We have quite a few clients with invisible fence systems. I would say about 40 percent of them have had success with them. If you are considering having an invisible fence installed, please weigh the pros and cons first. I am not a fan of them because of the following reasons:
If your dog sees something he wants on the other side, or becomes frightened enough to jump the barrier, he is essentially locked out. He has already endured a shock to escape. It is unlikely he will return to get shocked again.
An electric fence can frighten your dog. I have clients whose dogs never returned to their yard again after being shocked.
It is painful. The shock needs to be severe enough to stop them from going past the boundary. I have spoken with people who needed to call the installers to come back and turn up the shock so their dog wouldn’t try to escape. This is punishment, rather than positive reinforcement. Most dog trainers recommend positive reinforcement to train a dog.
Other options include fencing in a smaller area of your yard or of course walking your dog on a leash. There are also dog training classes that teach off leash training, but I would never recommend leaving your dog unattended without a fence.
