electronic fencing

[Swamp Roo]

Hi all,
I just picked up a petsafe in-ground electronic fence off of craigslist. I've got a few questions. What gauge wire is appropriate? What is the right way to train a dog with the system? Has anyone ever use these for goats/sheep etc? Timing on this was perfect, we hope to go look at an aussie mix that needs rehoming tonight, and I'm not field fencing 2.5 acre, or the whole 20 acres. I will just staple the wire to the existing barbed wire fencing, no fuss no muss. Just need to bury by the gates.

Swamp

 

[CrazyChickieMama]

We have the invisible underground fence for our Danes. We used the flag method when we trained them. (i'll get the gauge of the wire from hubby in the morning)

after putting flags every 2 feet along the fence line(where the collar starts to beep),

attach the dog to a lead and put the collar on.

let them explore the yard while you hold on to the lead(don't let them get close to the flags yet)

carefully take them closer to the flags until you hear the collar beep...then run to the middle of the yard and praise them.

continue this for a couple days for 10 min a day.

after that, remove the lead and they should return to the middle of the yard if they get to close to the fence and hear the beep.

they may get shocked a couple times before they get the hint.

our dogs responded really well to the beeps and only got shocked once or twice.
our female was so afraid of the flags, when we went to the mountains to camp, we just set out the flags around the campsite and she never wandered.

PM me if you have any more questions. I know you can get the wire and the flags from Lowe's and Home Depot!!!

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Has anyone ever use these for goats/sheep etc?

It would be a bad idea to use them for livestock.
On a wool sheep, it probably wouldnt shock it at all.
Also sheep and goats arent as smart as dogs, so they may not be able to figure out their limits

The PRIME reason not to use it for livestock is even IF it keeps them in, it WILL NOT keep predators OUT!!​

 

[Swamp Roo]

Thanks guys. What a great side effect with being able to set up a faux fence! The dog we are looking to adopt is an Aussie mix, so I expect it will be a really fast learning curve. The one thing I'm not looking forward to is testing it on myself since I won't do something like that to a pet with out first hand knowledge of how "bad" it is. How soon after they figure things out can you remove the flags?

The reason I've been thinking electronic for goats down the road (don't own any right now) is because a large chunk of my pasture get flooded seasonally. The bottom strand of barbed wire(yes the good stuff) gets replaced every 2-3-4 years. Since it's a mile of fence, I'm not just willing to replace woven fencing that often. Basic rule of our farm is the the animals at least need to pay for themselves (even if it is a tax advantage). I'd never cover costs with goats if I needed to put an average of $1500 in fencing a year, even if I was willing to do the work that often. Besides I like to invite a hog or two for dinner every year and I don't want to keep those out.

You may be right about not working though heavy/fur fleece. I was looking at hair sheep (Florida) and they do make "long" electrodes. Goats/sheep do figure out traditional electric fences though. Not arguing, just thinking it through.

Swamp

 

[citrusdreams]

Quote:
That's almost like how I trained mine. Not that one way is better over the other. Some dogs won't even need training. But the differences are:
-Play with them in the *safe zone* or the middle so they know they're being good in their safe zone.

-When you hear the beeping, tell them "NO" with a lead correction and run to the middle. Praise them as they come with you because they did good upon returning to their safe zone.

-After a few days this way, allow them to get the shock when they get too close to the fence, with the "NO!" and leash correction. Praise when they come back with you.

-Then take the leads off after a few days and supervise and watch them to make sure they are trained and stay trained. I've never had them run through the fence during training.

But if you don't do some kind of lead correction some way as either of us describe, they will get scared when they get the shock and run right through. Then you'll have to work extra hard to train them not to run though. Some people say you can just put the shock collar on and the dog will either get shocked and learn, or not. I vehemently say "NOT". They won't know what the beeps mean, they won't know why they are getting shocked and they'll get scared and run though and will learn how to take the shock and run through whenever they want to get out.

As for the goats, too many people to count have told me their as smart as dogs. But I have no experience whatsoever training them this way. I'd say, if it's worth your while to try, go ahead and try and let us know.

Just remember you have to buy batteries for every collar, and sometimes that can get expensive.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

You may be right about not working though heavy/fur fleece. I was looking at hair sheep (Florida) and they do make "long" electrodes. Goats/sheep do figure out traditional electric fences though. Not arguing, just thinking it through.

They figure out traditional fencing because they can see it.

I have Dorpers ( over 50 right now), and they will STILL occasionally go through a fence that carries around 8000 volts.

Something else you may want to consider is the cost of collars for each sheep. You can buy a LOT of conventional fence wire for the price of one good collar.
Collars need to be recharged, so part of the time they couldnt be on your animals.

I think the wireless fences are geared more towards those who let their indoor dogs out for short periods , and not for full time use.

If you go with a regular electric fence, you can spend a little more and get 12 1/2 ga ALUMINUM wire that you wont ever have to replace due to rust.
It will also have far less resistance than steel wire, so more voltage gets to the sheep.​