[daldricht]

We spent a large chunk of change to have an invisible fence installled on almost one acre of our 70-acres. If I put the collar on Prince, he will not venture off the back steps. If I walk the yard with him on his lead in the safe areas, I almost have to drag him. He has run into the unsafe area twice and is now afraid of the yard.
Any suggestions?

 

[mmctaq]

It sounds like you have "poisoned" the fenced area by moving too quickly. Did you follow the training protocol which came with the equipment?

 

[Beaumont67]

Dobermans are one of the easiest dogs in the world to perimeter train...just comes natural to a lot of them.
- only takes some basic training (quality time), if need be

Right now your dog does not trust you & rightfully so.
- time to trash the e-collar in the garbage and get back to some fun loving attention time...together
- technology gizmos can be very damaging, in the hands of inexperience
Sorry you wasted a good dollar or two, but you are not helping your mutual relationship with your pet any.
- by continuing with the "shock" therapy treatment

 

[AnonymouslyYours]

Be careful with invisible fences. I'm not sure how they work now, but about 5 years ago my aunt installed one that would make a clicking noise when the dog got close to the shock-zone and her dog learned that if she laid in the "clicking zone" long enough, eventually the clicking would stop and she could run on without being shocked. Apparently making the clicking noise ran the batteries down, and so she went through batteries at an alarming rate and after about 6 months my Aunt gave up.

 

[LuvMyDobes]

Did the company place flags at the end of the safe area? If so, they should have been left in place as a visual for the dog. I suggest placing a visual for the dog at several areas. We did that on both sides of the yard, the back and the front. When I got a new dog I put the flags back out Our IF was installed in 1992. There is a warning area that buzzes to let the dog know it has ventured into an unsafe zone. Have your installer come out to reset it for 10 feet or more if you do not know how to do it. You can test it by walking with the collar and listening for the buzz. A Doberman does not need the highest strength zap if they are trained to the fence properly.

 

[Beaumont67]

I train my dogs, first sitting on the living room floor.
ALL LOVE, PLAY & STRUCTURED GAMES ------> equals mental stimulation, trust & building of loyalty.

My dog is aware of my every movement...and will not separate herself from me beyond 50-100 feet.
If I go into the house, for a few minutes, she is by the side door...go to the garage, and come out, her eyes are still focused on me.

Go to another location...she instinctively knows the imaginary boundaries of the new lot.
I just don't get why anyone needs an "Invisible Fence"...with one of the smartest dog breeds, on the planet.
- preliminary training solves much and takes some effort (I look at it as a labor of love...just like a gratifying hobby)


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[hillbilly-music]

reversing sensitivity to collar

1st double check that the collar is not malfunctioning- a common problem with many is to shock the dog due to the dog's movement or farther in that what you think is the warning zone. try it out on yourself to see.

2nd place collar on floor near food, water, toys etc. Start out far enough that the dog has a tiny bit of reluctance but is able to always overcome the fear and each day move it a little bit closer until there is no fear.

3rd put the dog in the collar with it on very loosely and then do a special happy play session- something your dog really likes. if you can get through the initial relucatance and play with the dog forgetting the collar is on great but you may have to put it on for a few seconds, attempt to play, take it off and continue playing and eventually increase the time the dog has the collar on during the play session.

4th have the dog wear the collar on inside the house only for increasing periods of time until it is wearing it all day except when outside.

5th put up a visible barrier (I like a piece of bright string because it is continuous compared to flags) all around the yard at the inside point of the warning zone.

6th without the collar on walk your dog daily around the perimeter never going across the line for at least a week. then start playing ball/frisbee with your dog inside the ok area. after a few throws purposely throw the frisbee over the string and when your dog gets within 5 feet of the string yell "no"- should ideally be loud enough to startle your dog into naturally stopping. then praise him up and put him into a sit and you walk over the line get the frisbee and once you are back on the good side of the line start playing again. do this several times a day until the dog naturally stop when he approaches the line.

7th by now your dog is used to having the collar on inside the house and nothing bad happens. leave the collar on one day as you go outside- don't make a big deal of it. make sure the underground fence is off so it will not buzz. play frisbee like in #6. after a few days you should be able to turn the fence back on with no panic, if at any step along the line you don't get 100% success you went too fast go back one step and restart with smaller baby steps. This is officially called "shaping" in the psychology/learning literature if you want to learn more about it and is one of the major building blocks of how all good and bad behaviors are learned (my area of education). (for those without an underground fence I have taught several dogs including light of my life, Penny (red dobie, now passed) to stay in a yard using just steps 5 and 6) Sorry this is so long. I know it is alot of work-but it will work.

