Puppy & electric fencing

Re: Puppy & electric fencing

[quote author=JAYMZ link=topic=10179.msg149262#msg149262 date=1426272347]
Well, I did it.

He got zapped

It was horrible and he yelped and barked at the same time, but I did as suggested and quickly distracted him with a recall, sit and yummy sausage and he soon forgot. We went on a little stroll into the field, did a bit of training and went back the same way past the chicks and he kept his distance.

Hopefully he'll remember that...

Thanks for all your input.

James and Monts
[/quote]

That's good news...I know it feels horrible! I remember one of my cats touching the fence..the cat screamed first..then I screamed as the cat immediately dug his claws into my calf....

 

Re: Puppy & electric fencing

Glad you did it and it wasn't too traumatic for everyone. At least you know now that if he does accidently touch it again all will be ok and your chickens will be safe.

 

Re: Puppy & electric fencing

Well we went out again this morning, past the chickens and unfortunately this time the chickens were out (last time they weren't) so we went to see them and got zapped again

I tried to distract him with something fun and to carry on the walk but he was all nervous - actually shocked (no pun intended) would better describe it. He stood in the middle of the field just staring at the fence. Then as we continued away, we kept looking back at him. His little tail was between his legs. I couldn't distract him no matter what. Even when we were another field away, he kept turning and looking back. The whole little stroll we did he was distracted and we couldnt do any training as he just wasn't focussed. Last time he didn't care and just got on with it.

I opted to not take him back past the chickens/fence which might not have been the right thing to do.

Now I'm really worried he won't go out into that field again - its the main one we use and access others and is actually our back garden. I had a quick try and went out there and called him to me, but he stood fast - and normally he has a very good recall. He stood by the house - by the door actually go inside - and whimpered.

What should I do now? Obviously I don't want to force him, but I don't want him being afraid and not wanting to go out, or even not wanting to go past chickens.

Help!

 

Re: Puppy & electric fencing

Don't worry about it he will get over it... When Benson got zapped by one of the other fences..he wouldn't go into that area for a while. He is fine now. Just took him a bit of time to process what happened and how to avoid it.

 

Re: Puppy & electric fencing

OK thanks.
I feel terrible
Before all of that we was being a bit odd today anyway. When I got the lead out he went into his crate and planted his feet. We went out in the car first to get some doggie food (he loves going in the car) and he planted his feet in the car crate too. I'm thinking its linked to the harness thing - but that's another thread.

I thought ESS' were supposed to be clever? Fancy getting zapped twice!! I'll have to cancel that university application for him.

My poor little boy

 

Re: Puppy & electric fencing

I wouldn't worry about it, mine still give the electric fencing a wide berth, they won't go within about 2 metres of it! My ball obsessed lab won't even retrieve her ball if it goes within this distance of the fence!

Chloe

 

Re: Puppy & electric fencing

He just let me know he needed to go out for a wee. I took him to the door, opened it, he started going out and then heard/saw the chickens and stopped, turned and went back in. He was obviously busting and pacing round and ended up peeing just inside the door on the carpet
He's NEVER done that

I did manage to get him outside but he wouldn't go further than the door. I did end up tricking him by being silly and having him chase me round the plant pots and slowly getting closer to the main garden/field.

Such a shame though as the first electricity contact went just fine and was over and done with in seconds. This one seems to have left more of an impression.

 

Re: Puppy & electric fencing

I have electric fence around my goat pasture, and inevitably the dogs get zapped. I usually just let it happen...and it usually only happens one time. It's scary for the pup in the moment, but they quickly learn.

I know that animals raised around electric fences usually learn from a young age not to test the fence - and I was told years ago that animals can actually smell the fence - not sure how true that is, but I would agree that they are certainly aware or the fence border.

Bella has been zapped twice - and each time she just bolts to the front door...we call it a "biting fence". I don't encourage her one way or the other...it's not enough to truly hurt her like say biting through a power cord would. It just gets their attention...both goats and dogs!

 

My sister-in-law in MO has a tensioned cable fence around her back yard (picture parallel wires about 6" apart which can be pushed apart by a dog). My older lab, Tilly, did not even recognize it as a fence. She walked up to it, put her head between the wires and walked through. Tilly is not an escape artist at all, and had never left our fence at home, but she did not think this was a fence. My sister-in-law has two rescued Plot Hounds and apparently they weren't impressed by the fence either. SIL installed a low powered electric fence (designed for pets) inside her fence. It did keep her dogs and ours in the yard during our vacation last fall, but I was not too happy with it. It apparently would not shock through the heavy fur on Tilly's back so it did not work until she hit it with her nose. Once she did that she paid attention to it. I'm not sure if Cooper ever was shocked or not, but she never went through the fence. All in all no harm done, and the fence did its job but I don't like them. As some of you may know, I use e-collars on my dogs some times, but the e-collar shock is much smaller, and I have control of it. I rarely use it and only reinforce recall and only if I can see my dog. I think the electric fence is a lot poorer training device and I would not recommend it. Same with invisible fences, for the same reasons.

