Underground electric fences are becoming more popular, especially in neighborhoods that limit the building of traditional fences. But electric fences are far from fail proof and even present significant risks to the safety of your dog.
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How Electric Fences Work
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Electric fences consist of buried electric wires that respond to a transmitter attached to a collar your dog wears. When the dog ventures close enough to the fence, a signal to initiate a shock is sent to the transmitter on the collar. As the dog gets closer to the boundary, the shock intensifies.
Danger 1: Electric Fences Require Training
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Unlike traditional fences that intrinsically create a barrier for your dog, electric fences require significant training time to teach your dog the boundaries of the yard. It is undeniably cruel to install the fence and hope the dog figures it out through a series of shocks. Dogs who don't receive proper training will often test the boundaries until the shocks are too painful to withstand or until they become determined to withstand the pain and break through the barrier.
Danger 2: Some Dogs Will Tolerate Pain to Escape
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Electric fences rely on deterring a dog's escape through pain. Often the squirrel, other dog, toy or other stimulus outside the barrier is tempting enough for the dog. Many dogs soon realize that if they run through the barrier zone fast enough, they are only shocked for a short time. The short shock becomes worth the reward of escaping the boundary of the yard.
Danger 4: Electric Fences Keep Nothing Out
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Even if an owner provides proper training, and the dog responds to the shock at the barrier, an electric fence keeps nothing out of the yard. Dogs confined within electric boundaries are virtual hostages to people and other dogs who aggressively invade the yard. Especially for dogs who respect the boundaries of the electric fence, the yard can become a prison if the dog is being attacked by another dog, person or wild animal. The fence also allows children to wander into the backyard, putting the dog and the owner at great risk for liability claims.
Danger 5: The Shock Hurts
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The electric fence relies on pain as a deterrent to the dog. That means, in essence, the fence is designed to hurt the dog. Any method of training that relies on pain is not appropriate for humane dog ownership.
Danger 6: The System Requires Maintenance
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The transmitter on the collar runs on batteries. As the batteries run low, the collar will often shock the dog intermittently, regardless of the location of the dog. And eventually, the batteries will die, and the entire system will be rendered useless. Without diligent maintenance and testing, the system will eventually become ineffective.
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