Radio Fences > Radio Fence Guide > The Basics
Radio Fences: The Basics
We offer a good selection of radio fences, the most popular dog fences sold today. They are properly called radio fences instead of electric fences because they use radio controllers to activate a collar that shocks or sprays the target dog. So although they use electricity (from batteries in the dog’s collar) they are not really electric fences.
Radio fences come in two flavors, those with wires and those without. Those with wires require installation of the wire (secured to the ground with staples or buried a few inches underground). A radio signal sent out via the wire then tells the special collar on the approaching dog to make a warning sound or (if Rover gets too close) to administer a harmless shock.
Radio fences without wires work in reverse. They transmit a radio signal telling the collar not to shock the dog. If the animal then goes beyond a “safe circle” established by the transmitter, the collar will warn the dog and (where the safe zone ends) will administer a harmless shock.
Besides these two kinds of radio fences (in-ground wire products 20-01, 20-02, and 20-03 and wireless product 20-16) we also offer indoor radio transmitters and receiving collars that establish small off-limits zones inside the home (products 20-12, 20-12A, and 20-12B), a training collar that administers a warning tone or correction upon command from a hand-held radio transmitter (product 20-17), and "no bark" collars that discourage barking by shocking or spraying their canine wearers in response to excessive barking (products 20-18 and 20-19).
Product List
- Radio Fence (wired fences 20-01 thru 20-03) and accessories (extra collars 20-01A thru 20-03A; extra wire and flags, 20-06; and other accessories, 20-08 thru 20-11)
- Wireless Radio Fence (20-16) and accessories (extra collar 20-16A, extra transmitter 20-16B, and other accessories 20-16C and 20-16D)
- Indoor Radio Fence (20-12) plus additional transmitters (20-12A) and receiving collars (20-12B)
- Training Collar (20-17)
- No Bark Collars (20-18 and 20-19) with lemon spray refill (20-19A)
Strengths and Weaknesses of Radio Fences
The great advantage of all radio fences is invisibility. Absolutely nothing appears above ground except the transmitter, some training flags to guide the dog, and the dog’s collar. Also, despite high fees sometimes charged by installers, it takes relatively little effort to staple the control wire to the ground or even to bury it a few inches underground. And, in the case of “no wire” fences there is no wire, so no labor is needed to do anything except place the training flags, activate the collar, and turn on the transmitter. One is left with the worry that if a no-wire transmitter stops transmitting or the dog goes beyond the safe zone and doesn’t know how to get back to safety, it could get a very prolonged shock. However, the collars that go with these systems are designed to stop their harmless shocking action after a brief time, so this is a minor problem.
Turning to disadvantages, the main drawback of all but indoor radio fences is that one needs to train the dog to the fence. Such training is not always easy or successful. Also, a trained dog may eventually get used to the short shock received crossing over the wire and may figure that freedom, however fleeting, is worth the price. Beyond that, the wire (in fences that have a ground wire) is vulnerable to spades, trowels, or anything else digging in the ground near the fence line. And finally, it may be hard for an ordinary run-of-the-mill dog owner without special equipment to tell whether the fence wire has broken, the transmitter has failed, the collar is not working, the collar batteries are dead, or the dog has decided to ignore the signal. In sum, trouble-shooting can become an issue.
All this raises the attractions of the no-wire radio fence, because then there are no problems with the wire. Of course, one must settle for a radio “safe area” boundary with a circular footprint. This footprint may not perfectly suit one’s fencing needs. However, the footprint can be made larger or smaller by adjusting the transmitter, and can even be changed into the shape of two or more intersecting circles by adding one or more transmitters.
In sum, despite minor pluses and minuses along the way, it appears that the biggest problem facing new radio dog fence owners is the need to train the dog. This problem can be reduced by a fence that comes with a separate training transmitter (like products 20-02 and 20-03), that can also assist in all sorts of other training tasks. It is also true that someone with lots of dog training experience will find this need for a little fence training no big thing. In such cases the radio fence (whether wired or unwired, with a training system or without) is apt to prove a major asset. But in many other cases, where one is not prepared or inclined to do the necessary training, the foray into radio fencing can become a real downer. In such cases there is much to be said for setting up an obstacle that is less psychological and more physical, the kind of obstacle provided by a simple barrier fence.