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Electric Fences

NEW FENCES TO KEEP DOGS IN: ELECTRIC FENCES

Electric Fences: The Basics

Electric fence features: It’s easy to build an electric fence that won’t hurt a sparrow but will reliably contain your dog. There are, however, a few points to consider. First, you need to be aware of your dog’s sensitivity. A timid dog may be so alarmed by even a mild zap that it will refuse to go back into the enclosure, while a large and aggressive dog may pay no attention to this same mild shock, and may therefore need either a charger that administers a stronger shock or an electric fence that also poses something of a physical barrier. Indeed, in extreme cases it may be worth building a barrier fence and then reinforcing it with one or more charged wires to ensure your dog will not get out (see electrifying a barrier fence)

Another option is to set up an electrified mesh fence made of rope-like material in which thin metal charged wires are woven into the horizontal lines (see products 21-03A and 21-03B). This fence, which comes with its own small posts, is more visible than one consisting of wires alone, is also harder to get through, and is commonly used to contain goats and other small livestock as well as dogs.

All of the fences described above typically have electrified wires running close to the ground, and so grass and weeds pose a problem. If these wires contact encroaching vegetation, they will give the charge an alternate route to the ground, reducing the charge and perhaps making it impossible to shock anything. Herbicides like Roundup alone are not the best solution, because they won’t get all the weeds. A better answer is to get some of the black polyethylene film that farmers use to keep down weeds (NOT “landscape cloth”, which is expensive and deteriorates fast). Lay down a strip of this black poly 2 or 3 feet wide before you install your fence, and cover it with an inch or two of wood chips or pine bark mulch to improve appearances and keep the sun‘s UV radiation from destroying the film. That will keep 99 per cent of the weeds down for years, relieving you of any need to do more than inspect the fence once a week or so and remove occasional green offenders. (Inexpensive black polyfilm can be obtained at one of our affiliated websites, mrmcgregorfence.com, where it is listed as product 12-02 under “Electric Fence Parts”).

Kits: In case you would like to get a complete electric fence instead of assembling your own parts, we offer two versatile, long-lasting, and portable kits well-suited to most dogs (see products 21-01 and 21-02).

Fence-building: Those who want fences tailored to specific needs will be pleased to learn that electric fences are easy to plan and build. Basically, they consist of a charger, posts (or an existing fence), insulators, a conductor (wire or polywire), a ground rod, and a few connectors.

The simplest electric fences are just a mildly charged wire or two (like product 02-04) running on short posts (like product 09-03) spaced 10 to 20 feet apart and equipped with clip-on insulators (like product 07-06E). The wires can be raised or lowered on the 2 feet of post sticking out of the ground to suit the size of your dog; or you can use longer posts (like product 09-04, 09-04AGR, 09-05, or 09- 05BGR) to get 3 or 4 feet of above-ground post to work with, and you can put more wires on the posts to reduce the spacing between the wires. If you want the fence to be mobile (capable of being moved from place to place) use polywire (product 02-10 or 02-68) instead of metal wire—because then the wire, unlike metal wire, can be reeled up and re-used.

If the soil along the fence line is generally moist, connect all the fence wires to the positive terminal on your charger and use a little 2-foot ground rod (product 06-01C). Insert the rod into the ground near the fence line, and connect it by a wire to the charger’s ground terminal. (DO NOT connect the ground rod to the fence wire, and do not connect the ground rod wire to the charger’s positive terminal.) Using this arrangement, Rover will get a shock when he touches any charged wire.

If the soil along the fence line is generally dry, connect EVERY OTHER wire to the charger’s positive terminal and connect the remaining wire or wires to the charger’s ground terminal. Now Rover will get a shock when he touches a charged wire and a grounded wire at the same time. If you like, you can supplement this arrangement with a ground rod connected to the charger’s ground terminal as described above. (For more information see How an Electric Fence Works

If alternate wires are charged and grounded, it is important to keep these wires from contacting one another, because that will prevent Rover from being shocked. On long fences with metal or wooden corner posts and 14-gauge steel wire you can tighten and straighten the wire with a daisy wheel and handle tool (products 08-14 and 08-15). Or if you are using polywire then product 08-13 will do the tightening job. As a side-note, you should be aware that whenever you need to form a good firm electrical connection between two electric fence wires or between two polywires you can do this with two small and inexpensive products, 08-12B and 08-33.

You don’t really need a gate if the fence is low. Nor do you need a gate if you are using fiberglass posts, because you can simply push the insulators lower on the posts (after disconnecting the charger) until you can easily enter the enclosure . If you want a gate and are using metal or wooden gate posts, go to our website devoted to electric horse fence (www.electric-horse-fence.com), visit the pages that sell T-post or wood post insulators and gate supplies, and purchase the insulators, gate handles, and rings needed to create your gate.

Fiberglass, metal and wooden posts: Fiberglass posts are flexible, and those used at corners are prone to bend. You can fix this by simply setting the corner posts in at an angle to counter the bend, or you can use wooden or metal corner posts like products 09-21 or 09-20 to eliminate this problem.

If you want a really robust fence, one with some physical strength to it, make all your posts wooden or metal and combine them with good stout 14-gauge steel wire like product 02-80. Get insulators like 07-54 or 07-104 for wood or metal line posts, and use corner insulators (such as products 07-13, 07-13A, or 07-89) to negotiate corner posts made of wood or metal.

Chargers and accessories: Good chargers to use with these arrangement are the solar-powered 01-12A and the battery-powered 01-23. If you would like to use an AC-powered charger such as the 01-24A, B, or C or the more powerful 01-24 for larger (20+ pounds) and more determined dogs, make sure your nearest AC outlet is within 50 feet of the fence. Then place the charger at this outlet and use undergate and hookup wire like product 02-28 to reach the fence.

Useful accessories for electric dog fences include fence testers like products 04-01 thru 04-05 to ensure that your fence is working well, and warning signs (product 10-01) to tell people about your fence, so that those coming upon your harmless but potentially startling fence are not surprised.

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