Dog help needed.

[burnsfactor]

Man, I can't take it anymore. I have a lab that if it sees any day light under the fence he is gone. I have three arces fenced, and this guy is giving me a run for my money. He found some friends in the neighborhood and just wants to go play with them. I didn't want to do the dog collar trick but it seems I have no choice. My friend gave me an invisible fence to use. Has anyone used one of these before? How do they work, anything bad I should know before hand. It's war!!!! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Pat

[MacEFL]

I haven't used the invisible fence but I swear by the electric fence. I have four Alaskan Malamutes and they are escape artists! I have a wire on both top and bottom or four foot field fence. They each need to get whacked one time every six months and they stay a couple of feet from the fence.

[devonian]

Play with him more

Don't give him so much room to roam

Kennel train him

I don't like the idea of invisible fences. I feel like people use these because they are too lazy or don't have time to work with a dog. Maybe a Lab is not a good fit for you.

Hope this helps

[EULACHON]

My chocolate is just a nut.

He is still a nut but after we did some "collar" work with him at least he doesn't bolt off like he used to.

That shocker is the only thing that he understood.

Good luck

[burnsfactor]

Actually, I play with him a lot. My Daughter also plays with him every evening after school. She goes over his commands and plays catch with him. He knows his commands and is very attentive. It's at night when he digs under the fence and when we are at work. He has a little too much time on his hands being a younger dog. I don't think this is a "lab" thing. I've got other peoples dogs roaming the neighborhood and he is being called outside to play! He only has access to 3/4 of an arce an is an advid digger. I've run out of things to fill the holes :grin: Thanks for the advice Pat

[jimh]

Don't leave him lose in the entire yard the whole time. Either chain him, make an escape proof kennel with a top and concrete bottom, or crate him when people aren't around.

[burnsfactor]

Jimh, My wife is getting a restraining device today. I hope the magician doesn't figure out how to take his colar off. I really didn't want to go the kennel route unless I had to. I don't like the idea of leaving him in there for the day while at work. That's kind of why I asked the questions about the invisible boundry shocker. I fiqure he would learn his boundry and not try to go there after the first couple times. Thanks Pat

[BlackLabLover]

Invisable fence works very well. My friends have one and they have a lab rot mix 2yo that is fun and loves to chase the squirels buthe will not cross that fence line.

He wears a collar and when he gets with in 2.5' of the buried line the collar beeps. He know from the first few weeks that if he get closer he gets a tingle. They only get zapped the first few weeks. They have setting for how much of a sap they get.

I think they are a good way to keep fido home and you can sleep at night. I have a 6' wood fence on a cyclone fence. I thought I had my lab locked down -- ya ok first day I got a call from the neighbor (with two goldens) he was visiting. $ 4000 worth of fence and he found a way out. i fixed the way out but in a thunder storm he went over it???? I still have the scratch marks on the fence. Picked him up at the pound in Hillsboro ( they had 100 labs that day).

With the invisable electric fence he would not have escaped. Theys still escape but I like the invisble fence.

[hilaker]

I have used the invisible fence in the past and have had excellent results. I had a young German Wirehair female and to give you an example of how well the fence worked, I let her out of the kennel one morning in the fall of the year while it was still dark and went in the house to get a cup of coffee when she started barking like crazy. I went out to find out what was going on and I found her out by my wifes garden. I had a flashlight and found that 5 racoons were in the garden and had cleaned out the small patch of corn that the wife had planted. The dog was as close to the garden as she could get without getting a shock, but she wouldn't cross the buried wire. She knew the complete safe perimeter of our 1 acre yard. The product that I had would produce a pulsed tone in the collar when the dog was approaching the wire and the pulsing would increase in frequency if the dog continued toward the wire. My dog was only shocked twice before she learned.
I presently have a 3 year old female German Wirehair and she minds quite well, however when I take her for a run or when we are hunting I always use a collar. I have not seen another chukar hunter in the field that did not use a collar. The dog knows that when the collar goes that the fun is about to begin. Sorry for the long post. Just my 2 cents worth.

[burnsfactor]

Blacklablover, I know about the fence thing. I have both and thought they couldn't get out. I should have buried the fence in the ground. thanks for the info,

Hilaker, thanks for the info. If the dog crosses the line does it keep shocking them or say they get 5 feet to the other side does it stop? It doesn't say in the directions I got with my friends unit???

[8-guage]

Use it on LOW!!
I saw it drop a 220lb man after he told me it was just a mild shock! He asked me to take the colar off and try it and when I refused, he did it himself and he dropped to the ground like a bad transmission!
He face was beet red and he had tears in his eyes and he immediately got rid of it after that.
I was embarrased for him. But, even more happy I didn't try it! :shocked:
Use it on low if you feel you must use one.

[burnsfactor]

Yikes! 12 years ago I touch a fifteen mile range fence that was around 1 arce. I'm not so sure why I was so stupid that day. I think it's all the people that said it didn't hurt when you touch a electric fence. If this thing hits them like I got hit that day, no thanks! My wife thought I had bought the farm. It felt like I got hit by lightning. The surge went up one arm and one leg and met in the middle of my chest. From that day I barked from the middle of the yard.

[hilaker]

Good question burnsfactor, if the dog does happen to run across the line they will indeed get receive the same tone warning and subsequent shock if the warning is ignored if they try to return to the yard. My dog never did run across the line.

[BigFishFever]

Had a neighbor that had invisible fence...dog ran through the fence...got to outside the perimeter, and the shock stopped...dog ended up getting hit by a car and killed....

Maybe they have corrected them since that point...however I dont know how they would do that...
Probably needed a bit higher level of 'electrical training' for the canine...maybe...maybe not..

[garyk]

if the dog does happen to run across the line they will indeed get receive the same tone warning and subsequent shock if the warning is ignored if they try to return to the yard.

Right. The fence simply works by proximity. If the dog bolts through, he also gets warned/zapped trying to return home.

[ArcherX]

Burnsfactor- your scenario is different than a lot of these folks who have replied are responding to the usage. You already have a fence in existence that you do not wish your lab to cross. Lay the invisible fence along the inside the current fence line and the dog wont stand in the warning/correction zone long to dig his way out. I believe the error most people who use these fences are they don't want to put the effort into building a regular fence and use this as a one size fits all cure to owning pets in rural or town areas.

[jvp]

Either chain him,

bad choice IMO

[FishinTechnician]

Electronic fences don't work for all dogs! My advice is a kennel. PM me if you want a good one.

[Dan in Alaska]

A co-worker of mine tried an invisible fence to keep her husky close to home while she was at work. The shocks increased in intensity as the dog got closer to the fence. Over time, the dog learned to approach the fence close enough to only receive a mild shock. The dog would lay down and continue to absorb the shocks until the battery in the collar ran out. Then, he would carry on about his business.

[lost_sailor]

3 acres is a lot of wire to string ... and a lot of little white warning flags (if you want to do it right) but the invisible fence worked for my lab. Worked so well we don't use it any more.

Didn't work at all for my neighbor ... if the dog learns to cross the line fast enough the zapping is brief.

We built a dog run, the price for that was howling and crying and barking - - - now it's the chicken yard.

[jvp]

A co-worker of mine tried an invisible fence to keep her husky close to home while she was at work. The shocks increased in intensity as the dog got closer to the fence. Over time, the dog learned to approach the fence close enough to only receive a mild shock. The dog would lay down and continue to absorb the shocks until the battery in the collar ran out. Then, he would carry on about his business.

those stupid animals
i don't think i would have though of that

[husker]

buried chicken wire under the fence will help....good luck labs are real high energy