Fencing For Dogs

Invisible Fence – Points To Consider and Benefits

8 March 2019/in dog running away, Fencing For Dogs, Freedom For Dogs/by Sam Chapman

Invisible Fence – Points To Consider?

An invisible fence for pet owners, who have recently added a large breed dog to their family, with no idea what they are getting themselves into.

Breeders will say your breed of dog is prone to be calm and would usually laze around under a tree. Your precious dog loves to lounge around under trees. You dog also, often prefers the ones at the park, a few miles down the road.

Suddenly your days are now about chasing and tracking a dog that is proud of its ability to run away. Escaping regardless of a five foot chain-link fence. Your dog can climb, crawl and dig its way out in a matter of minutes.

There is a great solution on the market, an invisible dog fence containment system.

Contain and train your pet with the invisible dog fence.

Electric dog fences and e-collars are a training tool. As such they are only good when backed up by a constant training program.

The goal is for your dog in its lifetime, gets exposed to correction a few times. With training they acknowledge that crossing the boundary results in correction. This will suffice to keep them in their assigned area. Electric dog fences are for engaged dogs with high intelligence.

Electronic dog fences are very effective at keeping your dog where it belongs and to have freedom but, it does not create a barrier to keep other dogs away from your property.

Many vendors online offer a low-cost, low quality pet fence. Equipped with weak, unreliable collars with minimal features. A bad quality electric dog fence is just like not having any fence at all. Go for a brand that is well known like Dogwatch & DogFence.

Understanding your terrain and any potential interference such as metal buildings and hills is essential for the success of your containment system. It is always a good idea to speak to an electric dog fence professional to help plan your layout and boundaries and install your fence.

Benefits of an electric dog fence.

1. Any size of dog will be contained by the invisible fence solution.

2. Dogs learn many tricks that their owners teach them, but they also learn skills on their own. Many dog owners have witnessed their pet open doors in their homes, and this does not limit their abilities to escape from a fixed fence garden.

3. You may already have a fenced area that your pet is familiar with and may know how to escape from. It is particularly challenging to find the right fence for dogs that dig or open fences. These habits may be difficult to stop, but choosing an electronic dog fence and with training stops the ability or escape attempts.

4. Dogs with destructive tendencies may damage fixed fencing, the electronic dog fence is hidden thus resolving this issue.

5. You no longer have to consider the fencing material needed or determine the height needed to contain your pet, the last thing to consider is how much of your property you want accessible to your dog. Many homeowners choose to exclusively fence in the back garden, but with a hidden dog fence you can customise select areas of your property for your pet to enjoy and save some as a pet free zone.

Once you consider the benefits of electronic fences for dogs, you can have peace of mind it will prevent your pooch from getting lost or injured. Why not get in touch with our friendly team of experts today to discuss your requirements.

Dogs having freedom from a garden fence in the spring

How To Keep Your Dog’s Freedom Safe This Spring

15 February 2019/in Canine Advice, dog advice, dog running away, Fencing For Dogs, Freedom For Dogs/by Sam Chapman

Freedom as Spring is just about to arrive, with this comes the pleasure of getting out and letting your pet roam and explore inside the garden fence boundaries once more.

Spring Pet Freedom Safety Tips.

Use heartworm and flea and tick preventive Now! Your dog or cat should be receiving year-round monthly heart-worm preventive.
Be lungworm aware. Lungworm can be contracted either by dogs eating slugs and snails, or from drinking water from a bowl where a slug or snail has been. Even picking up a toy that a slug or snail has crawled into poses a risk. So don’t leave toys in the garden overnight and regularly clean out any water bowls in the garden.
Spring clean carefully – As you clean out your garages and prep your gardens, treat your fence etc. Remember these activities may pose a risk to your pet. Fertilisers, pesticides, weed-killers, and even mulch can all be dangerous to dogs and cats. Take care when you are putting things like this inside your garden boundaries, where they are accessible for your pet to investigate or worse consume.
When gardening, DO NOT use slug pellets to protect your plants, as these are tasty but toxic to dogs and can have fatal results.
Just because the suns out doesn’t mean you should instantly take your pet out on long walks. Your dog will be just as out of shape from winter inactivity as you are. This is the time of year veterinarians see torn ligaments, strains and sprains, and a variety of aches and pains in dogs. Take it easy. Gradually build up strength and stamina, this is especially true in older pets.
Longer days also mean pets go into “heat.” For many stray, homeless, and neglected dogs and cats, this means unwanted litters. Animal shelters and rescue groups are typically stretched to capacity during spring. Do what you can. If you know someone looking for a pet, encourage adoption or rescue.
It is a legal requirement for all dogs in the UK to be micro-chipped, so make sure your dog is chipped and your contact details on the microchip database are kept up to date. Also your dog should wear a collar and tag, bearing the owner’s details whenever he is out in public. If your dog makes a bid for freedom, beyond your garden fence, it can mean paying a sum to your local dog warden to get your pet back.
The sun can be quite intense even in the Spring so do not leave dogs in cars on hot days.
Plants are popping up in the spring and there are some flowers and plants which pose a danger to your pets. Lilies are especially toxic to cats, if ingested every part of the lily came cause serious health problems and even be fatal. For dogs – lilies, azaleas and foxglove flowers and even daffodil bulbs can present a danger to your dog.
Always keep your dog on the lead in fields where there is livestock. Chances are they will have young this time of year, especially lambs. Also be aware that birds like pheasants and swans nest on the ground so don’t let your dog disturb the nests.
Keep an eye on your dog in the garden as dog thefts from gardens are on the increase. NEVER tie your dog up outside a shop – every day we see stories of dogs being stolen in this way.

