Garden wall/fence/beds?

The collars are now illegal in Wales.
The trellis idea is a good one, a friend of mine had trellis and a small gate in part of her garden to stop the dogs going into the kids play area.

 

I dont like the sound of the collars, I'm sure they're harmless. I just wouldnt like to. Besides, they sound like they cost a small fortune lol.

Trellis seems to be a winner

 

The electric shock collars sound like a c*rap idea to me you can train a dog without resorting to these.

 

"The electric shock collars sound like a c*rap idea to me you can train a dog without resorting to these"

Then come and train ours. We tried, had professional trainers in, etc. for two years. Within a couple of weeks of installing the invisible fence we had them trained. No more dogs running lose through the countryside potentially terrorising lambs etc. or being a menace to vehicles on the road.

I have seen them used in America - lots of open "front yards", or whatever they call them, over there - and friends also have them. It wasn't a casual decision. I can understand that people don't like the thought of them, but please if you don't have some personal experience don't make judgement assumptions.

Yes I am sure they can be used cruelly, but banning them on that basis is typical of our nanny state. Should we ban 4" x 2" timber in the building trade when some idiot uses it as a "dog training aid"?

 

The collars are to be used short term. In conjunction with assiduous care and training they work well in animals displaying undesirable behaviours-under these circumstances the use is very short term, however I have seen too many lazy owners use them for the lifetime of the animal and this is wrong -no two ways about it-and I do have experience with these collars.

A dog has an innate desire to please and this should be the backbone of any training. It is much more effective if the animal receives the punishment directly and consistently at the hands of the pack leader, just as it receives reward from them for desirable behaviours.

And Kristen, if I lived near enough I would love to come and meet you and your dogs-of course I may have to mither you for gardening tips all the way through though. Oh and cuttings, and seeds etc

 

Seems like a fair swap to me Lollipop!

Our dogs have about an acre to run in (they are large-dog-type, rather than lap-dog-type, so need to stretch their legs). The whole area is fenced to about 3', but I know the dogs can climb over 8' (and indeed have :( )

We trained them with the invisible fence - which involves replacing the metal prongs with plastic ones (hence no shock) - and walking them up to the fence, and jerking their lead and giving strong verbal commands etc. etc. The collars emit a buzz-sound at a distance before the fence [i.e. buzz-zone is also further from the fence than the shock-zone], so the dogs were able to get accustomed to "buzz = NO"

Our problem is that they have been in the habit of escaping to go to explore the countryside. I would prefer that they were outside and do not wander off, rather than inside and only allowed out when they can be supervised, so that has been the reason why we have gone through the steps we have. (They are not left out when we are not here, but they are out when we may be out of sight). Our dogs are "outdoor dogs" - they sleep in the garage, not cuddled up to a Range but they have fre range of the house apart from sleeping.

The collars are extremely effective, as I have mentioned above, the dogs now don't go anywhere near the fence (and they know where it is as there is a physical fence at the same place as the "invisible fence").

They have not escaped once, and on the odd occasion when they go near the fence the buzz sound is sufficient for them to retreat without being shocked.

I would take issue with you about using the collars for short term, rather than long term. Our dogs still wear their collars because I don't want them wandering off and being a menace, and whilst I'm sure they are now trained I don't want my dogs being killed - either run over, or shot by a farmer for tormenting their livestock.

The dogs know where the boundary is, and just putting their collars on is the signal they understand to stay within the fenced area. I could use that and turn the fence off, which would probably be fine. But I'm not risking that, I have no idea whether one day there will be some incentive for them to decide the grass is greener on the other side of the fence ...

 

Hi Kristen,

It sounds like your dogs have quite a life. Of course my experience is with "town dogs" for want of a better term. I `m not sure I wouldn`t be tempted to leg it if I were surrounded by the sort of countryside you are in the middle of. Dogs near livestock are a continuing threat and should be treated differently than those in towns and cities-I agree with you-sheep are someones livelihood and therefore require that nearby dog owners show extra vigilance.

Where I am, was once exclusively farmland with little surrounding villages. Progress(!?) has meant that a lot of outsiders ( the villagers term not mine), have come here and have a fundamental lack of understanding the environment they live in. Not their fault-they come from towns and cities. There have been dog shootings etc as would be expected, these dogs are untrained for the area-in some instances untrained for any area.

I wonder if with our increasingly busy lifestyle we are losing the ability to "see" our surroundings clearly. But that`s a philosophical question best placed elsewhere, hardly relevant to trellis fencing-my how the mind wanders.

Anyway, although I do understand the immediate horror some people feel about these collars, I also know the benefit they can have when used correctly.

 

"I`m not sure I wouldn`t be tempted to leg it if I were surrounded by the sort of countryside you are in the middle of"

I'll tell my DW that Lollipop told me it was OK to "leg it"

Sadly the local farmers lose one or two sheep a year to dog attacks. I don't see that as being the Farmers' fault, nor the dogs' ... which only leaves the owners of course :(

I despair of progress too. Some of our villages in sleepy-Suffolk are still OK, many are polluted by "outsiders". The planners only allow in-fill, not extension of the village curtillage, so roads crammed full of parked cars, no gardens, little privacy, Nuts! But I don't think using up all the agricultural land for housing is the answer either ... basically I'm not a fan of population growth. Doubling the world's population every 70 years (1% growth) means we need twice as much food, fuel, mobile phones ...

.. dunno how to reduce it though. I can't see "one child per family" being popular.

Getting back on topic I wonder what Mrs Trellis from North Wales would have to say about it? :D

 

Just plant some hedging. It makes a great internal barrier, and done right is dog proof, and not much is more natural. Once established you can run clematis and rambling roses through it if you want variety, and it is much cheaper and more durable than either a fence or a wall. There is a hedge planting video on the link above.

Good luck

 

Wouldnt it take a long time to create a full hedge so the dog couldnt get through? Or were you suggesting maybe putting up a temporary fence type structure and then planting the hedge, once the hedge has grown, do away with the fence?