re invisible fencing
Hi Everyone I have never used an invisible fence but our Tory who came to us at 4 1/2 years old (she is now 8 1/2)was trained on an ivisible fence as a puppy. I doubt if she even wore the collar for more than a few months, but she did respect it and she is a very pain insensitive girl. BUT something to consider is sound sensitivity. I understand the collars emit a beep or a click before the animal gets to the perimeter and gets the shock. I do think this has contributed to Tory's sound sensitivity. Our thermostat used to make click just before it turned off for the night. Tory would startle every night. Some nights it was enough to send her into panic mode and she would pace frantically around the house .( we now replaced it with a quieter model, but sometimes the furnace makes a tiny click and she's off into panic mode. One day while giviing one of our girls a bath I brought our egg timer outside and the click click click of it panicked her, she was shaking and terrified. And went to hide under the hydrangea bush. Now, I don't know if one day her collar shorted out on her and made the clicking sound or what but I know it had to do with the fence. Sound sesitivity usually gets worse as they get older and I wouldn't want to set myself up for anything like what we have with Tory on purpose. (She has to sleep with a fan running near her ears to mask out any creaks and clicks that happen in the quiet house at night) It's no fun. Tory is not one of those shy, sensitive girls either, she is an all out nothing bothers her type of girl except for this one thing. Just something to bear in mind if you have a choice of a solid fence or invisible fence. I also know of someone who used the invible fence inside the house to keep the Berner from going into certain rooms. We took care of her for a few days and it took all day to convince her she was not going to get shocked each time she went into a room with a rug in it. She also had to be taken in the car to get her out of the driveway as she would not walk out on her own. Very sad. Marjorie Cottle
Re: Invisible fencing
I have a professionally installed invisible (radio) fence that surrounds my 2+ acre property. I have trained both a berner puppy at 5 months to the fence, as well as an adult berner. I personally have not had any problems, no breakouts, and in fact, I still have many of the flags up around the back and sides of my yard where the wire is located back in the woods, and my dogs don't even wear their collars much of the time. They seem to know where their boundary is, and evidently have little interest in the wanderlust. They will furiously chase the squirrels, bunnies, deer and anything else that comes into the yard, but always stop short of the boundary (in fact, I think the wildlife have cottened to this as well, since I have seen the squirrels tormenting the dogs on the other side of the wire!). The caveat to the wire. I live on a quiet street at the end of a cul de sac. We see very little traffic and what we do see is moving quite slowly. I live in a rural area far away from really busy streets. My dogs are essentially indoor dogs; I don't have a job outside the home, so my dogs are rarely left on their own for extended periods of time. Under these circumstances the radio fence has worked fine for me. The biggest disadvantage is the radio fence does not protect your dog from other animals entering your yard. I have only had this happen a few times where a stray or lost dog has come into the yard. There has never been a problem. The other big disadvantage - if you live in an area where your dogs are at risk of being stolen, the radio fence is a big invitation for this sort of criminal activity. Hope this helps. BTW, several breeders would not sell me a puppy because of the invisible fence issue. Mary and the girls, Laurel and Bailey Fayetteville, GA
RE: invisible fencing
Dear Hildy the list- I am a current Berner owner with a long history of other breeds, including Great Danes, Samoyed's, Shelties. Although this post may not be directly responsive to your post, I feel I must provide it anyway. In 1993 I had an invisible fence professionally installed and trained my dogs thoroughly with it. I opted for it due to regulations in our development regarding perimeter fencing. It worked reliably with my Dane Sheltie, but my Samoyed never minded it all that well. She had a lot of fur (like a Berner) and was very stubborn, she would just walk through it when inclined and sit outside the fence on the front doorstep. Anyway, it never precluded other animals dogs from coming in our yard, which they did from time to time, and my Dane was fairly territorial. So this probably was not ideal. BUT, it worked very reliably for my Dane Sheltie. It was not until my dear, beloved Sheltie got out for the 2nd time in 6 years, that I decided to ditch the invisible fence for an extensive, physical dog run. Why did I do so? Because on that day, my dear Mogul was hit by a speeding car in front of our house killed. To be honest, I have never gotten over it, but that is besides the point. Technically, the fence DID work, 99.9% of the time, just not on the one occasion that it mattered. I would hate to see anyone have the same tragedy, so I wanted you to know. I wouldn't trust it for my Berner Davos in a million years. Best of luck in making your decision, Eve Berman -Original Message- From: Hildy F. [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 8:16 AM To: Bernese Mountain Dog Mailing List Subject: Sensitive topic: Radio/invisable fence Hi all, The invisible fence issue seems to be a black and white issues (at least in the rec.dog.behavior newsgroup). So please do not flame. I just try to make the right decision re: fencing. Do any of you have a radio/invisible fence installed for their Berners and does it work? I know all the basic pros and cons of the invisible fence. So, I am just curious what your experience is with the invisible fence and Bernese. Greetings, Hildy Leesburg, VA Bijou - 5 month
