Any suggestions for a big dog and electric fence?

[almahan3836]

Good evening everyone!

We have a 120lbs black english lab who is 9 years old. For the majority of his life he has either been tied up because he runs away and apparently loves doggy jail, or he has been in a dog kennel. My husband and I both have agreed that we are tired of him being on a chain cause he is such a sweet dog and he is part of the family, so I wanted to build a fence on our land that we just moved onto in March, but my husband got the idea of an electric fence. I have my doubts on it working, but my husband has felt pretty positive about it. It has been installed for 4 days now and my dog seems to recognize the beeping as a warning but he doesn't head back to the house instead he just runs through and gets shocked, which doesn't seem to bother him. He actually sat on the line and shocked himself for like 10 seconds before i finally pulled him off of it. I know it has only been 4 days, and I don't expect a miracle just some helpful tips. The setting is on as high as it goes, so any tips?? We have been walking him around the yard about 5 times a day for about 10-15 minutes at a time. Anything else I can do?

Thanks!

 

[K9Dave]

Good evening everyone!

We have a 120lbs black english lab who is 9 years old. For the majority of his life he has either been tied up because he runs away and apparently loves doggy jail, or he has been in a dog kennel. My husband and I both have agreed that we are tired of him being on a chain cause he is such a sweet dog and he is part of the family, so I wanted to build a fence on our land that we just moved onto in March, but my husband got the idea of an electric fence. I have my doubts on it working, but my husband has felt pretty positive about it. It has been installed for 4 days now and my dog seems to recognize the beeping as a warning but he doesn't head back to the house instead he just runs through and gets shocked, which doesn't seem to bother him. He actually sat on the line and shocked himself for like 10 seconds before i finally pulled him off of it. I know it has only been 4 days, and I don't expect a miracle just some helpful tips. The setting is on as high as it goes, so any tips?? We have been walking him around the yard about 5 times a day for about 10-15 minutes at a time. Anything else I can do?

Thanks!

I would say up the power to the line but I have no experience with electric fences for quite some time. My neighbor had wolves and was a trapper for a living. He kept a pack in te rear of his property and I fed them when he was away. He had a fence that was rated for Horses and I saw a Wolf pup walk right through it. Not run, walk. This particular wolf pup ended up being very tough and dominant so maybe his pain threshold was higher.

I am a former dog trainer and will tell you that some training would fix all of these issues you're having as well. Where do you live and maybe I can refer so wine of you'd like. All of my colleagues train protection/police/government dogs but any good local trainer should be able to help.

Good luck

 

[islandgirl82]

I don't know why he'd sit over the line but once they're through it, it doesn't work anymore. Maybe your dog doesn't feel it? My neighbors have an underground fence for their 2 aussies but they have much better results using the collars that emit a high frequency to dissuade their dogs from roaming.

K9Dave is right...training will go a LONG way. I have a 180lb newfoundland who doesn't even wear a collar (they mat up his fur too easily) and he never leaves my side. I've had various neighbors tell me they've tried to call him over and get disappointed when he won't visit with them.

 

[almahan3836]

@K9Dave Thanks! We live in northern KY. We have tried training when he was younger cause he would just run and it just never seemed to help. After spending a lot of our time and money, we just gave up cause nothing we did would make him stay near us, he just wants to run. I thought after we got him fixed and he got older that he would settle down, but thats just not the case. We have another dog and she stays on our property and is very good about staying near us, we have even got her in the fence so he isn't tempted to run off with her. And as for him feeling it, I know he does cause you could see his whole body twitching and he just didn't move, and when he gets shocked you can tell because his ears go up and he looks around like he wants to know what did that. I don't know, I might just have a stubborn dog.

 

[Folly's place]

Most but not all dogs will learn to respect an invisible fence. It takes time and training; no way off leash after four days! If you are using a company like Invisible Fence, they will train you to train your dog. If you bought a system and installed it yourself, I hope there are instructions with it, and that it can be made strong enough to keep him in. It takes several weeks to properly train the dog so he knows what's going on. Mary

 

[islandgirl82]

@K9Dave Thanks! We live in northern KY. We have tried training when he was younger cause he would just run and it just never seemed to help. After spending a lot of our time and money, we just gave up cause nothing we did would make him stay near us, he just wants to run. I thought after we got him fixed and he got older that he would settle down, but thats just not the case. We have another dog and she stays on our property and is very good about staying near us, we have even got her in the fence so he isn't tempted to run off with her. And as for him feeling it, I know he does cause you could see his whole body twitching and he just didn't move, and when he gets shocked you can tell because his ears go up and he looks around like he wants to know what did that. I don't know, I might just have a stubborn dog.

It sounds like he may be in need of more exercise. He's looking for things to stimulate his senses.

 

[almahan3836]

@Folly's place
Thanks Mary, He hasn't been off of his leash since we have put it up. We walk him and then we chain him up where he can reach the fence so he while tied up he can still understand that he can't go pass the beeping. But we did it ourselves, and there was just the info to walk him around it for 15 minutes twice a day..... that was about it.

 

[almahan3836]

I am a stay at home mom of two toddlers and we are constantly outside playing with him, plus when we aren't outside he has my other dog out there with him. We take him to the dog park so he can run with no leash at least twice a week. IDK if there is much more stimulation I can give him.

 

[K9Dave]

I am a stay at home mom of two toddlers and we are constantly outside playing with him, plus when we aren't outside he has my other dog out there with him. We take him to the dog park so he can run with no leash at least twice a week. IDK if there is much more stimulation I can give him.

Do you have a yard for him to run around or just take him to the dog park? He needs a job. Dogs are pack animals and don't normally just go running off from their home and family. Sounds to me like he has some mental issues due to lack of exercise. Not physical exertion, but mental and physical exhaustion and stimulation. Have a bycicle? Treadmill?

It's hard to lead you in the exact way you should go, not being there and seeing the animal with my eyes but it an be fixed. Most of the time in my experience, the reason that pets bolt when the door is open is because it is the wide open unknown and it's exciting.

You could also try training manually with a shock collar or e-collar.

 

[almahan3836]

we have 31 acres. The chain he is attached to goes to about 150ft radius.( we have 3 50' cables connected.) He gets plenty of exercise. Which includes ball tossing, frisbees, stick throwing, plus running around with my other dog (at the dog park and at home.) We also have barn cats that run around and play with him. I was trying to find helpful tips to help him get used to the electric fence since I have never had one. I am grateful for all the input, I just need him to get used to the fence, like I said before, I know miracles aren't going to happen in 4 days, but I just wanted to make sure what we were doing was leading him into the right direction for him to understand the fence.