FWIW, her smaller Plot Hound can open doors in the house. She easily opens doors with levers, but can even open doors with round knobs by biting and twisting them.

 

If I could I would also ban electric fences. Why after my dog and her friend were zapped by a householders fence while out on a walk. The householder used this fence to keep his dogs in his garden. As we walked past his dogs had come running up barking like lunatics and our dogs, 7 of them on a walk together, had gone to investigate. There was no signs for an electric fence and no obvious indication that there was wire there at first glance in fact there was no fence. My girl got zapped, as did her best friend, and the first we knew was when we heard her scream and come running to me. She carefully avoided that area when we returned and stayed close to me. The shock she got was no greater than 12 volt but I know that from her body language it hurt and frightened her. Therefore I find it impossible to understand people who use electric fences to keep their dogs in or eCollars to "train" their dogs using the excuse that it is low voltage and only gives a tingle

 

Willow was zapped by an electric fence last summer, just once. It was horrific. She screamed, and continued to scream for several seconds afterwards. The thing is, I'm pretty sure she didn't associate it with the fence, either, so it's not as if she learned anything constructive from it. There are a lot of electric fences around here in the summer to fence in livestock (over large areas of the mountainside) but they are generally turned off, which makes it easy to become complacent around them.

 

I never had a problem with the local farmers fences in France because the strands were much higher so wouldn't come in contact with a dog, well unless you had one of the giant breeds. We even had the farmers electric fences on two sides of our garden at different times with no problems. Unfortunately this fence was along the side of the garden of the house which is next to a voie verte (sort of like a public footpath or leisure route) and had been deliberately placed at a lower level to stop his dogs leaving the garden instead of putting in proper fencing. The height was somewhere between Juno's elbows and chest so she got zapped twice. Once as she approached and again as she spun to get away. Having gone through limping periods, investigations and surgery for ED she never, ever, screamed like that and I never want to hear her or any other dog scream like it.

 

I know, it's such an awful sound! In our case, we were on a high path and the fence was on a hill sloping away from us, so it was effectively lower for us than for the cows in the area below.

 

Poor Billy got zapped by a fence once as a young dog, and ran away and hid under a bridge in the mud for several hours and couldn't be found until it was dark. Cattle/horse fences are set with a high voltage, which is very unpleasant if you ever touch it!

 

FWIW, the voltage on an electric fence is far higher than 12 volts. Live stock fences run 2000 to 3000 volts, but almost no amps. It is current that actually kills, but it takes a minimum voltage to over come the skins resistance. 120 v can kill given the right wet conditions, but it usually doesn't The 220V common in Much of the world is a lot more dangerous.

Fence Chargers. To safely contain most beef cattle, you need a fence charger that delivers a minimum of 2,000 – 3,000 volts on the fence line. Voltage levels are impacted by vegetation on the fence line, length of fence, and type of wire. (From an electric fence mfgs website)

The ones designed to contain pets only are typically a lot lower but probably still in the 600 to 1000 volt range. You would not feel 12 volts at all, unless you put two wires right on your tongue, and even then it would not really hurt. Try it with a 9 volt battery.

 

In general, as in the home, for the general population to use, I don't think so. This is because countries with lower voltage have appliances with higher current, higher current running through sockets and appliance carries its own safety risks in terms of those appliances, sockets, cables failing. Most of the rest of the world looks at the 11ov of the US in some bemusement....

 

@Ski-Patroller I bow to your obvious greater experience of electric fences, however in this instance I was not referring to fences surrounding farmers fields which we were perfectly used to as they bordered our property and were installed at least a metre from the ground - to high for a dog or cat to accidentally come in contact. The farmers fences were rarely live, pretty much only if the herd hadn't been in that particular field for a few weeks. The instance I was referring to was a completely unmarked low level wire which ran along a public right of way. As to the strength of the volt I really have no idea what level it was and for me the level is irrelevant. It made my girl scream and frightened her and she was very wary walking past that area on the way home. It could just as easily have been one of the children with us who touched the wire as it was unmarked and not easily visible or is it ok to zap children as well as dogs?