Invisible Dog Fence

So my old lab passed away, which we're all crushed about.  We are planning on getting a new dog and I need to be able to keep him in our front/side yards.  Can't put up a traditional fence like I have in my back yard.

So what are people's experiences with invisible fences?  Will a large 90-100lb lab just laugh at it and run right over it?  Any brands I should stay away from or others that are clearly the ones to get?  Price range for the fence including installation?

Thanks!

I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your dog, it's always rough.

We have an Invisible Fence, we bought it used with two collars on FB marketplace for around $100. I bought the wire off of Amazon, an edger from Woody, and we ran the fence line ourselves. We paid to have the first two dogs trained, I think it was something like $400 for a few sessions. The last dog we just trained on our own. We get the replacement batteries (off-brand) through Amazon Subscribe and Save.
 

I'd get quotes from a few local places to get a better idea. I would guess that a new wired system + collars is going to run about $1k at the lower end. Some people also like the wireless systems over the wired, so that's another decision point. 

Yeah, it was brutal because he passed and we weren't at home.

What about the newer GPS based systems?  How do you train the dog not to go over the fence line?

In reply to docwyte :

You put little flags along the line for a few weeks and the dog learns that way and they usually won't forget. 
 

I've used the portable system before. It sends out a circular radio signal of 100, 200 or 300 feet. They work great if they have a relatively unimpeded signal, but they will not work if your next door neighbor has an in ground system. 
 

I installed my own in ground system. 

I have an 8 year old Aus. shepherd/hound mix.  It worked great for him until about age 3-4 when he decided "This doesn't really hurt, and I very much want to get that cat".  He will run through it without hesitation.  We tried re-training and increasing the power all the way, but no such luck.  I had a traditional fence built after that.

Mine was about $900 for everything installed with a training session (which is very easy).  The install looked super easy, but I don't know how the guy got the wire under the cement driveway.

Growing up we had one in several of the houses I lived in with lab mixes and it always worked great.

My wife and I decided we would use an invisible fence system to keep our new puppy from running off.  We bought the system, rented the trencher, and laid about 1500 feet of wire.  Hooked it all up.  Tested it.  All worked perfectly. 

We've  never used it.  Our Bailey is the easiest, most well-behaved dog ever, and we do not leave her unattended.

That said, I have confidence in the systems, but ultimately it's a training issue, and some dogs are going to be much harder than others.

There are definitely dogs that decide that if they're running fast enough, the momentary zap from the collar isn't enough of a deterrent.

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

I think that our system continues to remind them until they return to the yard. 

I won't leave him in the front yard alone but my old dog wouldn't stay in the front yard with me until he was fairly old.  As a younger dog I needed to have some sort of invisible fence to keep him home

We have a 85 pound black lab mix and the Petsafe stubborn dog fence work well with him.  He got zapped a few times in the beginning and now doesn't even get close to the borders. 

Another vote for Petsafe. 
 

I bought it on eBay from a guy from New Jersey (?) who was way more helpful from a customer service and tech support perspective than I ever would have expected from an eBay vendor. 

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

I think that our system continues to remind them until they return to the yard. 

That would work better I think than the ones I have had that zap them when they cross the line. It worked better for us when you started training a young dog. I have had dogs that definitely had the pain/reward figured out. A momentary zap was worth it to be able to chase a rabbit for example 

We have invisible fence. Tunable for what tje dog in question needs. No rinder if they make it past, but also no penalty for coming back. We bought new. The wire fence was 8 cents a foot, installed. The money is in the unit and the collars. You can buy a used collar, but you still have to pay to have it tuned to the dog if you don't like its level.

We have zero complaints other than the exorbitant cost for another collar ($500).

I used a DIY kit. Our schnauzer mix was an escape artist, digging out of our wooden fence in a few minutes if anything entertaining was outside. It was a 50/50 shot whether she would be chasing a rabbit or playing with neighborhood kids. The electric fence cured that. 
 

We initially tried a wireless system. However, our lot is very rectangular and the circular signal did not allow full use of the backyard while also preventing road access. With a more square lot shape, a wireless system would  probably be great. 

We spent the big bucks and had a Pet Stop setup installed on our property.  For two collars, installation, etc. the total bill was around $1200 for all 7.5 acres to be in the system.  That comes with lifetime training/retraining.  We had one dog go through the fence about a month after we got it, made a call, they came back did a retraining session and upped the zap for that one dog, never had a problem.  That was 8.5 years ago or so.  They charged $200 to train a new dog.  In the meantime, we got hit by lightening and their surge protector popped.   They covered that for free.  A collar died after about 8 years, they got us a new one, etc.    Totally worth it.

I don't have any experience with an electric fence to add to this but do have a little story. We live in a development of sorts out in the country. Big lots, few houses and a couple of miles of paved roads. On a walk one evening, we were most of the way back home and while passing a newly built house, the front door opens. Now, the house is set back 100' from the road and has a nice grassy front yard. As soon as the door opens, a medium size American Staffordshire Terrier(pit bull) comes running at us full-tilt barking the whole time. The woman of the house is screaming the dogs name frantically to no avail. I push Jen behind me, draw my CC(bear, coyote, fox everywhere here) and wait to see what is going to happen. The lady, still screaming, yells that he's friendly! The dogs runs right thru the invisible fence, yelps once but doesn't even slow down. Now it's time to see what happens as he gets close. We side-step his approach and he immediately goes to the ground and sits there wagging his tail. She is following him running and screaming not to shoot him. Not that I would have as I'm a HUGE dog lover and wouldn't do anything until he provoked the situation, but I was amazed that the electric fence did absolutely nothing to stop his advance. I didn't actually know what the fence was supposed to do or how it was supposed to affect the dog(intensity, duration or proximity). I was not impressed. The one second of shock was way less than his desire/will power to come say hi to us. Was possibly/probably a training issue, an over-friendly puppers or lack of a good "zap" and No Fear of the consequences from the fence. Funny thing is, he was a nice dog, we got to meet him and his mom but have never seen him in the year and a half since.