Radio fence or Run for Dog's.

Truckermal · 23-08-2019 9:50pm #1

Hi folks.

I just got two Golden retriever puppies and need your opinion on building a Run or getting the Radio fence for them?

I have a huge garden circa 1 acre mostly grass. I see a lot of different options and suppliers online so a bit of advice would be great plus budget is not a issue.

Thanks.

Cherry Blossom · 23-08-2019 10:04pm

If budget is not an issue then just put a proper fence up round the whole property. I would also urge you to do some serious research on littermate syndrome. No reputable breeder or rescue sends two pups to the same home.

Truckermal · 23-08-2019 11:03pm

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

If budget is not an issue then just put a proper fence up round the whole property. I would also urge you to do some serious research on littermate syndrome. No reputable breeder or rescue sends two pups to the same home.

Hi.

I never said I got them from a Breeder or they are siblings....

Good old Boards posters....

Cherry Blossom · 23-08-2019 11:09pm

They dont have to be siblings to develop littermate syndrome. They just have to both be pups and close in age and live in the same home.

Truckermal · 23-08-2019 11:36pm

Ok just close this thread stick your prong up someone else's ass....

Cherry Blossom · 23-08-2019 11:38pm

Good old internet trolls with a record longer than my arm...

Truckermal · 24-08-2019 12:04am

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

Good old internet trolls with a record longer than my arm...

Ya would you like to expand on that?

Post reported by the way, I started a thread looking for advice and you get up on a high horse.

borderlinemeath · 24-08-2019 1:03am

Build a run, or a proper fence. You won't contain 2 high energy large dogs with a radio fence, that's aside from the welfare aspect of it. And if you just got 2 pups, they will certainly bond far better to each other than to their humans, so will most likely succumb to certain behaviours associated with littermate syndrome.

It might seem like a good idea that they'll keep each other company, but it turns into far harder work than you think. You'll need to train separately, walk separately, go on vet visits separately in order to develop a pair of well rounded individual dogs that aren't co-dependent on each other and can be a nightmare to train if they cannot be alone without the other.

Just to give you an idea, I have an acre of garden and 4 dogs, last year I spent €5K on a new fence for half of it, the old buried chain link had become strained in places as it was up against a very old, very hardy hedge that had tree trunks rather than branches growing out of it.

DBB · 24-08-2019 6:43am

Folks,
Pull your horns in.
Let's stay on topic from hereon in. Discussion of how to contain the dogs only, please.
Also, given my experience of threads involving the topic of radio fences and shock collars, might I remind everyone at this early stage of the requirement in this forum to treat each other with respect. You don't have to agree with one another, but you do have to post in a respectful manner.
Thank you,
DBB

Nody · 24-08-2019 8:03am

Truckermal wrote: »

Ya would you like to expand on that?

Post reported by the way, I started a thread looking for advice and you get up on a high horse.

You were given advice but you decided you knew better.

Littermate syndrom is a very well known issue that you clearly ignored or did not know about getting two puppies at the same time. Now due to that you got a lot of additional work to deal with it as Borderlinemeath lines out as well as education to understand what it's about and why.

Secondly on not doing a proper fencing feel free to ask a rescue rather than the people here on how many dogs they have in the last 5 years with some form of e-collar coming in. You'll get people here swearing up and down how their dog has never, ever, gone past it which is good for them but if you ask rescues they will tell you about the tens to hundreds of dogs that did every year that come in with such a collar on them. So if you don't mind your dogs running away and potentially getting run over/shot (depending on where they run as farmers will shot to kill any dogs going after their sheep etc.) you can take the cheap route and hope your roll of the dice is in your favour. Or you can do it properly with a fence instead but that will as once again noted by Border cost a fair bit of money if you insist on doing the whole area.

Either way best of luck with your pups because you got a heck of a lot of work ahead of you.

