Electronic Tagging Dogs

[darcydark]

I have heard of a collar you can put on your dog and a wire which you put around your property so that when your dog goes to venture unto the public highway he/she will get a little shock. It ould mean my dog could have a lot, a lot of freedom without me worrying about her all day long. Anyone know anything about these devices? Any help appreciated. Dog is a chocolate Labrador.

[jules77]

Dont know if you are thinking of an electronic shock collar, if you google there are plenty of sites, but I wouldnt condone one, so not prepared to post links. Not that I have ever thought of getting one, so I havnt looked into them, but I thought the owner was in control of 'the shock' and it wouldnt be something that would go 'off' should the dog venture onto a road.

However, what do you mean you could let your dog have freedom without worrying, is your garden not fenced off? There was a collar advertised in the dog papers a few weeks ago that worked a bit like a sat nav and if your dog wondered off you could pinpoint its whereabouts, but it wont emit a 'shock' should it wonder into the road etc.

[kita1]

I know what you mean, but they cannot work the way you want.

You mean something like an invisible fence (eg a wire/current).

Think about it.

Dog goes over 'invisible' fence - dog gets a shock. Why then would the dog return back over the fence to get another shock? Now the dog is on the outside of your property and cannot get back in!

Better to train your dog properly in the first place or get your property fenced properly so the dog cannot get out.

[lankeela]

Agree with kita. There is no substitute for training your dog and for ensuring adequate protection to keep your dog inside your property. Also how would you stop someone stealing your dog if they saw it wandering loose a long way from where you were, or even left to wander loose on its own.

[Postdog]

Reading between the lines, it means you can be an irresponsible owner. People like you should be banned from having dogs if you aren't prepared to look after them.

[doglady]

Your dog does not have the mental capacity to know exactly how far it can go before it gets a shock. Those invisible fences are awful!

[darcydark]

I only asked a question, though did not expect abuse in the answers. If I knew a lot about them I wouldn`t be asking? I can`t fence 2 acres. I have saw one of these fences at boarding kennels, so thought they were okay, but thought I would enquire via this site. Obviously most of the people who answered were so ready to codemn me, they couldn`t give me an unbiased answer. Bye

[darcydark]

Me again, just wanted to let you all know I have just heard about what I wanted. A wire which can be run around my whole garden, a small unobtrusive collar for the dog, if she approaches the fence which may be never as it is quite a distance from the house, a beep which she will not like will be transmitted via radio, if she continues closer to the fence, it will get louder. I am going to have a look at this before I judge it, unlike those who judged me. I am at home most of the day with my dog, she has great freedom, she is never locked up in her large dog run only at night when she goes to her kennel. She is house trained among other training abilities. My reason for the fence was merely an extra precaution.

[Bigeye74]

I am a little bit more open minded on electric collars than some of the other answerbankers. You won't get much info here as people are too emotive on the subject. As much as it pains me to say it but lankeela had a very good point about someone pinching your dog.
Just make sure that you have educated yourself on as many of the pros and cons as possible before taking a step to buying a system.
I'm with you though, I'd love to be able to leave our dog in the garden but as I've seen her clear a 6 foot fence before its not going to happen.

[kita1]

As well as being stolen, the other thing is that the type of fence you describe will not deter other dogs coming into your property and possibly attacking your dog.

How will the dog know that the buzzer means don't go any further? Most dogs (labs included) will chase a rabbit or a cat over this type of fence, all the buzzing/shocks will not stop a dog in full chase mode.

It will still not prevent your dog going out and will just stop it coming back!

[kita1]

Here are more in depth articles about these fences (written by recognised dog training experts) giving the for and against:

http://www.positivedogs.com/electronic_fencing .html

http://www.iaabc.org/articles/ECS_Systems.pdf

Might be best to read them before you spend any money.

[kita1]

This article is about a Labrador being puppy walked for guide dogs, the puppy walker used one of these fences:

http://www.positivedogs.com/lisag.html

[darcydark]

Thanks for some positive replies, off course I will be finding out a lot about it before I purchase, if I do. I am at home most of the time with my dog but this would give her lots of freedom within my view. I live on a farm and actually she is trained not to chase other animals, a must on a farm. Thanks again from the sensible animal owners.

[darcydark]

By the way Kita, I would train her about the buzzer, I don`t think she would be stolen as she would be within my view though she may be an acre away. Also it is the countryside where I live, not much dog stealing around here. Thanks for your constructive reply Also Thanks to Bigeye74 for all his support.

[Ice.Maiden]

Hope you manage to find something that suits both your dog and yourself darcydark. Must just add though, that I can't see what the problem is, if you live on a farm, to fence off two acres.
not only would your dog be able to roam in a stress-free way, but it'd add sexcurity to your property.