I’m on my first sit w/ 3 dogs. The 5 yr old wears a shock collar because it is obsessed with squirrels. It’s my third day and this morning, it bolted past the electric fence to catch squirrels and it took all 4 of my family members to finally catch her and bring her back. Here’s my questions, once a dog gets past the electric fence in the yard, does the electric collar continue shocking until the dog returns back to the inside of the yard? She didn’t yelp in pain, she just kept running. I know the collar works because yesterday when I took her out to pee, a neighbor with her dog came near us and the HO’s dog went past the electric fence and it zapped her and she went back into the yard.
UPDATE: I still haven’t heard back from the HO yet but I think I figured out what happened. I tested the shock collar after I posted here. Once past the barrier, it shocks for about 8 seconds and then stops. If you go back into the yard and leave again, it reactivates for another 8 seconds then turns off again. This means that the temptation to catch the squirrel was so big that she either didnt think about it and bolted, or knew she was going to get shocked and bolted and dealt w/ the pain for 8 seconds. We’ve been taking the dogs for about 3 walks/runs a day which they may not be used to. So when we removed the shock collar for the walks, maybe she realized she can get to the sidewalk without getting shocked so maybe she “unlearned” the hurt she would feel. That’s the only thing I can think of. We are now only taking her to potty with the walking harness on. I was so frightened yesterday that she would get hit by a car.
Hello, @IHeartAnimals Well done for handling unexpected challenges on your first sit.
I have not used this particular type of invisible fence setup. However, I did a quick Google search and it seems that most fences beep as a warning when the pet is near and then the shock is when they cross the invisible barrier. There was no indication in my reading up that it would continue to shock the pet, however, some articles mention that some fences shock on reentry and some do not.
It might be best to contact the owner to check what their type of fence does. They might be able to tell you the brand so you can do some more research. They will also know if this is usual behaviour for their pet and be able to give you advice and tips to help for future situations like this.
As mentioned well done for handling this situation on your first sit and I hope the exciting escape was a one-off squirrel chase!
@IHeartAnimals Hopefully you will hear back from them soon! I am not sure where they are travelling/time zones etc, give them some time, but if you do not hear back from them, then do a follow-up.
It sounds like you are doing all the right things on your first sit and in this situation. Please feel free to DM me if needed
I’ve only done 1 sit where the dog had an electric collar. Ziggy only wore the collar when I let him out into the yard off lead so when we went for walks on lead he didn’t wear it. Even when he wasn’t wearing it he was reluctant to walk over the ‘fence’ line and I would carry him over it.
Hello!
If the collar is working properly (need to check batteries and intensity of correction),
Once the dog goes through the fence it will zap him ONLY ONCE.
First there is a warning, that gets higher as they get closer and finally it zaps them.
The problem is, they can´t get back because it will zap them coming back in.
Dog with a strong prey drive the invisible fence does not work, because under high adrenaline, they basically don´t hear or feel the zap. The recommendation is always to have a physical fence and a invisible fence for these dogs.
The intensity of the zap can also be adjusted, as well as the type of collar (there is the light version, the regular version and the stubborn dog version- in ascending of shock voltage dispensed).
This is the most popular brand. Check the brand, and if it is PetSafe, they have a lot of info online plus really nice people you can talk to. PetSafe
good luck!
@IHeartAnimals is it set on shock or just a buzz? Our yard had an invisible fence but her collar was set to beep and not shock. She learned the beep meant to stay away from the edge.
I asked my husband that question and he said it does not continue after they are through the barrier.