DBB · 24-08-2019 8:36am

*ahem*
Can we please just stick to the topic? If ye want to discuss "littermate syndrome", please open a thread on the topic. But given the polarising issue of use of shock collars, I'd appreciate if posters would just stick to the topic of how the OP is going to contain the dogs.
I don't want to have to post here again.
Thanks,
DBB

borderlinemeath · 24-08-2019 8:56am

In fairness littermate syndrome isn't something that comes up, even if you do a bit of research into buying a pup. (Even though it should) Anyone I've met has the same story, they wanted one and of course when they can't decide the "breeder" suggests taking 2 for company.
But it will effect training and behaviour, anyone that does say they use ecollars/fences with a degree of success says that it's once they're trained correctly to it. With a pair of codependent dogs who are far less likely to respond to training and are far more susceptible to other behavioural issues, it's a recipe for disaster.

tk123 · 24-08-2019 11:45am

Pen/fence them in. I have 2 retrievers and they can be quite sensitive in certain situations - mine would be absolutely devastated if they got a shock from a collar and one would probably never let me touch his neck again or run away and hide if he saw anything resembling a collar in my hand! I know that may sound a bit dramatic but it’s the truth in our case. They’ll bolt as well if they’re afraid so you could end up with yours escaping, getting a fright from the collar and just running and running.

Chefjones · 26-08-2019 10:46pm

It depends on you and the nature of the animal. A physical fence gives you the best peace of mind I think. We have a young golden retriever and we have a fenced boundary which needs to be finished with a gate AND we use the pet safe shock collar which works very well with her. We spent a long long long time training her on respecting the boundaries though and as most of the perimeter of our boundary is fenced - it’s another element that dissuades her from straying. I won’t feel 100% happy the dog is safe until the gate is in place! We also have a 6m by 3m chain link dog pen which we put her in at night and have been doing ever since she was a pup which is great. We occasionally use it in the day to pop her into for an hour or two if there are heavy machinery coming and going in the yard.

I find that the shock collar works well with our retriever but that said she is very placid and she is truly exceptionally obedient( something people always remark upon that). I have had other dogs over the years who do break out from the shock collar system or who are clever enough to figure when the power is down or the battery is flat! We had two labradors for years who used to chew the collars of off one another’s necks and break out!!! My friend has a male golden retriever on a shock collar but he’s unstoppable when he smells a female in season and he goes right through!

I definitely wouldn’t use the shock collar on young animal though. The manuals in the shock collar containment systems say you can commence usage at 4 months old. I think this is too early for a young pup to receive a shock from one of those collars. You could definitely start to train them on respecting the boundaries with the collar set to training mode at a younger age though.

bubbles o hara · 28-08-2019 11:50pm

Chefjones wrote: »

It depends on you and the nature of the animal. A physical fence gives you the best peace of mind I think. We have a young golden retriever and we have a fenced boundary which needs to be finished with a gate AND we use the pet safe shock collar which works very well with her. We spent a long long long time training her on respecting the boundaries though and as most of the perimeter of our boundary is fenced - it’s another element that dissuades her from straying. I won’t feel 100% happy the dog is safe until the gate is in place! We also have a 6m by 3m chain link dog pen which we put her in at night and have been doing ever since she was a pup which is great. We occasionally use it in the day to pop her into for an hour or two if there are heavy machinery coming and going in the yard.

I find that the shock collar works well with our retriever but that said she is very placid and she is truly exceptionally obedient( something people always remark upon that). I have had other dogs over the years who do break out from the shock collar system or who are clever enough to figure when the power is down or the battery is flat! We had two labradors for years who used to chew the collars of off one another’s necks and break out!!! My friend has a male golden retriever on a shock collar but he’s unstoppable when he smells a female in season and he goes right through!

I definitely wouldn’t use the shock collar on young animal though. The manuals in the shock collar containment systems say you can commence usage at 4 months old. I think this is too early for a young pup to receive a shock from one of those collars. You could definitely start to train them on respecting the boundaries with the collar set to training mode at a younger age though.

I think we'd all be placid and exceptionally obedient if we got a shock every time we disobeyed the rules. :mad:

listermint · 28-08-2019 11:59pm

bubbles o hara wrote: »

I think we'd all be placid and exceptionally obedient if we got a shock every time we disobeyed the rules. :mad:

I think you'll find we do. It's usually a fine or prison....

ShaShaBear · 05-09-2019 4:50pm

Long story short, welfare and behavioural comments aside.

There is nothing as effective as a properly-constructed, tall and solid fence. If they can't dig under it, jump over it or run through it, then you have yourself two (or three, or twenty, or 467) safe dogs.

Graces7 · 06-09-2019 4:09pm

ShaShaBear wrote: »

Long story short, welfare and behavioural comments aside.

