Wireless dog fences

Piglet85

Hi all,

We have a JRT pup (now 6 months), and he's a house dog. Up to now I've been working from home, so have been with him every day pretty much. However, it looks like my circumstances might change by the end of the summer this year, and I may be taking up full time work outside the home. However, in the meantime my partner should be changing his schedule so that he works from home two days a week.

So, basically we're looking at three days a week where the dog will be alone. I've been thinking that perhaps the best option is to get a wireless fence and make up a nice bed for him in the shed for the days when he is home alone, but I have no experience with these fences so I'm not sure if it's a good plan. We have a very big garden, so he'd have loads of space to run around (actually, one of my concerns is the standard 1/3 - 1/2 acre fence not being big enough - I'd like him to have the run of the entire space). We have a friend who has dogs and would walk him for us during the day too.

The only other option I can see is day care, but its expensive and I think the garden is a really lovely space for him, providing he stayed within it! Even aside for the days when he's alone, I think the fence might be good to stop him from wandering outside. I should point out, he's never outside alone at this point, but I'm thinking ahead. I'm heartbroken at the idea of leaving him alone at all, but I need to be practical. What do people think about these fences, or how do the rest of you who work manage? Thanks!

doctorchopper

I don't know if i would trust those wireless fences, I know a few people who have lost dogs because of them, they can run past them, most dogs won't but some do

Toulouse

Nnnggh, if you have a friend that will walk him on the days he is alone then I would give him a quick walk in the morning and then leave him in the house.There are many reasons why.

Those fences don't stop someone coming in and stealing your dog. They don't stop other dogs coming in and attacking your dog who now can't get out of his garden without getting shocked. Those fences don't always work as my neighbour discovered when his two golden retrievers got out and only one came back. IMO they are cruel and can lead to undesirable behaviour.

aonb

Just two things:
(Ive always had Terriers)
If you have someone who would come and walk him during the day, I would leave him IN THE HOUSE for the day. You can enclose him in one room - the kitchen or wherever - with his bed, water, the radio on. He will be much happier.

I would get your garden fenced in some way - he will wander if he can when his terrier hunting instincts kick in! That way you can let him out safely to go to the toilet, or just for a sniff and a patrol of his property and to bark at the monsters etc

I would NOT leave your JRT in the garden on his own all day - dogs wont avail of a large space to have fun and exercise themselves - they'll hang around waiting for their humans to come home. BUT! The main reason I would not leave my dog outside all day is that I would be terrified he would be stolen. If you knew the number of dogs being stolen from gardens - I wont even go in to the reason for their being stolen Keep him safe and keep him indoors

andreac

Do not use one of these fences. They are not reliable at all. You are best fencing off an area and putting the dog in there, or get a dog run.

Trust me, your dog will only sleep and chill out while you are not there so they don't need a huge garden to run around in. Once they are getting exercised when you come home they will be fine.

Too many horror stories about those fences. A terrier especially will go through something like that if they really want to get to something, then they are stuck outside the fence and could get run over, stolen etc.

borderlinemeath

Agree with everybody else, the fences are unreliable, to the point of cruel. Apart from the danger of getting stolen.

1/ The dog will see something on the other side of the fence and go through the pain barrier to get to it. What motivation has he to come back? None, why take the pain again?

2/ Electricity could be cut, the batteries in the collar can die, or as I've seen in some cases, the dog gets so frustrated it bites the wire and can bite through it too.

3/ The negative behaviours associated with the fence are huge. Your dog being a terrier breed, should be quite fiesty and reactive. When a dog gets a shock it will most likely associate the shock and pain with whoever or whatever is closest to it, be that a human, or another dog, or a cat, or most likely whatever he has gone to the perimeter to investigate. Being reactive he could well lash out at what he perceives to be the cause of pain, leaving a passer with a nasty bite and a possible prosecution on your hands. If it's a dog, he could easily start a fight and come off worse depending on who he attacks.

OP, leave him inside or build him a secure run. You can buy runs for a couple of hundred and if you had a nice cosy kennel away from the wind he could be ok in there but the house would be preferable. And as others have stated, dogs don't exercise themselves in the garden while their humans are away, they sit down, snooze, and wait for you to return.

ComfortKid

Better off to leave him inside id say. You might have a poo or pee to clean but at least you will your mind will be at ease while at work. Just let him out for a while before you leave and walk him when you get home. Id practice a little over the next few months, gradually leaving him alone longer and longer rather than just suddenly leaving alone all day.

Piglet85

Thanks everyone. The last thing I want is to be cruel to him. I love this dog way more than I could have imagined, so there's no way I'd want to do anything to harm him. He's my first dog, though, and my partner grew up with outdoor dogs only, so I suppose this is all new and I'm not sure what the best thing to do is all the time. We have a neighbour with a JRT and she swears by their wireless fence, but come to think of it, her dog has wandered into our garden a couple of times recently. I presumed the fence was switched off at those times, but maybe he went through it.

Anyway, that's all good to know. I thought maybe it was being kinder to allow him the space outside rather than confining him to the kitchen all day, but if that would be preferable then that's what I'll do. I think I'll look into the run for him anyway, but not as an all day long kinda thing! Is there any way I can train him to stay within the boundaries of the garden, though, or is is just a case of not leaving him out of my sight? (Say when I'm hanging out washing or whatever - up to now he's been content pottering around and I can let him do his own thing and then call him when it's time to go in, but now that he's a bit older he's getting curious). Thanks.

angeldaisy

I have a terrier and a collie, what we have done to the fence is to put up rolls of metal wire mesh meld. It probably cost us 2-300 to do the entire garden, approx 1/2 acre.

It gives me peace of mind, I know that the dogs are safe when I leave them out for wees or playing. However when I have to leave them alone, I leave them in the house. They each are separated - they fight over toys! But each gets their favourite toys and chew toys. They've been happy to be left, no damage done so far, anyway!