Are electronic (non-visible) fences good to use?
There are several reasons why I detest electronic shock fences. While I have certainly heard from people who have used them and are very pleased, I am also personally familiar with a number of electronic fence horror stories. I do not recommend them for my clients. I don’t consider them an adequate means of primary confinement – for far too many dogs, there will always be a stimulus that is strong enough to entice them to suffer the shock and run through the fence. Batteries fail and collars malfunction. When I worked at the Marin Humane Society in Novato, California, we regularly took in stray dogs who were wearing their fence collars. In fact, just last week our neighbor’s Labrador Retriever visited us several times happily wearing his fence collar. In Santa Clara, California, my husband, in his role as a humane officer, responded to a call for a dog whose collar had shorted out and was constantly shocking the dog.