 

[Adara]

I don't use these so can't help with how to fix, but I agree with others that it sounds like the process went to quickly, etc. and the dog know has no idea where the boundaries are. I've seen something similar with a Vizsla at hunt training. They put the collar on for training, and he wears an invisible fence collar at home. He panicked and wouldn't go more than 2 ft from his mom because he had no idea where the boundaries were now.

 

[Mr.Poubelle]

I'll start by including a part of your thread from Sept 1. as I believe it is pertinent to this one.

I am having a problem right now - we have installed an INVISIBLE Fence and twice Prince has gotten too close to flags and yelped - and ran back to my legs for protection? Is the charge too high? Do I get rid of the invisible fence? This animal has never done anything but be loyal and loving and I feel I am failing him in protecting him.
Would love to hear your experiences with this kind of fence?

I'll assume this has been going on for three weeks now and escalated to to the point you are at now.

I am also of the opinion that you did not train for the invisible fence and now your dog has no clear Idea of why he is being shocked, only that it happens when he has the collar on and when in the yard. To me it's pretty clear the E-collar has to go.

I did not have success (my fault, duh) with an E-collar also, and gave it away. Perimeter training works well as others have stated, I do it just like hillbilly-music and it works really well. Since now he will only go into the yard while on lead, it should be quite easy. You can never go wrong with a fence.

 

[mmctaq]

I've seen something similar with a Vizsla at hunt training. They put the collar on for training, and he wears an invisible fence collar at home. He panicked and wouldn't go more than 2 ft from his mom because he had no idea where the boundaries were now.

This is actually one of my main criticisms of electronic fences... I like e-collars for training, and using a collar in both contexts makes the collar much less clear to dogs, I think. When I have a customer who wants to purchase an e-fence, one of my first questions is whether or not they intend to use a collar for training.

 

[mmctaq]

I am also of the opinion that you did not train for the invisible fence and now your dog has no clear Idea of why he is being shocked, only that it happens when he has the collar on and when in the yard. To me it's pretty clear the E-collar has to go.

You can never go wrong with a fence.

To me, it is clear that the fence/collar needs to be re-trained from the beginning (or, from before the beginning, actually). There is no need for the collar to go.

Don't know about the whole universe, but where I live more and more homeowners' associations are prohibiting physical fences... sometimes, that simply is not an option.

 

[PennyPup]

I agree with hillbilly-music. I used to use an invisable fence with my dobe, but I trained him according to the instructions included with the kit. It worked like a charm. Although as AnonymouslyYours pointed out, dobis are smart. Kyuss figured out how to drain the battery as well and I would often find him on the other side of the wire.

 

[Mr.Poubelle]

To me, it is clear that the fence/collar needs to be re-trained from the beginning (or, from before the beginning, actually). There is no need for the collar to go.

Don't know about the whole universe, but where I live more and more homeowners' associations are prohibiting physical fences... sometimes, that simply is not an option.

I'm biased, don't like them, but agree that it can be re-trained and you are right, it does not necessarly 'have to' go.

 

[Girlwithapairofdobes]

I have had Invisible Fencing for over 12 years 1 GSHP, 1 Lab and 4 dobes. Each time the dog was trained by the Invisible Fence representative with follow-up being done with my husband and me. We had one dog that would actually cross the fence but after learning the battery would twist and lose contact in the receiver, that was quickly remedied with a piece of tape. All of our dogs over the years learned to respect the fencing very quickly with none of them being fearful in the yard. As a LVT, I have seen the outcome of dog vs. car too many times and truly believe IF is a wonderful tool when used correctly.

 

[HudsonValleyDobie]

Anyone who has one of these invisible fences, PROPERLY trains their pet, and keeps the system and batteries in proper working order will tell you....it's the best invention since Dunkin Donuts!
Assuming he was properly trained, your dog is suffering from the VERY common "front porch syndrome" and will eventually go further and further from the house.
The training is simple. The wired perimeter is flagged every 5-10 feet. the dog is walked over to the flag and sternly told "NO NO" while shaking that flag in front of him....then allowed to be electroncally corrected. It should take no more than 2 or 3 times before he will stay clear of the flags but stubborn breeds may take more.
Then, after 30 days, you remove every other flag. 30 days later again...every other flag...until they're gone. Our Dobie is outside all the time and has a doggie door so he can go outside anytime he wishes (between 8am and 11pm).
He's so well trained that we have to put him in the truck and drive him off the property because you couldn't drag him off otherwise. Good luck...they work amazingly well! He's also outside when we're not home during the day. I should also add that our Dobie is a big mush and loves everyone.