What else happens in spring?

That’s right Easter – a time for chocolate and sweets. Children and adults can accidentally drop these around the house, in the garden and out in public. A dogs trusty nose can sniff out a sweet treat with ease.

But here it is, its not a treat, it’s a danger – Why?

Chocolate – Chocolate, even in the smallest amounts, can cause serious health problems if ingested by a dog. The darker the chocolate, the greater the danger to the dog. Beyond the initial symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea, chocolate toxicity can lead to tremors, increased heart rate, heart failure, seizures, and in some cases, can be fatal.

Xylitol – Sugar-free candies and gum can contain large amounts of the artificial sweetener Xylitol. Xylitol is highly toxic to some dogs and has been found to cause low blood sugar and liver failure.

Freedom For Your Dog? Have You Checked Your Fence?

Your dog may spend longer in the garden now, so check your fencing and gates are secure both to prevent your dog escaping and to prevent your dog being stolen.

Perhaps you would prefer a specialist invisible pet fence so you have peace of mind that your beloved pet won’t escape. They get out through open gates, dig their way out under a fence or even climb or jump over it, thereby having the freedom to roam. Worse still your dog could end up in a road accident.

With a little foresight and planning, spring can be the best time of year for your pet. Go out in the fresh air and enjoy the freedom of spring!

What is an electric shock collar?

6 September 2018/in Fencing For Dogs/by Sam Chapman

So what is an an electric shock collar?

Oh how ghastly an electric shock collar for pets! Firstly, we need to remove the words “electric and shock”. These words are misleading implying a degree of intensity which does not accurately reflect the nature of the stimulus. Shock is too much of an emotive word. These electric shock collars deliver an aversive stimulus but do not induce a state of shock. The stimulus is lower than the sensation delivered by a tens machine and is similar to the static shock received from a nylon carpet. It is not an electric shock that is delivered.

There are two types of “electric shock collar” – the handheld devices used for dog training and those linked to containment fences. One may well ask what the difference is between a remote trainer collar and a containment fence collar. There are principally 3 differences:

The training levels are lower on a containment fence collar.
With a containment fence the pet is in contro;l with a remote trainer a human is in control.
The containment fence collars are small and lighter.

What are the benefits of a remote training collar?

Some may argue that there are no benefits to using a remote training collar. It is usually from the people who refer to the collars as “electric shock collars”. When used correctly by a qualified trainer these collars can be a life saver for many dogs. Dog’s that have not responded to solely positive training protocols and have behavioral issues can be re-trained with an e-collar. This may well save the dog from being euthanized or shot by a farmer. Respected dog trainer Jamie Penrith of Take the lead Training is a supporter and user of the collars has been instrumental in changing people’s opinions on their use. He has talked openly about the benefits and posted videos to his facebook page and you tube channels to demonstrate these devices.

Frustratingly many of those opposed to training collars have never even used or seen a collar in action. Just as people dogs are not a one size fits all and what works for one dog may not work for another. All dog training involves an element of negative reinforcement you cannot train a dog with a solely reward based training. Many well respected trainers use an advocate the use of these collars.

Remote Trainer Collar

What are the benefits of a containment fence?

Freedom and safety are the key words to use when considering a containment fence. Again, an electric shock collar is completely inaccurate. The stimulation delivered by the containment fence is 250 times lower than a stock fence. For many cats and dogs they are a life-saver. Each year in the UK there are 300,000 pets killed or injured on the UK’s roads. Many owners have tried all types of traditional fencing and are concerned for their pets safety.

A loose dog can cause an accident or kill livestock; they could even be run over or stolen. Of course, some cats are happy to be kept indoors but other require their freedom. Also, housing cats solely indoors can cause obesity and urological problems. By installing a containment fence the owner can give their cat access to the garden but keep them safe and away from the road. A containment fence is also very flexible and can be used to fence areas that are not suitable for traditional fences at a fraction of the cost.

electric shock collar for containment fence

Containment fence collar

Those against electric shock collars will argue that the collars cause pain, fear and suffering and yet the scientific evidence speaks for it’s self. Owners and users of both remote trainers and containment fences are highly supportive of these products. The research into containment fences carried out by Lincoln University proved there were no adverse welfare affects and bizarrely until Feb 2018 DEFRA maintained that there was no evidence to support a ban for the use of remote trainers collars. In August 2018 the Government announced that they intend to ban remote trainer collars but exempted containment fences. This seems a strange position to take when there have been no new studies. Why the U-turn?

To learn more about our fences call us on: 03450 623 623 or email us on: info@dogfence.co.uk today.