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I'm looking at getting an invisible fence type system installed for my 2 dogs...but wow to have it done by the Invisible Fence people is expensive:eek: Does anyone have any experiences or suggestions for less expensive alternatives? Can I install one myself? Other companies to try?
Thanks
I have had invisible fence at two houses. First property was over 2 acres; this one is 1 acre. Yes, the first time was expensive. But given the options of that vs a real fence, I took the plunge. The good news was that when I moved, I took the circuit stuff from the garage wall and the collars. Installation and running wire in the next house was pretty cheap; and no training required.
Search pet containment systems, and if you have a large pet store (Petsmart or Pet Supplies Plus), they will have options, which include wifi types and radio signals that somehow eliminate wire requirement. I don't know how good they are but if you search for reviews, that will help.
I love my IF; if/when you do it, the training is an important part and to this day, the only time my two cross that line is in the car or on a leash. I have also noted that each dog, when trained, will make its own decision about perimeters. One won't go w/in about 10 feet, the other is exactly sure (well almost!) about where he can go but occasionally you see him jump back!
I installed the Invisible Fence brand myself. Buy it through the company and put it up, piece of cake!!! And a fraction of the price...
The most important part is the training.
If you are confident you know how to do training specific to the fence and how they should react, then you can do it yourself.
I found it worth it to have them do the training.
Love my IF. :)
A couple of my neighbors have it. They installed themselves and just ran the wire along the bottom board of the board fence instead of having to dig a trench.
I installed it myself- I think the Innotek brand was the best when I was researching, but that may have changed over the years. It was only $200 or so, and took less than an hour to put the control box in and run wire around several wires. Training the dogs took a few weeks.
We did it ourselves with Petsafe? i believe. That was a very long time ago. these days what scares me is all the big dogs running loose who can run into your yard and kill your dog in an instant. If you can afford a different type of fencing, please consider it.
I had it, didn't like it, put up a barrier fence.
Client had one, dog respected the fence, till she decided to blow through it to get at a dog on the road.
Lots of people have good experiences, I prefer a barrier fence.
We've been going back and forth. We've had trouble with neighbor dogs going after the horses (seems to be solved) and the cattle next door. I think I'll stick with a barrier fence.
I had a dog that was a bolter. He learned that if he just ran FAST ENOUGH, it didn't hurt for long. So there's that. Part of your success with the system will depend on your dog. I've seen it work successfully for many other people.
The thing I really like a about a true fence, though, is that it keeps things OUT that you don't want as well as keeping things in that you do.
Yes its true that some dogs- sight hounds and others with strong prey drive may go through. A friend had a Newfie w/ so much hair that she figured out how to turn or hold her head a certain way so prongs didn't contact her skin, and would stroll over to the neighbors to visit her friend.
I've never had a problem w/ any of my three. That said, they are not out all day, they are spoiled house dogs who don't even chase the squirrels.
Also there has not been anything around here or former home that I particularly care to keep out - except those darn deer in Ohio who made gardening a huge challenge. And there was NO barrier fence that I could afford for two acres that was going to keep them out. I will also add that the ONLY animal that ever went after the dogs was a peeved doe who was probably protecting her fawn. I cannot tell you how hard I laughed when two chow mixes (one w/ GSD) weighing 60+ lbs came flying back to the house tails between legs with her not far behind!
This is timely. I have Invisible Fence coming out Tuesday to give me an estimate.
My (now) husband put in a retail underground fence about 10 years ago. It worked great for our dogs until this winter when we had some breakage and couldn't fix due to frozen ground.
So we bought a retail wireless model. Also worked well though it decreased the amount of yard our dogs could use because it's a radius from the machine, not a property line thing.
Well, our next door neighbors put in a retail underground fence...and guess what? Now we have no boundary between our houses because they're the same frequency. And you can't change frequencies on the retail models. Since our youngest dog is perceived as destructive (he may be, but they too have a puppy--problem is we can't keep our pup off their property so they blame all destruction on our dog even though he doesn't touch the same things at our house like the plastic rain gutter things that get chewed up at neighbors but not at our house.)
Anyway....the only solution I can come up with is to go with the professional model from Invisible fence. Our other two systems are from PetSafe--but both PetSafe and Invisible fence are owned by the same company and after speaking to both companies last week, I think this is the only way to go.
Invisible Fence can be on different frequencies. Also, there's a life time warranty. So even if we move, we can take the collars ($$$$$) and the unit with us and still have the warranty. All we have to do then is get new underground wire. That is NOT the most expensive part.
Another thing about IF is that if you have an existing unit, they'll let you trade that in and credit.
To fence in an acre, the high end over the phone estimate including two collars was 1500, but the gal on the phone said she figured we'd see a number more like 700 after the tech comes out and there's a 1 year same as cash financing option.
This will be cheaper for us than getting bills from our neighbors or pissing them off.