box and use the collar to check the perimeter to make sure the system is live.   Plant flags around the perimeter at a distance of about six feet apart.  With the collar fully charged, the flags in place, and the wire live, you are ready to begin training your dog.

A Professional Set Up
Many companies now provide invisible fence set-ups.  A trained professional will come to your house, assess your site, discuss your options, and when a desired boundary is established, will proceed to set up your new system.  A good company will also assist in training your dog and teaching you how to maintain the training.

Training
Training your dog should take about a week or so and should consist of walking him up to the fence line on a leash and letting him hear the warning beeps that the collar gives off.  This will let him know how far he can go before he receives a corrective shock.  Sharply pull back on the leash and say, “no!”  Once he is used to this, let him off the leash and see if he goes beyond the warning zone into the shock zone.  If and when he moves away from the flags, reward him.  

When your dog has learned to turn back from the flags after hearing the warning beep, you can start to remove the flags.  Periodic retraining may be necessary, but eventually you should reach a point where your dog will remain within the set boundaries regardless of distractions and enticements.

An invisible fence is a wonderful tool, if installed and used properly.   Take a look to see what kinds of systems are available online, as they are less expensive than anything you would find in a store and may come with discounts or coupons for other products, like indoor dog gates, as well.

Posted: September 10th, 2009 under Blog.
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