Since we are in the process of selling our home we decided to give this wireless system a try. FIRST, I would suggest you take your dog's temperament into consideration. Although I wouldn't consider our adopted 90 lb. male Weimaraner a wus, he isn't the Alpha dog either. The training aids were good and he quickly learned how far he could go on static shock level 4. He has since become so accustomed to our establised boundaries that we have lowered it to level 2 (level 1 is just an audible beep). Adjusting the shock level is very easy it just involves unscrewing a small cover on the collar and depressing a button. On the transmitter, you adjust the RADIUS (remember that the signal is emitted in a circle from the transmitter) using a dial. EASY! It did take some effort to locate it correctly in our home they suggest it be 24" off of the floor and it obviously has to be near an outlet, but it can emit a signal up to 90 feet in every direction that's a total cross section of 180 feet! The only disadvantage we found and it is minor is that if your home sits higher (or lower??) than part of your yard it will add few extra feet to your radius until the collar picks up the signal. This can be overcome if you build this allowance into your transmitters placement. Overall, we are thrilled and we've had this about 4 months now. I have had people tell me that once water gets under the battery cover, the battery dies. I don't know, but after looking at the cover I think it would have to be a downpour before that happened or maybe the dog went swimming or was bathed? Regardless, I placed a piece of duct tape not pretty but functional over the cover to keep this from happening. Finally, we will continue to use this even after we move since it has worked so well. A good investment to protect your pet but PLEASE don't forget to take the collar off of your dog before putting him in the car and backing our of the garage. YIKES!!!
I have owned this system for a little over three years. It has been amazing. But it's a big investment.
I have an Australian Sheppard that I had allowed to run loose at a previous house where I didn't have neighbors, street traffic, etc. After moving to the new house in a subdivision, I couldn't find anything to keep the dog close to home. He dug under or jumped over fences and would spend all day howling when he was chained. At 5 years old I thought he was pretty set in his ways. This system worked in a matter of minutes.
I hooked up the transmitter and marked the circular area around the house where it started beeping. Then I put the collar on the dog without any charge and taught him that when he heard the sound to return to the house. After a couple of times I jacked up the amperage and let him figure the rest out himself. It only took two shocks before he was done.
For those not familiar with the product:
The transmitter is kept in a weather tight area (i.e. your house--I kept mine in a kitchen cabinet). It will need an outlet for power. Then the collar goes on the dog. The collar is battery operated (more about that later on). The transmitter broadcasts a signage and as long as the collar is picking up that signage there is no shock. By the way, power outages are not an issue. If the dog wonders to the transmitter's boundary, the dog will hear 2 seconds worth of beeping before the metal prongs begin shocking his neck. The shock lasts for 20 seconds or until the dog returns to the boundary. The shock is quite a tingle (which I discovered while holding it and marking the boundary). It's certainly not enough to kill or leave any lasting damage, but it is definitely unpleasant. You can adjust the intensity of the shock from high to off which only leaves the beeping.
Some things to know before you buy the product:
THIS IS NOT AN ELECTRIC FENCE. I know you read that in the description, but it needs to be restated. The circular boundary your dog has is not fixed and permanent. On a clear day he may be able to roam a few feet further than on previous days. Some days the dog is able to cross the neighbor's drive and other days he can't. If you want a perfect boundary then this won't do it. If you're just looking at keeping the dog close to home, this is what you need.
THIS PRODUCT GIVES THE DOG A CIRCULAR AREA. Keep in mind that the transmitter broadcasts equally in all directions. If you have a long, narrow yard he will only have access to a circular area around the base. I realized this when I discovered the dog had made a pretty uniform circle of poop around my house instead of going to the back corner of the yard. You can increase this area with multiple transmitters; however, if your neighbor has the same product and the ranges overlap then both your dog and theirs will be able to freely travel back and forth.
The system is not perfect. If you can live with all the limitations listed above, there are a couple of frustrations.
BATTERIES ARE EXPENSIVE. Different reviews offer different lengths of time that the batteries last. Some people say their batteries last for 4 months. Mine go dead after 1 month. You can find a 2-pack of batteries for between $8 and $12 or order on line, but those start adding up.
YOU CAN ADJUST THE SHOCK BUT NOT THE BEEPING. One of the neat things about the system is once you train your dog you can then take the system with you when you visit relatives or go camping. When the dog hears the beep, he returns to the base location. However, for most people, they will set it up in their house and never move it again. With the beep, you are training your dog to respond to the beep not to the area. Thusly, when the battery dies and the dog stops hearing the beep then he keeps roaming. I would rather be able to train the dog to the area he is allowed and then turn off the beep so he learns where he can and can't go.
REPLACEMENT PARTS ARE EXPENSIVE. The material on my collar started showing wear within the first year. The collar device is scratched and the indicator light no longer works. When I priced replacement collars and discovered they cost almost $200 a piece I started babying it. The collar material finally fell apart last weekend. I was able to find a cheap collar and fix it so it would work with my existing collar device and make the repair for about $5.00. I'm not going to be a happy camper with the collar device finally fails and I have to drop another $200.00.
