<p>Have to resort to some method of confiningmy 2 large dogs ( large farm area). Anyone tried putting in invisible fencing themselves? Neighbors moved in with chickens :(</p>
<p>We did it years ago and it went pretty well. I would rent something to dig a trench as that would make it easier. We used a shovel. One bit of advise is to use a heavier gauge of wire than what comes with the kits. It held up better in the ground. I think we used a 14 gauge instead of a 16 gauge. We did it ourselves because we wanted to do our whole two acres. Years later, we needed to get a new control panel and I bought it from a company; the technician said they could use our old fence because we had used the heavier gauge. So as I sit here thinking, I think the wire in the ground is at least ten years old. We have had to splice it a couple of times as I have cut through the wire planting trees. :)</p>
<p>Rent the trencher from Home Depot that digs the trench, buries and covers the wire . I did our. 3 acre property 8 years ago. You can buy your wire transmitter and collar online at petsafe dot net . I saved a TON of money over invisible fence</p>
<p>H did ours. It wasn’t that difficult. Our yard is fenced but the dogs still got out. They did have to cut the driveway but aside from that we have ours along the fence line or just on the ground. We didn’t trench it. That way if there is a break in the line it is easy to fix.</p>
<p>Just throwing it out there that if the chickens are “too attractive” the invisible fence may be ineffective. There are dogs that will take the zap to get to what they want – but they don’t usually want to get home quite as badly.</p>
<p>Are the chickens contained in any way on your neighbor’s property? If not, couldn’t they wander across your invisible fence onto your property?</p>
<p>The chickens have a sturdy coop/house, but for some reason the people keep leaving them out loose! I have never seen them wander near to our property though. There is one other house/property in between us (contiguous yards, no fences) and for years and years THOSE neighbors always gave biscuits to our dogs when the dogs “visited” them! So the dogs kind of considered that property part of ours. Thanks for suggestions. BTW, we do have coyotes around too, and foxes, so I don’t know why they don’t keep them in the coop!</p>
<p>" BTW, we do have coyotes around too, and foxes …"
Don’t bother with installing the fence, as soon there will be no more chickens to worry about. lol</p>
<p>Another option that is working well for us is a perimeter collar. It would have been way to expensive to "invisible fence) our large property. So we use a Havahart electronic collar that allows a pre-set range of several hundred feet in all directions from our home. When our dog steps out of range, the collar delivers an uncomfortable “tickle” (not a painful shock) that keeps him within range. The sensor that stays plugged in inside our home notifies us if he does step out of range (which is rare). You just need to make sure the batteries in the collar are charged.</p>
<p>Why doesn’t everyone use that, Pootie?</p>
<p>Awesome, Pootie! Anyone else use one of these? An alarm to alert us when they left would be useful! (We never leave them out when we’re not there, they are completely house dogs).</p>
<p>The reason everyone doesn’t use it is that everyone’s yard is different. We wanted our dog to be able to use all of our property. The device Pootie uses is great for smaller areas.</p>
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<p>Chickens like to range about. Would you be happy living your whole live in a pen?</p>
<p>I had free range chickens for at least 6 years before a pair of foxes moved in to the woods behind us. Then I had to put up a pen, and the chickens were not happy. But even the foxes will usually go after the chickens only when they are feeding kits around June. Although there is a pack of coyotes living in our area–their yipping and howling woke me up last week–I never lost a chicken to a coyote. If the chickens are in a secure coop at night, they tend to be comparatively safe, since most predators are nocturnal.</p>
<p>A Siberian Husky in the area wiped out the chickens of about 3 neighbors one year, including people over a quarter mile away. His family left him outside on an electric fence</p>
<p>My dogs are never out in the yard without me. Sounds like you leave yours out unattended when you are at home? Whether the chickens will be so attractive that they go through the fence might depend on the breed. Northern breeds and hounds are reportedly the worst. </p>
<p>Yes, Consolation, we are on a 40 acre farm, so I am used to letting them put in the morning while I do my horse chores. Since the chicken incident I have been leash walking them in the morning, and husband does it in the afternoon, or watches them outside. But now with spring, there is no way I can do my massive vegetable garden work AND watch them like a hawk. I have tie-outs, but they do like to play and wrestle (they are st Bernards). I was hoping the invisible might help .</p>
<p>Yes, you would think that on 40 acres you could let your dogs out with you without watching them every moment! :)</p>
<p>The fence might work for you, you never know. Or the collar. </p>
<p>You say there was a “chicken incident.” What actually happened? Lots of dogs will chase chickens for the fun of it, but not actually try to do anything to them. My chickens had such run-ins with neighbor dogs a couple of times, and no one was hurt. Although unfortunately the chickens are prone to having a heart attack when the dog picks them up! (BT/DT with one of my own goldens. The other one obeyed me and left them alone.)</p>
<p>My younger dog chased them and got one and killed it. He chases flying birds as well. Though we have a pet macaw of whom he is scared to death. Having a consult with an invisible fence company this week. These dogs get plenty of exercise, weekends we take them hiking and weekdays my husband runs them out in the field. They both go swimming, and they play EVERY day with 2 other dogs for 20 minutes or so. It is very frustrating! The fence may not work either, though neither one is particular stubborn just playful.</p>
<p>An issue all too familiar to me. We have had a wire fence for more than 10 years. About every 2 years, it stops working and we have to follow it to find the disconnected spot. Annoying, but better than dogs running loose. I wish we could have wireless fence.</p>
<p>The wireless fences create a “fenced” area that is circular, with a radius extending from the control box. If all things align, it should work great. But our two acre house lot is somewhat shallow with long road frontage. I would have to put the box in the middle of a bathroom to give the dogs much roaming space. Not workable. Also, in order to keep the dogs out of the road, they would not have access to much of our yard. We installed our own wire, mostly above the ground, in the wooded areas at the edges of our yard. Where it crosses the driveway, a circular saw cut a groove for the wire later filled in with black caulking. </p>
<p>Our older dog, a thirteen year old Labradoodle, stays in the yard, but would wander if he got bored. On walks, we can let him off leash. The fence is perfect for him. Our eight year old rescue Doodle is more feral. He used to blast through the fence. He is very gentle inside our yard, but cannot leave for a walk unless leashed. He has killed a neighbor’s chicken. Outside of our yard, he will not come when called. </p>
<p>At our wits end, we tried an intervention. We tied Feral Doodle to a stake near the electric fence. The stake, while not cemented to the ground, did slow him down significantly. Each time he tried to cross the fence, he would enter the zone of electric warning beeps which extends several feet on either side of the wire fence. And he would get a shock if he went too close, but he could not blast through due to the tether. The shock caused a yelp. He now pays attention to the beeps. We hated to shock him, but a shock is minor compared to a car collision. Or life in a shelter. This dog was previously in a Tennessee kill shelter before we found him. Sadly, he will never leave our yard off leash. Happily, he walks well on the leash and has nearly two acres to roam freely and play with his Doodle brother.</p>
<p>One of our dogs would dash across the invisible fence if something really interesting caught his attention. The problem was that he didn’t want to experience the zap again, so he would hang out on the other side of the fence…</p>
<p>I am having trouble finding “Pootie” online. Do I have the spelling correct</p>
<p>Havahart electronic collar- I did the same thing- Pootie was the user not the item</p>
<p>Oops!!! My bad… Trying to read and watch TV at same time. </p>