Electric Dog Fences > Products > Ground Rods
About Ground Rods:
Ground rods are an essential part of electric fences. In order to shock an animal, the output emerging from the electric fence charger needs to do several things. If you’re using a ground rod, the current needs to get out to the fence and pass through the target animal. From there it must pass into the ground, through moisture in the ground, over to your ground rod, up the rod, and along a wire connecting the rod to the charger’s negative (ground) terminal—thereby completing the circuit.
For most dog fences operating in areas with reasonably moist ground, our little 2-foot galvanized steel ground rod (product 06-01C) will suffice. For very long fences, where parts of the fence are over 300 feet from the ground rod, or where the soil may be a little dry, a 6-foot ground rod should be used. Where the top of the soil is sometimes very dry or where the dog will be off the ground when it touches a charged wire, a ground rod may still be used, but the fence should employ alternately charged and grounded wires (or a grounded run of chicken wire) to ensure that the dog gets a shock. For a fuller explanation see How an Electric Fence Works and Electrifying Wooden Board Fences.
Ground Rods and Accessories
The ground rods listed below are varied enough to cope with a wide range of circumstances. The 2-foot galvanized steel rod (product 06-01C) is for short fences (where the soil along the fence line is generally moist and where no part of the fence is over 300 feet away from the ground rod). The copper coating on product 06-04 adds to the rod’s effectiveness by improving its electrical connection to water molecules in the surrounding soil. Ground rods 06-02 and 06-04 are designed for use with a ground rod clamp such as product 06-03. Ground rod 06-01C comes with its own attachment nuts and needs no clamp.