How to Find a Break in a Dog Watch Fence

Dog Watch hidden fencing is a brand of underground dog containment fence used by many homeowners. Designed to be used in conjunction with a collar featuring a receiver and small shock unit, the underground fencing carries a low voltage current around the perimeter of a yard. When a dog approaches the buried wire, a tone is emitted by the collar followed by a mild shock as the dog nears the boundary wire. From time to time it may be necessary to locate breaks in the wire.

Things You'll Need

  • Small shovel or trowel
  • RF choke
  • AM radio
  • Screwdriver
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Instructions

    • 1

      Walk the property following the route of the Dog Watch fence. The path of the wire will typically be marked with small flags or survey tape. Follow the route of the underground fence looking for signs of digging or other disturbance to the ground. Limbs can also damage fencing as they fall from a tree and penetrate the ground.

    • 2

      Use a small shovel or trowel to dig down into areas where you suspect the wire may be broken. Make sure the power source is unplugged and use caution when digging so that you do not damage the wire further.

    • 3

      Purchase an RF choke from an electrical supply, hobby or electronics store. Unplug the power supply for the Dog Watch fence from the electrical outlet. Remove the two lead wires for the fence from the connection terminal. Loosen the screws holding the wire with a screwdriver.

    • 4

      Connect the lead ends of the RF choke to the connection terminals on the power supply. Plug in the unit and you should have an indicator light or other source letting you know there is no break in the line and the system is connected.

    • 5

      Unplug the power supply once again from the outlet and connect the underground fence wire leads to the wire leads of the RF choke. Do not let them touch the terminals of the power supply. Plug the unit back into the outlet and turn on a radio tuned to AM 600.

    • 6

      Walk the perimeter of the yard following the underground fence and listen for a throbbing sound from the radio. This will be produced by the break in the underground line. Look for areas where the ground has been disturbed and dig down with a small shovel trowel to locate the damaged line.