If you have a dog as a member of your family, lucky you. However, with a pet dog, comes the responsibility of taking it outside on a leash throughout the day. Wouldn’t it be nice to just open up the door and let your dog outside, without having to worry about him or her running away or getting out in the street?

If you have a fence around your property, you may already be enjoying this. However, some people have dogs that like to dig under the fence or try to jump over it. If you have thought about building a fence around your yard, you may have looked into it and noticed how costly it was. In addition to this, zoning prevents some homeowners from building a fence. Even if you are allowed to erect a fence, you may find that it takes away from the overall appearance of your property.

You may be wondering if there is a better option. The answer is yes. An electric dog fence is a modern alternative, which offers the benefit of being invisible. Perhaps you have heard of invisible fence®? This is simply a name brand of electric dog fence that their company comes and installs for you. The only problem with having an invisible fence® brand electric dog fence is that it will end up costing you almost as much as a traditional fence will. Check out some electric dog fence reviews before buying, brands vary PetSafe is one of the most popular brands, but you can find various brands of dog fence systems throughout the internet.

Some of the most popular

If you are looking for a cost-effective option, you should look into installing an electric dog fence yourself. It is something that can be done in a day or less, and will save you about 65% of what you would spend with invisible fence®. There are dog fence manufacturers out there, which offer an equal level of quality as the invisible fence® brand does. Three of these companies are Perimeter®, PetSafe® and SportDOG®.

Now that you know that an electric dog fence can save you time and money, let’s take a moment to talk about how an electric dog fence works.

The setup of the system is as follows. You begin by burying a wire around the perimeter of your yard, which defines the exact line where you don’t want your dog to be able to cross. Secondly, you have a radio transmitter, which you place in a weatherproof area in or around your home. The last component is a special collar which is worn by your dog when you are ready for them to go outside.

It takes a couple of weeks for you to train your dog on the underground dog fence. Here is how they learn not to cross the wire. The dog approaches the edge of the property, in the area which you have defined with the transmitter as the boundary zone. The dog hears a beep that comes through the collar. This beep acts as a warning, making the dog aware that he shouldn’t go any further. Should the dog continue on toward the boundary wire, he will receive a mild, static shock, through 2 metal contact points located on the collar.

You may be wondering if this harms your precious pooch in any way. Here is what it feels like. Run across the carpet in your sock feet and then touch a doorknob. You feel the sensation, but wouldn’t exactly call it painful, correct? The static correction works to get your dog’s attention, but does not cause him harm. Your dog will learn from the experience and won’t continue to challenge the boundary you have set for him.

With a bit of guidance from you, your dog will soon be enjoying the freedom of running off of the leash and you will appreciate the peace of mind you have, knowing your dog is going to stay at home where he belongs.