Electric Dog Fences > Electric Fence Guide > Perimeter and Garden fences
Perimeter Fences
If you opt for a purely electric fence, you can get one of our robust long-lasting kits (see products 21-01 and 21-02) that provides all the necessary ingredients to build a movable 4-wire electric fence up to 3 feet tall and 150 feet around.
If you want to set up a larger electric fence or one tailored to your specific needs, this can be done at surprisingly low cost. If your house is within 50 feet of your fence use an AC-powered charger and 50 feet of undergate and hookup wire (any of products 01-24 thru 01-24C and product 02-28). Otherwise use a battery-powered or solar-powered charger (products 01-23, 01-26A, and 01-27 or 01-12A and 01-15). Set in green fiberglass posts (product 09-04GR or 09-05GR), U-posts (products 09-30, 09-31, or 09-32), T-posts (products 09-20 thru 09-23 and 09-20A thru 09-23A), or wood posts obtained locally.
Space your posts 10 to 20 feet apart (closer posts yield a tighter, stronger fence), and use insulators (product 07-06E for fiberglass posts, 07-104 or 07-104A for U-posts and chain link fence, 07-25 for T-posts, or 07-54 for wood posts) to string electrified wires. Space the wires 6 inches apart for average size dogs, starting 6 inches above the ground and extending up to a height that approaching dogs or coyotes are unlikely to leap over.
If the ground around the fence line is usually moist, electrify all the wires, install a 2-foot ground rod (product 06-01C), and connect the ground rod to the charger’s negative terminal. If the ground is often dry, electrify every other wire and connect the rest of the wires (those that are not charged) to the charger’s ground terminal.
Product List
- Chargers (products 01-12A, 01-15, and 01-23 thru 01-27)
- Conductors (products 02-04, 02-06, 02-10. 02-11, 02-12A, 02-68 02-75, 02-76, and 02-80
- Ground rods (products 06-01C, 06-02, 06-03, and 06-04)
- Hookup wire (products 02-28, 02-29, and 02-85)
- Insulators (products 07-06E, 07-09 thru 07-13A, 07-54, 07-89, 07-104, and 07-104A)
- Kits (products 21-01 and 21-02)
- Posts (products 09-03 thru 09-05A, 09-19 thru 09-23A, or 09-30 thru 09-32)
- Testers (products 04-01, 04-02, and 04-05)
- Warning signs (product 10-01)
Garden Fences
You can proof your vegetable garden against small to medium-sized dogs—as well as most large dogs, cats, rabbits, woodchucks (ground hogs), raccoons, and opossums—with Mr. McGregor’s Fence®, a smart combination of a low (18-inch) green barrier fence that makes interlopers stop briefly to explore, and a harmless but effective electrified wire that shocks them and sends them home (see Mr. McGregor’s Fence). This product is offered on an affiliated website.