THERE ARE SOME ETHICAL QUESTIONS. I understand people complain that it might be cruel to shock a dog. Personally, I think it's considerably less cruel than keeping the dog chained or allowing him to get hit by a car. However, the first few times your dog gets a shock and wimpers are hard for an owner to hear. My dog did seem to have some nervous reactions during the first few months of use. Perhaps I could have prevented that with less ambitious training. He has since adjusted and doesn't seem to mind the collar at all.
HIGH OPERATING COST. All told, I spent $280.00 for the original unit and have spent about $5 per month in batteries for 3 years. Over the three years I've had it I've averaged $12.77 per month to operate it--pretty pricey. And, as stated earlier, it looks like I may have to drop another $200 for a replacement collar before the year is over.
*****UPDATE JUNE 2011*****
Well it finally happened. The collar crapped out on me. It just started randomly shocking the dog. The new collar was right at $200.00. It's back up and running now.
*****UPDATE OCTOBER 2011*****
Just got a new puppy...a 3-month old golden retriever that loves to roam. Two shocks and she is trained. Yes, it was another $200.00 for another collar, but less expensive than explaining to my son that his dog had been hit by a car. This new dog is a water lover. I'm not sure how the collar will stand up to that, but I'll keep you posted.
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We purchased this item on Saturday. Hooked it up on Sunday and by Monday afternoon our 5 month old Rat Terrier/Bichon was staying in the yard consistently. We are really pleased with this product. Our dog has been staying in the yard with many people walking by and other dogs passing by as well. It appears that he seldom has to experience the shock, he turns around rather quickly as soon as he hears the warning beep.
The only difficulty we have encountered is that we have cable and electricity boxes on two corners of our lot and it appears that there is some interference with the signal. We still have the signal , but it is not in the perfect circle from the transmitter that you would expect.
So far, excellent product, highly recommend. Great alternative to expensive in ground systems, and much easier to install.
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My husband brought this fence system home about a month ago. We have a 10 month old Golden Retriever(Molly)who weighs 80 lbs and is very high energy. Molly was used to being on a long tethered lead when she was out. It took about an hour to read the directions and set up the boundary, only because we have woods and needed to decide where she was allowed to go. After we figured that out, it took about 1/2 hour to place all the flags (only took THAT long because the kids were "helping"). I am NOT kidding you when I tell you she was trained that same evening! I only had one incident of her going past the barrier as the school bus was just TOO inticing. I turned the collar up a level (VERY easy to do) and took her out side. As soon as she realized it was less comfortable to escape, she decided not to do it again. It has been a mont and she has had the whole yard to play in all day! Its wonderful to just be able to put her out and not worry. She knows her boundary and does not go past it. I highly reccommend this fence. A feature we have NOT used yet, but look forward to, is being able to take it with us when we travel SO cool!
I do wish there was a feature that allowed us to remotely page her to come in, or "correct" her when jumping or chewing something she shouldn't. That is the ONLY thing I would add.
Thanks!!
K. Ellis
West Simsbury, CT
a later note:
I wrote this review about a month ago. Still a GREAT product, however my batteries died without a warning and she escaped to the road. No biggie they were easy and inexpensive to replace. However, there should be a warning sound on the main unit or something. I did buy another pet safe product, a separate collar for manual control for jumping on people or diggling holes (etc.) seems to work if you are watching all the time. Not as impressed with it as it sometimes doesn't seem to piick up the signal. Also the directions are nonexistent.
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After much research, we are SO HAPPY we chose this product over the traditional in-ground fences! No worries about ruining any wires when we aerate the lawn or do our landscaping... It's a very flexible, cost-effective solution and it works GREAT for our very feisty 2-year-old Schnauzer mix. We keep the collar on the lowest correctional setting and to tell you the truth, at this point he probably doesn't even need the correction -just hearing the warning beep is enough for him. He immediately turns around and gets closer to the house when he hears the beep. It only took one or two days for him to figure out his boundaries. At first he was a little afraid to go outside at all, but within less than a week he was happily playing outside in the "pet area" of the yard. Only drawback to this product is that there's no "safe gate area" where you can exit the circular pet area. (So we just take the receiver collar off our dog and put on his regular collar when we want to exit the yard to take him for leash walks.) Highly recommend this product.
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I started off using newspapers and decided to move to training pads. My puppy was not automatically attracted to these pads which is why I deducted a star. It took the constant effort of moving her to the pads even after she'd had an accident to get her to use them. I think once she uses them the scent attracts her back. The pads are absorbent, and I use the large pad for the puppy to give ger the ability to reuse it since there are not very many in the bag, which is why I deducted another star. No issues with tearing or leakage. Overall, they are a big improvement on newspapers, but I will try another brand to get a better comparison.
