undergound fencing opinions please

My friend uses the underground fence to contain her GSD
she says it works great any opinions?

Sorry, never heard of this Strange, because I always thought gsd's knew their own boundaries? Many a time in the past our dogs have unintentionally been left out the back with the gates wide open, once in the pouring rain for an hour, but none of them ever left! Maybe it's too good around here, they knew where their bread was buttered hey! I'll ask my o/h for you and see if he knows anything about it coz he watches all the American diy programmes on Sky so he might have come across it on those!

Do you mean the buried underground electric fence with the dog wearing a transponder onits collar, so as it approaches the "fence" a shock is delivered. that the only type I know.

Do you mean the electric fencing which works via a collar? If so, my opinion is... BUILD A FENCE!

I wish the bloomin things were banned. They are simply NOT needed. I haven't had one person yet give me a valid reason why they need one apart from laziness on their part.

Debs

BTW - if it's not the electric type then I apologise for the rant

I had an online friend from the US a long time go who tragically had one of the things. Both her dogs got spooked one day, ran through, got shocked, then would`nt come back through because they would have got another shock of course. One was killed on the road as a result, the other was never found

I have heard of a lot of problems also of collar batteries failing so the dog does`nt get a warning beep, burns from faults, and fences failing - only takes a powercut and there will be dead dogs.
Where these awful fences are common in the US because of fencing laws, [ apparently many areas don`t allow proper fencing to be put up ], many dogs are known to run through regardless if they see prey, [ be it squirrel, cat, whatever ], because they just forget, then when in more calm mode afterward wont come back through because they remember what will happen, dogs being injured by predators because of course the fences don`t keep them out, one case of a dog becoming severely child aggressive - his garden was where children passed after coming out of school and the apparently once very friendly dog kept getting zapped when trying to see the kids for a fuss, equated the zaps, [ from going to the boundary ], to the kids as being the cause of the pain and hey presto, child aggressive dog
It also makes dog theft as easy as it gets...

If in any area where proper fencing is`nt allowed for some reason, a dog should not be outside unattended full stop. Relying on a zap fence, apart from being a cruel painful method to use, is nowhere near reliable enough to keep a dog safe from harm.

a schoolfriend's mum installed one (an underground electric fence) when they built a flash house as they didn't want to spoil anyones view of their new build.. they had two GSDs, and one died as a result of the fence.. not sure how, we were only young at the time.. horrific..

not sure if this is the kind of fence you mean though..

I wouldn't use one of these. As Patch has also pointed out; dogs will run out when they are excited and want to chase, then won't return back to their garden after the adrenalin has gone cos they fear the shock.

The other risks involved are too much imo, better build a fence or keep the dog on a lead when in the garden than risk harm.

Not to mention I disagree with shocks as part of dog training or containment.

yep I was talking about that kind of fence,and I asked because A I didnt know you dont have them over there and thought maybe you guys would know something and B the main reason I asked is I put the collar on my arm and crossed the line,the shock wasnt enough to make me jump
it just kind of tingled and tickled,so how would it be enough to stop them leaving?
her GSDs like to cross the road and visit the neighbours,yet since the fence they havent left ?

OOhh don't like the sound of them - mmm bet you can change the amount of shock they get (Sorry but BIG NO NO from me)

I don't care how much they are I wouldn't have one even tho I have spent over £1400 on fencing in the last year to make sure my dogs are safe (I have deer fenced a paddock and recently put 6 ft ranch fence up in the inner garden too - blimey working that lot out shocked me how much I had spent just on fence cos of the dogs, but I wouldn't change it - no wonder I can't afford a new kitchen yet )

The only ones i have heard are the electric shock one and i think they are terrible. Like somone else said, would eb far better to build a proper fence and have a good relationship with your dog, ensuring it has sufficient exercise and mental stimulation so that it does not feel the need to try to escape. I mean "one's" dog - not aiming that at you