Pet Safe Deluxe Radio Fence may injure your dog
Written: Jul 15 '02 (Updated Jul 16 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to set up, relatively inexpensive
Cons: Doesn't deter all dogs, can harm them
The Bottom Line: The Radio Fence may or may not work with your dog and may injure it. The Radio Fence may work temporarily, but I don't recommend it longterm.
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| jiwhite's Full Review: Pet Safe Deluxe Radio Fence System with Standard R... |
My husband and I purchased the Pet Safe Deluxe Radio Fence System with Standard Receiver to keep our 2 large dogs, George and Eddie, in our backyard. Eddie, a Collie mix, is friendly, but likes to perch on our 6-foot block wall like a bird, then visit the neighbors and leave "presents." George, an Akita mix, was both aggressive and territorial. He was very sweet with us, but had been known to attack other dogs. He also had a predilection for wandering the neighborhood. It was easy to stop him from digging out by laying concrete under the gate, but that didn't stop him completely. Although he never went our 6 foot block wall, he would use the side of the house to vault over the iron and wood gate. We tried erecting a chicken wire fence 5 feet inside the gate, but George would climb the interior fence, then jump the gate. For the sake of peace with our neighbors we had to find something to keep our dogs contained and for the sake of our dogs we didn't want to keep them chained indefinitely.
Set Up
Setting up the Radio Fence System is easy. The Kit ($195) includes a transmitter, AC adapter, 500 feet of boundary wire, a waterproof Standard Receiver (collar with electrical shock unit), flags for marking the boundary, written instructions and a video. We ran the wire around the yard on the block wall and the house, rather than burying it, mounted the transmitter, plugged it in, put the batteries in the Standard Receiver, tested the Standard Receiver on ourselves, then put the Standard Receiver on George.
We kept the unit set to warn and correct. When we tested the shock on ourselves, we didn't like the sensation, but we didn't feel that it would cause injury as long as the dog heeded it.
The Deluxe transmitter can be extended to enclose up to acres with additional wire. The equation for determining the number of feet needed is:
Feet of Wire = Squareroot(Acres X 43,000) X 4
Also, the Radio Fence comes with a lifetime warranty. Pet Safe can be contacted by phone, 888-527-9700, or e-mail at vze23qqw@verizon.net.
Effectiveness
We initially kept Eddie chained while we tested the effectiveness of the radio fence on George. Unfortunately, George was too determined to get out of the yard. We watched him twitch and yelp as he ran down the side of the house and jumped the gates. The Standard Receiver was not strong enough to deter George.
We switched the Standard Receiver to Eddie and kept George chained while we ordered a Stubborn Dog Receiver ($85). Eddie was deterred by the Standard Receiver. He would no longer approach within 5 feet of the wall.
Even after we put the Stubborn Dog Receiver on George, he would run the length of the house and jump the fence, twitching all the way. We removed the receiver and chained George using his old collar when we saw that he was not heeding the collar and developed seeping wounds at the site of the electrical shocks.
Overall, Eddie, who tends to be more submissive, was deterred by the shock collar, but George, who was dominant and aggressive, took the pain and kept doing what he wanted to do.
Durability
Because we did not bury the wires, they did eventually break down. However, we built a kennel in the backyard with a cement border, so we can safely contain dogs without chains and shock collars. I do believe that buried wires would have worked for a longer time.
Bottom Line
In the long run, building a safe physical barrier was the most effective way to keep our dogs contained in the backyard. However, this meant a $3500 investment versus a $280 investment. The Radio Fence worked temporarily for one dog, but did not work for the other. Whether or not the fence works depends on the temperament of the animal and it can injure the animal. The Radio Fence may work temporarily, but I don't recommend it for the longterm.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
jiwhite
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Member: Janine White
Location: Chandler, AZ
Reviews written: 194
Trusted by: 142 members
About Me:
Criminologist turned Software Engineer
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