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JGale

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I installed an Extreme Dog Fence nearly two years ago.  Our issue was rather than having no fence we had two dogs that were jumping an existing fence.  For that reason I didn't bury it but instead I ran it along the top-rail of the fence.  Unfortunately, we only used it briefly before deciding that adding an additional 2' of height to our 4' fence to prevent them from jumping was a better course for us.  Our male, a 65lb Plott Hound/Staffordshire mix is a rescue (former neighborhood stray) that isn't the type that can be trained.  We tried everything in the provided book, went very slow and took our time.  We even called the company for additional suggestions but his always-dominant instinct to freak-the-f-out wouldn't get out of the way.  Hiring professionals wasn't an option because aside from my wife and I he doesn't do humans.  Our female jumper, 50lbs of streamlined mutt with ridiculous gazelle-like athleticism and agility, picked it up quickly and had it only been for her it would have been perfect.

For what you pay the quality is mostly okay with a couple exceptions.  Cheap plastic enclosures for the electronics but given they shouldn't see any abuse I wasn't put off.  The connections (think little red and black spring loaded connectors on computer speakers, but more fragile than anything you've seen before) where the wire is inserted into the controller and the surge suppressor are fine for single use.  Anything more than that and you're liable to exceed their life span.  I set everything up on my bench to test function before install and one connector on the surge protector fell apart when I pressed it to remove the wire for disassembly.  The company replaced it quickly with no questions asked.  Given it's essentially a set it and forget it type appliance, the connections, like the enclosures, are probably as good as they need to be in most cases.  Making adjustments to correction intensity are easy but not so intuitive that you could figure it out without the manual.  

The real weak spot may be the battery.  $10 a pop, proprietary, and only rated to last 3-4 months.  Each of ours lasted about six months but they saw very limited use.

It is a relatively inexpensive option (like some used Hamers) but lacks a strong relationship in build quality.

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Petsafe Yard Max https://store.petsafe.net/yardmax-fence-kit

The included wire is too thin, but a trip to Lowe’s or Home Despot will take care of that. I ran 14g just over an acre and haven’t had any issues. The collars are tough, waterproof, rechargeable, and last for months. Correction ranges from just a beep to “WTF???” which is where I leave it.

We have two hard-headed dogs, a beagle and a borzoi, and both respect the fence line enough that they can go weeks without their collars before they start getting curious and begin testing the edges of the yard. 
 

 

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Like Lockbody, I've had good luck with the Pet Safe product, even with the original wire, which hasn't failed in 11 years.  The collar I've use has a 9 volt battery, which is good for two or three months.  I buried the wire using a rental edger to dig the "trench" a few inches deep.  

The household  hound was a feral rescue, who wanted to return to her free-range honey-badger state and terrorize neighbors' screen doors, of which I've replaced a couple. The fence kept her in, as long as I replaced the battery except for one or two memorable occasions which thankfully didn't make the local paper .

Another lesson-learned-the-hard-way is to make sure to get the surge protector, or else the giant antenna will pick up every nearby lightning strike and fry the amplifier.  

Training her to (generally) respect the fence was pretty straightforward and quick. 

Good luck!

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We've had Invisible Fence for 10 years and never had a problem, but I have nothing to compare it to.  This thread has reminded of a guy I used to know who had a large crazy dog that kept bolting through the fence (I don't know what brand).  He talked the fence people into sending him the extra powerful shock collar.  They resisted at first but eventually sent him one.  Dog still plows through fence.  He's pissed, so to make sure it's working he put the collar on his own neck.  Knocked him flat on his back.  Dumbass.

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1 hour ago, benjammin308 said:

Knocked him flat on his back.  Dumbass.

Yeah, the shock can get your attention.  I've gotten one or two while walking around with the collar with less care than I should have while verifying the new battery, the new lightning arrester, and so-on worked. Turned out all that stuff worked JUST FINE.  

 

Dogs are tough.  

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These things inevitably develop breaks or impacted by lightning etc. it might not be worth the savings to not have reliable service. Batteries collars service calls training are all important I don’t know if the savings of the off brands are worth not getting Invisible Fence.

ArnieZ

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17 hours ago, benjammin308 said:

...he put the collar on his own neck....

When we got the remote controlled collar for our little kick-me dog, it had settings from 0 to 100. I had it on 10 in my hand and holy shit did that ever work. I can't imagine what 100 would do, and I sure as hell wouldn't put it around my neck to try it.

He got a lot smarter on 3 or 4.

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