Electric Dog Fences > Electric Fence Guide > Modifying Existing Fences
Electrifying a Barrier Fence
You can also electrify your existing fence. Get a low-key solar-powered or battery-powered charger that won’t hurt anything (see products 01-23, 01-26A, and 01-12A) or to keep large dogs or coyotes out get a more powerful charger like 01-15, being sure in this latter case to keep the electrified wires out of reach of kittens and small puppies.
You can also use an AC-powered charger (products 01-24A, B, and C or 01-24). Simply plug the charger into a nearby AC outlet and run the charger’s output over to the fence with a special undergate and hookup wire (products 02-28 and 02-29) made for this purpose (ordinary electric cords made to carry house current won’t work).
If you have a vinyl or split-rail fence, attach an insulator like product 07-54 to each post with nails or wood screws and hang your wire (see products 02-04, 02-06, 02-75, 02-76, and 02-80) on the insulators. Go around the outside of corner posts with tubular insulators (product 07-89), connect different segments of wire or hookup wire electrically with split-bolt clamps (product 08-33), and go under gates with undergate and hookup wire (product 02-28 or 02-29).
There is no need for the fence or any run of wire to go full circle by coming back and attaching to itself. However, make sure that the wires are close enough to each other (typically 6 inches apart) so that any incoming dog will have to touch one or two of them.
If the ground is generally moist and the dog will have at least one paw on the ground when it touches a wire, make all the runs of wire continuous (connected together) or join the electrified wires together with short lengths of hookup wire (product 02-28 or 02-29) and split-bolt clamps (product 08-33). Make sure the wires are not touching anything except insulators. (Such contact will not harm anything, but it will neutralize the system while the wire is in contact with anything like weeds or brush that can conduct the charge to the ground.) Connect the wires to the charger’s positive terminal, if necessary using undergate and hookup wire and a split-bolt clamp. Then get a 2-foot ground rod (product 06-01C), pound it into the ground until only an inch or two is showing, and run a wire (it need not be insulated) from the ground rod to the ground terminal on the charger. Make sure that NONE of the wires to be electrified are connected to the ground rod (see How an Electric Fence Works).
If the ground is often dry or the dog will be off the ground when it encounters some of the wires, hook EVERY OTHER wire together with split-bolt clamps and hookup wire, starting with the bottom wire, and connect these wires to the charger’s positive terminal as described above. Then connect all the remaining runs of wire together (also with split-bolt clamps and hookup wire) and connect all of these wires to the GROUND terminal on the charger. To make the fence work better when the ground is moist, get a 2-foot ground rod (product 06-01C), pound it in, and connect it to the charger’s ground terminal as described above. For good measure consider getting a fence tester (an ordinary voltmeter won’t work) to see how your fence is working (products 04-01 and 04-02), and think about putting up warning signs (your fence will not hurt anything, but you don’t want to surprise people—see product 10-01).
Hanging an Electric Fence on a Chain Link Fence: Chain link fences are easy to electrify. Use extender insulators (products 07-104 or 07-104A) to string a single run of wire (products 02-04, 02-06, 02-75, 02-76, or 02-80) about five inches out from the fence toward the incoming dog. As described above, use tubular insulators to go around corners, and employ undergate and hookup wire to connect an AC-powered charger to the charged wire and to go under gates. MAKE SURE that no part of the bare wire touches the chain link fence. That will not do any harm, but it will keep your fence from shocking anything until the contact is ended.
If digging is a problem, run the wire low enough so that the dog will touch it if it tries to dig under the fence. Use a ground rod (product 06-01C) as described above, and also connect the chain link fence itself to the charger’s ground terminal using undergate and hookup wire.
If climbing is the problem, you need no ground rod. Simply place the insulators and charged wires so that the dog will contact the charged wire as it tries to climb; and tie the chain link fence to the charger’s ground terminal electrically using any available metal wire. The dog will then get a shock when it touches both the charged wire and the fence (see How an Electric Fence Works).
Electrifying Wooden Board Fences: If you have a wooden board fence that dogs are digging under or climbing over, take some small-mesh chicken wire a foot wide and as long as the fence. If digging is the problem, secure this to the ground next to the fence (on the dog’s side) with ground stakes (product 18-01); or if climbing is the problem, nail it up toward the top of the fence.
Connect each section of chicken wire electrically to its neighboring sections by folding the cut ends together and around themselves, and connect the section nearest the charger to the charger’s GROUND terminal with any available metal wire and split bolt clamps (product 08-33). Then hang the electric wire to be charged (product 02-76) about 5 inches out from the fence on extender insulators (product 07-11 or 07-12), using either these or tubular insulators (product 07-89) to get around corners. Arrange things so that the dog will touch the chicken wire and charged wire simultaneously when it tries to dig under or climb the fence. Now connect the wire to be charged with the charger’s positive terminal, if need be using a split bolt clamp (product 08-33) and undergate and hookup wire (product 02-28). No ground rod is used with this system.
Product List for All Electric Fence Modifications
- Electric fence chargers (solar-powered products 01-12A and 01-15, battery-powered products 01-23 and 01-26A, or AC-powered products 01-24 and 01-24A, B, and C)
- Electric fence wire (products 02-04, 02-06, 02-75, 02-76, and 02-80)
- Electrical connector (product -08-33)
- Ground rod (product 06-01C)
- Insulators (products 07-11, 07-12, 07-54, 07-89, 07-104, and 07-104A)
- Split-bolt clamps (product 08-33)
- Testers (products 04-01, 04-02, and 04-03)
- Undergate and hookup wire (products 02-28 and 02-29)
- Warning signs (product 10-01)