My dog will not stay in the back garden

doc...

I've got 3 boxers and I use the petsafe radio fence. Before you tell me how cruel it is just know that I am open to alternatives and will try anything to sort this issue.

So, 1 of the boxers (the alpha male) the oldest of the 3. Dave is his name will not stay in the back garden that I have fenced off.

We have just moved into a new house but we have had the pet safe radio fence in pervious houses where it worked perfectly unless the batteries went dead in the alarm.

I am sure it is setup correctly as I even went as far as getting a shock off the collar to test it but he still just runs through it. I did notice that the shock wasn't very powerful even though the fence was turned up full (level 5)

I think there may be a dog in heat in the area as his bottom lip quivers when he picks up the scent and that is what is happening now.

I am really at my wits end with this dog. I could never give him away though so I want to find out if my fence is setup wrong or else put a better solution in place.

I've thing I notice about the fence is that the instruction manual is completely rubbish. There are 3 settings on the radio fence and a dial with 10 settings but no where in the manual or online have I been able to find out what the correct setting is for my yard. Also note that our neighbours also have the radio fence and ours is positioned about 3 foot away from theirs.

The back garden is about 30 x 30m and the fence is on the C setting with the dial twisted around as far as it can go to the right

SillyMangoX

Well first thing, if he's after a bitch in heat would you consider getting him neutered? It would get rid of his drive to leave the garden in search of a mate, those fences do not work if there is something worth getting on the other side. Would you consider building more secure fencing that he couldn't physically get out over?

Whispered

I think for safety sake you should build a fence. He won't stay in the garden if there is something more interesting outside, however he won't have the motivation to get back in and go through the pain of a shock again. You already have the collar as painful as it will go so in my view, your only other option is a proper, physical fence.

ShaShaBear

As above, I recommend a good, solid fence that is both high above ground and reasonably deep below (to avoid dogs digging under).

The fence works on the basic principle that your dog receives a punishment in the form of pain if he steps too far in certain directions. The general idea is that after a shock or two, the dog shouldn't want to attempt heading too far in that direction again.

the problem is that these fences and collars assume that all dogs are roughly the same. Your dog might have a higher pain threshold (just like people who can sit for two hours to get a tattoo versus people that faint when they get blood taken) and simply doesn't mind the shock. Or maybe he is just too driven by what he has noticed, and has already become aware that once he heads in a certain direction long enough, the shocking will stop. I've used this analogy before:
Imagine that you are out sunning yourself on this fine day. You look out onto the road running past your house and notice a large cloth bag similar to the one they put money in at the bank. You walk to the end of the garden and get an electric shock. Well, that taught you! You forlornly look at the bag, wondering what possibly could be in it. Then a car drives by, quite fast, and the backlash gust blows open the bag and you realise it has about €10,000 in notes in it. Well, this changes things. You dash out onto the road as fast as you can (obviously you don't want anyone else to get it first). You brave the nasty shock you get, nearly fall over from the pain - but you get that bag and it does indeed have all that money inside. Now what? Are you going to walk back into your garden? Brace yourself and sprint back through the shock? Or will you decide to walk into town and visit your mum and tell her what happened? Maybe go and buy yourself dinner and new shoes?
You see where I am going with this

Another thing the fence and collars assume is that dogs will retreat backwards from pain. Not all dogs do this. It would be the general idea that, when the dog gets a shock, that he will stop and turn in the opposite direction or retreat backwards. Some dogs will continue to dart forward in the hope of running past the pain. Your dog would only have to run forwards in fear once to realise that it does in fact stop the shocks (ergo in your dog's mind, this is the correct approach).

Long story short, the fences only work depending on the dog themselves. The same can be said of just about anything. Metabolisms are different, so some diets are more effective to an individual than others. Strains of viruses are different, so some medications will be more efficient to an individual than others. And pain thresholds, and value of objects are different, so while an electric shock might deter one dog, a ten foot fence might be needed for another. Do not assume that because the dog is escaping that there is something wrong with how you use the fence. Just like you wouldn't assume that just because you still have a chest infection must mean you are taking your antibiotics wrong. You need to explore a different option.

almighty1

Where is the radio fence wire in relation to the fence? I've noticed that if you place the wire on or near the fence then the dog has to slow down to get out and therefore constantly getting shocked whilst foostering to get past the fence. Therefore I'd recommend placing the shock wire on the physical boundary.

Also I tried mine on level 1 (of 5) it gave me a fair aul whack. I would not like to try it on 5. Perhaps the unit is faulty?