How Do Wireless Dog Fences Work?

!±8± How Do Wireless Dog Fences Work?

Wireless dog fences are not really fences, but a signal sent out by a transmitter and received by a dog collar that issues a static correction if the collar goes beyond the range of the signal. That is, if your dog strays more than a distance of 100 ft from the transmitter, the dog collar will lose the signal and a mild shock is given to remind him to return within the boundary.

The wireless fence takes about an hour or two to configure first by locating a place inside or nearby the house where a perimeter boundary can be established. If you plan on keeping the corrective collar on your dog while he is inside the house, make sure the house is inside the perimeter otherwise your dog will be unnecessarily corrected. Also, if your dog sleeps in a metal crate, the crate sometimes forms a Faraday Cage that may interfere with the signal from the transmitter. Keep both in mind when establishing a boundary and using the collar on your dog inside the house.

Outside your house, you need to identify where the dog collar loses the signal. The collar has an audible beeping sound which will start emitting a few seconds before the corrective phase is issued. Listen for the beep as you walk 40 to 50 steps from the transmitter. Identify this distance with markers such as bricks or rocks so that you will know if the perimeter adequately covers the area you want to retain your dog inside.

After you have identified the boundary, you will have to train your dog to stay inside it. Training takes about two weeks for your dog to understand how the unseen fence works. The first step is walk your dog on a leash across the fence allowing collaring to beep; waiting a few seconds and bring him back inside the fence followed with praise and treats. Initially the collar is set in a training mode so all your dog will hear is an audible sound.

The same training is repeated the next day but collar set to the lowest static correction value. This introduces your dog slight shock that is meant to get his attention. Make sure that the metal contacts are touching your pet's skin otherwise it correction will not work. This training continues for several days with lots of praise.

After your dog has mastered the perimeter and refrains and returns from outside the wireless fence, additional training is required to distract your dog or entice him to cross the boundary. The easiest way is to throw a ball slightly beyond the fence. This will cause your dog to exit the area and receive the corrective action. Reward your dog when he returns to the safe area. A training lead, or a long leash, works best during the distraction phase since he is somewhat free to roam while he is still under your control.

After about two weeks of training, your dog should be able to resist crossing the wireless dog fence. Monitoring is important during following two weeks to make sure he is not tempted to run off if there are any distractions.