Re: Invisible fencing; another take

I don't think I could ever be totally confident in the zapping fences.
Batteries die or excitement is so high the dog may ignore it.  I've had a
dog hit by a car and wouldn't want to go through that again.

What I would be more inclined to do would be to give over a large section of
the back yard to the dog with sturdy, high fencing.  He'd get some
landscaping, just nothing delicate, in his yard. (good place for a shrub
border.)  He could be in the garden-proper when he's with me.  I realize
this won't work with a really small yard, but I have seen it done in
average-sized yards.   They had a nice picket fence right down the middle.
Beautiful landscaping on one side with dog run on the other.  A well
decorated arch over the gate between them.

Yes, you lose some garden space but you gain peace of mind.  The dog is safe
and so is theg arden.  Me?  I have 5 cats and several visiting cats.  they
don't disturb a thing.  If I have something tiny, just coming up, or freshly
planted, I put a temporary fence around it until it's tall enough for the
cats to notice it.  Then they'll walk around it.

Kitty

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tiede, Karen E" <karen.tiede@eds.com>
To: <perennials@hort.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 10:19 AM
Subject: Invisible fencing; another take


> It largely depends on the dog.  I use the fencing to keep my
> fence-climbing Labrador inside a 4' chain link fence that otherwise he
> clears in a leap.  He will remember about the fencing for about a week
> and then when the batteries go dead or the wire gets cut (mine's not
> buried), he's out again.
>
> I used the fence alone for a while, but it wasn't successful on either
> of the dogs I owned then.  The Maltese wouldn't leave the front porch,
> and the Old English would bolt right through the fence despite the
> warning and the shock when he was running from thunder.  Then he'd get
> stuck outside the fence when the storm passed because he wasn't afraid
> anymore.
>
> I have tested the collars on myself--they aren't fun, but they're not
> debilitating.  You can set both the strength of the field and the length
> of prong on the collar to adjust the range of warning.  For some dogs,
> you can turn the whole thing off after a month or two and the dog will
> never stray.  (But that's terrifically dog- and temptation- dependent.)
>
> If the garden beds are complicated, it's going to be hard to use the
> fence and still have "free" room in the garden.  I have pretty much
> given over most of the backyard to the dogs, and the front yard is for
> the plants, but I'm much less of a gardener now with three dogs than I
> used to be with one or none.
>
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