UPDATE on the wireless fence
 

okay, so i had asked for opinions about the humanity/effectiveness of wireless fences last week. i got a lot of different opinions and i hadn't decided yet what to do.

well, my husband and i had been talking about it and we were mostly PRO wireless fence.

anyway, him being the wonderful guy that he is decided to surprise me. he came home with one unexpectedly. i was happy, but a little skeptical since i hadn't given it the green light.

i was SHOCKED (all pun intended) when i opened the package and saw the collar. people had mentioned the heavy weight of the collars, but nobody mentioned there were TWO, HUGE prongs (about 1 inch each) that go right into the dog's trachea! it would be like wearing a spiked necklace for a human - BACKWARDS! lol.

not to mention - my dog MIGHT have a collapsed trachea. we aren't sure yet, but she coughs a lot which turns into a gag. the vet gave me a script so we'll see about that, but i thought it was just crazy with those pokey prongs going into their throat.

i should've gone back to look at the thread, but i didn't - there was one person who mentioned using a cable attached to two posts so she could run "free". thanks, whoever that was! that's what we decided to do!

my husband returned the wireless fence and used the money to buy two posts - concrete - a cable- and a harness so we can set that up.

the wireless fence did sound heaven sent, but i guess the saying is true - if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!

last point - i'm not knocking anyone who uses a wireless fence. maybe it was just the design of that particular brand's collar? i don't know. either way, to each his own! it just wasn't for me.

Thank you for sharing this extra information. I have always wondered how they worked.

I've actually seen those things on the shock collars that teach dogs not to bark. My roomie had one for her dog. Mind you, the size was tiny, but the two prongs were there. It was so sad, he would bark, get shocked, and whimper because of the pain only to get shocked again. She'll have to forgive me for undermining her, but I just couldn't stand it. I would rather do my homework to barking than to the painful cries.:thumbdown:thumbdown I took it off when she wasn't there and before she came home from work I put it back on. I did work with him on the no bark thing. At least he learned the command.

the bark thing is another issue as far as i'm concerned - the fence i would consider for safety - barking? not a chance - that's a natural thing for a dog!

however, like i said, the prongs on the collar were big in my opinion. maybe it WAS just the brand? i don't know. i expected it to be maybe dime sized circles around the collar that barely rose up from it - so i was shocked to see two STICKS that poke into the neck!

I looked into these as well...

Amazon.com: GARMIN 010-11049-00 Astro DC 30...
Thought it was interesting. It's kind of a GPS collar but I think it allows you to set certain boundaries for your dog and it doesn't shock them but it does beep and it shows you where they are on your phone or computer, etc.

Currently, I live on 3 acres unfenced. I have a retractable stake in the ground that goes out 20 feet and I then attached a 50 foot nylon leash to that so he gets 70 feet to roam. It works for us for right now but I'm still trying to find a better solution.