There is nothing as effective as a properly-constructed, tall and solid fence. If they can't dig under it, jump over it or run through it, then you have yourself two (or three, or twenty, or 467) safe dogs.

amen to this.

puppieperson1 · 15-09-2019 12:31pm

the collar is very bad for dogs makes them nervous and backward they are cruel and used by lazy people. fence your field with chain link fence and enjoy watching your dogs running free and happy.

18-09-2019 5:29pm

I’ve seen plenty of dogs running happy with radio fences too. Once they understand to keep away from the boundary they are not going to get hurt. They are a great invention really when you think about it.

You couldn’t manage stock on a farm without electric fences, they are used on every farm in the country yet when people want to use something similar on a different animal some people lose the plot.

ShaShaBear · 18-09-2019 6:53pm

Aliya Massive Cab wrote: »

I’ve seen plenty of dogs running happy with radio fences too. Once they understand to keep away from the boundary they are not going to get hurt. They are a great invention really when you think about it.

You couldn’t manage stock on a farm without electric fences, they are used on every farm in the country yet when people want to use something similar on a different animal some people lose the plot.

Probably because dogs would be significantly more intelligent than the average farm stock and are predators by nature - therefore driven to overcome pain for a reward, such as a squirrel, a bitch in heat or that absolutely irritating man in shorts that has the audacity to cycle past the front gate every morning. The big problem is that once a dog overcomes the pain to get what they want, three possible outcomes present themselves:
1. They refuse to come back in case they get another shock
2. They become one with the road
3. They are taken by someone, and not always with the best of intentions

The main issues with electric fences is not about the dogs it does contain, but the dogs it does not.

18-09-2019 8:00pm

ShaShaBear wrote: »

Probably because dogs would be significantly more intelligent than the average farm stock and are predators by nature - therefore driven to overcome pain for a reward, such as a squirrel, a bitch in heat or that absolutely irritating man in shorts that has the audacity to cycle past the front gate every morning. The big problem is that once a dog overcomes the pain to get what they want, three possible outcomes present themselves:
1. They refuse to come back in case they get another shock
2. They become one with the road
3. They are taken by someone, and not always with the best of intentions

The main issues with electric fences is not about the dogs it does contain, but the dogs it does not.

There are different types of collar, the fence type though I’ve seen in work great people here are claiming it can be defeated. My neighbor for example had one that didnt have a fence it was proximity to the base so there was no getting past it go too far the dog gets a rap of the collar and has to come back to stop it. Worked a charm I never saw his collie ever go through it even with his sheep within yards but in a shock zone and boy did that dog love rounding up the sheep when he was being worked and without the collar he was immediately out where he shouldn’t be.

Locked in the shed or tied where the only other options so you can be sure the dog preferred his large area to run around and he was well smart enough not to go near getting a shock he was often trotting along beside me and then suddenly he would stop and head back as he know he was getting close to the edge of his area.

He is pretty much the only farm dog (or any dog really) in the area that isn’t allowed to roam fully free.

sillysmiles · 19-09-2019 1:45pm

I know of someone who used them in the past (probably 10-15 yrs ago) and had two dogs. The dogs worked out that one would chew the collar off the other one and vice versa to be able to get out shock free.
They are not fail safe and that's really what you should be aiming for.

tk123 · 19-09-2019 3:32pm

A class I did a few years ago had a dog who had to be carried through doorways and gates after being shocked by a collar

DBB · 19-09-2019 3:37pm

tk123 wrote: »

A class I did a few years ago had a dog who had to be carried through doorways and gates after being shocked by a collar

I met a Great Dane who had to be carried out of the house to a specific spot in the garden to pee. Then carried back in again. A Great Dane. Because his interpretation of being shocked in the throat was very different to what their advocates' is, which is what really matters.
Far too much evidence and expert opinion against them, which is why they're banned across the water. The Veterinary Council of Ireland, the Association of Pet Dog Trainers Ireland, the ISPCA, Dogs Trust, and the IKC have all called for a ban on them in ireland.

Truckermal · 19-09-2019 3:48pm

OP here I put a fence around the perimeter so they almost 2 acres of grass to run around on.

Graces7 · 21-09-2019 10:13pm

Truckermal wrote: »

OP here I put a fence around the perimeter so they almost 2 acres of grass to run around on.

Need a giant thumbs up emoticon! Great!

Radio fence or Run for Dog's.

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