The electric fence...it's new to me! & dog beach info (Wilmington: bus, trains)

[Randy323]

Its recommended that the owners of underground electronic pet fences change the batteries every 4 months or so. Dogs that don't "test" the boundaries will use less battery life, but how do you know if your dog is one of those? I have the CONTAIN A PET brand and I love it. It has something called smart wire that recognizes if the dog has tested the boundaries more than once in twenty minutes and adjusts the correction temporarily to condition the dog not to go to close. If a dog is running though the fence its not the fence. Its not even the dog...its the dog training. A properly trained dog will respect the fence because the "training is on board" propertly. I know this because I'm a certified dog trainer who works with dog fences.

[trianglepet]

I've never been a fan of electric fencing. Too many friends have lost dogs to failures in their fencing system. Plus it does nothing to protect your pet from other animals or dog nappers coming into your yard.

Try the outer banks for dog friendly beaches.

[mjohnson185]

Go to emerald Isle. You can have your dog on the beach as much as you want. Just have to pick up after waste.

[emanresu2]

I have a beagle and the invisible fence worked great for about 5 years, then one day I guess he decided he didn't care anymore. Sometimes he would go and sit directly over the wire. I heard it beeping away and thought it must be broken so I tested it on me, and no, it worked. He just literally couldn't feel it anymore and started wandering around the neighborhood so we had to get a real fence. Poor guy lost about 3/4 of his former territory as a result.

Anyways, I got the invisible fence at Lowes and it was still working after 5 years, but I did have to locate and repair the wire a lot. Mostly due to neighbors straying into our yard when planting or aerating.

[Randy323]

Originally Posted by Petunia16

I understand the no fences thing... it's like you have a park for a yard! But today... while walking our golden, a boxer came charging at us...There was adrenaline, yelling, barking... but then the dog stopped short of us by about a few feet.

The owner looked at us bewildered as he unloaded his car... "it's an underground fence!"

Duh. Something to get used to. I'm still in awe that it trains the dog to not cross that line. It's pretty amazing.

Also...

After searching for a dog beach in Wilmington, we headed out to Wrightsville Beach. I got some info online (can't remember where now... but I checked city-data, Wilminton's website & a dog friendly site) that if we headed to the northern side of the beach, past the Hilton, we could have our dog on the beach. No dice. Lifeguard blew his whistle at us and reluctantly told us to go to Carolina Beach. As we left, some other beach goers said that the no dog policy was new and it was all over the news last weekend.

Got to the Carolina State Beach and there was an area that you could have dogs, but it wasn't right on the beach, it was more in the channel or river. It was sort of a hike (the sign said 1 mile), and I wasn't in the mood for hiking.

So, we went to Freeman Park and they do allow dogs, but you have to park and walk or acquire a 4WD to get onto the beach, which looks like it would be SO awesome. (I don't care about gas prices, I'm getting a jeep just for this beach! hehe)

So... Anyone know of sandy beaches, not a huge hike... allows dogs off leash? Oak Island perhaps?

Here's an update on the dog on the beach fines in Wrightsville Beach -from the Star News April 27,2009

Wrightsville Beach is sending out a message: Clean up after your dogs, keep them on leashes, and don't let them onto the strand at all until October. Actually, these have been the rules for quite a while. But on April 9, the Board of Aldermen voted to enforce them more aggressively with no more first warnings and an immediate fine of $250.
Courtesy of Contain A Pet of Wilmington www.containapetofwilmington.com

[Randy323]

Originally Posted by steve54

Dogs who go through their fences usually have not been trained to abide by them. The training consists not only of showing them their boundaries but also training them to resist any temptations that may be on the other side of the fence.
I have a boxer/pointer/dane mix that has been tempted many times by squirrels cats and rabbits but he will not go through due to training

Absolutely right. Training is so important and that's why if you're considering an electronic fence sometimes called an underground fence or pet containment sytem, you should have a professional show you how. After the initial training tempt, taunt ,repeat. You have to know the dog training is sticking with the dog. Try Contain A Pet underground fencing, all Contain A Pet dealers are certified dog trainers.

[rfb]

Originally Posted by emanresu2

I have a beagle and the invisible fence worked great for about 5 years, then one day I guess he decided he didn't care anymore. Sometimes he would go and sit directly over the wire. I heard it beeping away and thought it must be broken so I tested it on me, and no, it worked. He just literally couldn't feel it anymore and started wandering around the neighborhood so we had to get a real fence. Poor guy lost about 3/4 of his former territory as a result.

Underground fences are not a good match with scent hounds, and rescues that deal with scent hounds (beagles included) will not place them in homes with underground fences. Once they get to tracking a scent, they become so focused that they may ignore the warning sounds produced when approaching the fence, and once inside the shock zone may run either back into the yard or outside the yard.

[Randy323]

Originally Posted by trianglepet

I've never been a fan of electric fencing. Too many friends have lost dogs to failures in their fencing system. Plus it does nothing to protect your pet from other animals or dog nappers coming into your yard.

Try the outer banks for dog friendly beaches.

That's absolutely right. Electronic (not electric) dog fences do not prevent humans or other animals from entering the property. They're not designed for this. If these are of concern to a dog or cat owner, a traditional structural fence is recommended. Also these fences are not recommended for aggressive dogs.

When structural fences are not possible, such as in many of the new housing developments that have homeowner association HOA restrictions or deed restrictions on fences, then an underground dog fence or electronic dogs fence may be a good option if wild animals or dog nabbers are not of concern.

Not all electronic dog fence systems are of similar quality however. I've seen low quality units purchased from discount outlets or big box home improvement stores that are not very reliable. Professional grade units last longer, have better warranties, and maintain their radio broadcast signal integrity consistantly. They often are sold with dog training by someone who understands dog psychology.

Training and pet owner dog handling compliance of that professional training is most often the reason dogs "jump the fence".

Also many if not most companies still use tones and delays in their systems that allow dogs to escape. The Contain A Pet brand of electronic fence for one, is programed to deny dogs who can run 20 miles an hour the ability to escape the fence without a correction. At 20MPH a dog can cover 15 feet in a half a second; if there's a delay of 1-3 seconds he's long gone before the fence ever provides a correction.

By the way... Oak Island allows dogs on the beach year round and provides waste bags for your convenience.

[adlnc07]

Originally Posted by Randy323

The Contain A Pet brand of electronic fence for one, is programed to deny dogs who can run 20 miles an hour the ability to escape the fence without a correction. At 20MPH a dog can cover 15 feet in a half a second; if there's a delay of 1-3 seconds he's long gone before the fence ever provides a correction.

And that just happens to be the brand of electronic dog fence you sell..

[WeLuvNC]

We've got a "dog guard" fence for our terrier - and it works a treat. It cost very little extra to cover our entire wooded area so that she can run all over and chase deer, rabbits, squirrels.... If we had to put up a trad. fence, it'd really shorten the run space.

I wasn't a real fan of them until we got one and trained our dog -- she stays well within limits -- the line was broken about 6 mos before she discovered it was broken. but then we had to retrain so she wouldn't zap herself when we got it working again.

I like it because I really don't worry about her being outside alone and she can lie in wait for squirrels to her heart's content. she hasn't gotten one in 5 years, but she never gives up hope (or has very limited memory). She does bark at runners going by -- I think she is curious about what they are running from. she generally doesn't bark or approach 'walkers' - even if they have dogs.

dognappers??? seriously a worry? I haven't heard of a dog being 'napped outside of "beethoven 2?" and 101 dalmations. Does that really happen?