Wireless Dog Fences - 11 WiFi Dog Fence Pitfalls to Consider Before Reaching For Your Wallet

Excited about the latest and greatest new wireless and WiFi dog fences on the market? Considered buying one to contain a pet in your yard? Before you do... there are some important factors you will need to make particular note of when determining if a wireless dog fence is right for you.

On the upside... wireless and WiFi dog fences are easy to install, fast to set up, no wires to bury and they're highly portable. Wireless dog fences are ideal for flat plots of land like we have here in Wilmington, NC and large country settings without many obstructions, but they're not ideal for all localities.

They are indeed faster to set up than a traditional underground pet fence because there are no wires to bury or attach to any fixed objects. To program your WiFi wireless dog fence, you place the wireless dog fence transmitter in the house, walk the dog fence receiver out to the outer perimeter boundary you desire, return to the base unit and save your settings. That does sound pretty easy right? "Easy" I've discovered is a relative thing when it comes to new technology.

If everything goes well during set up... yes it's easy. Setting up my home computer wireless router was supposed to be relatively easy in concept too, but it took a little trial and error, some "trouble shooting" guide reading, and system reloading to get it to work consistently. My Vonage internet phone set up was easy theoretically if all went well too, but it took a couple of attempts and still to this day (for whatever reason) I need to reboot the system to get it up and running again or I don't have proper service. My wired electronic dog fence? ...I just plugged it in and started training the dogs.

Because the wireless dog fence requires no buried wires, they are in fact, highly portable. (Underground dog fence transmitters can be moved from home to home as well, but you do need to have a second set of wire buried at the new location, or at least secured to the ground with landscape staples there. The dog fence transmitters themselves however can be moved simply by unplugging the antennae wires and power)

The wireless dog fences work differently than the underground dog fences in some important ways. Unlike the electronic dog fences that use buried wires laid out in a pattern that is customized to your yard and terrain, the wireless dog fences have a base station that sends out a signal in a simple circle pattern. You must place the transmitter in the center of this circle. Your dog or cat wears a receiver that constantly searches for this circular signal. If the receiver your pet is wearing loses the signal for any reason, the dog receives a warning tone and then a correction stimulation. Ideally this only happens when your dog leaves the circle you've determined is his/her safe zone.

Be certain the wireless or WiFi model you're considering is designed to NOT correct during power outage, or if battery back up unit fails. Remember, your dog receives a correction zap any time his collar receiver loses the base stations signal. Check also that there is a fast fail-safe shut off feature. Some shut off only after up to half a minute of repeated corrections! And make sure you charge the batteries each week if it's the rechargeable variety. They generally take 6-8 hours to recharge. If the base unit looses power, you may have only a half a day of receiver power because the dog's receiver will go into high gear to find that base station.

Because of their unique design, wireless dog fences are not practical in all situations.

Since most urban and suburban properties are rectangular, square, or irregular in shape, a circular safe zone for your dog may not be ideal. If you want your dog to be able to use the majority of your property, you may want a dog fence that can be laid out in straight lines as well as curves, circular patterns and around corners following your property lines.

Wired dog fences can be configured in nearly any shape and can also include additional "exclusion zones" such as a pool, flower garden or potting shed in the center of the yard to allow the dog full access to the entire yard, but not to these subzones. Additional zones can also be created with wired dog fences using just one transmitter to protect your dogs if they escape from the front door of the home accidentally; and also protects him/her in the backyard, but does not allow them to run around the house.

Another major consideration is the integrity of the signal.

Wireless units are ideal for flat yards without many obstructions. In order to work, the transmitter in the house must be within a "line of sight" of the dog. If you property has any steep hills or ditches, the dog could disappear from the range of the base station and receive a zap even if he's still in your yard.

According to manufacturers instructions, no radio signal can pass through metal, or may be reflected by any large metal object such as automobiles, water tanks, metal studs, metal buildings etc. The closer the metal object is to the base station, the greater the potential for unwanted interference and this will result in the reduction of performance of these WiFi units.

Here are a few other downsides to keep in mind if you're considering a wireless purchase:
Only 1-2 dogs can be put on the newest WiFi dog fences due to interference concerns, versus an unlimited number of pets on an underground wired dog fence system. Other wireless models do allow multiple dogs similar to underground pet fences, but have limited coverage areas up to a 90ft radius. Due to power requirements, battery sizes and weight of the receivers (twice that of some traditional wired dog fence receivers) some WiFi systems only recommend pets over 25 pounds be allowed on their wireless systems, others allow only pets over 15 pounds... what about your cats or small dogs? The WiFi transmitter base station must be in the heated portion of your home on a table, shelf and off the floor. This takes up space in your home and restricts coverage. Underground dog fence transmitters can be in the garage or crawlspace. If the base station is bumped, or moved by a child or other family member the coverage area outside changes too... your dog may wander into an area he was not trained to avoid, and thus receive a shock unfairly. Ouch! Wireless dog fence protection zones are limited to a 90 foot radius or 200 foot radius area. Underground pet containment systems can protect up to 50 acres in any shape desired. Some manufactures use contact posts that wear out. Rubber contacts lose conductivity over time. Those manufacturers recommend replacing them each time the rechargeable battery is replaced on the dog collar. According to set up instructions, if you experience interference with your TV or radio reception, you must experiment with new base station locations, different outlet plugs or call the dog fence dealer or an experienced radio or television technician for service. Special care must be given to the placement of the base unit in your home due to the "natural interference" of your homes walls and many obstacles. Place it in the back of the home for better backyard coverage and front of the home for better front yard coverage. And remember to not let it be moved once it's placed.

In summary, wireless and WiFi units are ideal for large, flat  properties without many obstructions. They work best if you want to limit your pet to a circular area surrounding your home. Other positives are that they're relatively easy to set up, fast to install, and are highly mobile.

The downsides are that wireless and WiFi systems lack layout flexibility, signal reliability and have limited coverage areas. If you live in an urban or suburban setting with a rectangular plot of land, or have a pool, flower garden or require other "exclusion areas", a buried wire system may be the way to go. If you have a yard bigger than a 90 to 200 foot radius circle will cover effectively, or it has uneven terrain, trees, outbuildings or other obstructions, a wireless outdoor dog fence is less than desirable.

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Wireless Cat Fences Will Help to Train Your Cat

Are you having trouble controlling your cat's behavior? Is your pet destroying all of the furniture in your home, one claw mark at a time? Do you wish there was a way that you could stop them from scratching up all of your belongings, or better yet keep them out of certain rooms all together? Cats are very independent pets and it can be virtually impossible to stop them from doing something that they really want to do. Unfortunately for many cat people, myself included, this usually involves either making a mess or destroying expensive pieces of furniture.

I tried every single teaching technique I could get my hands on to teach my cat to stop scratching all of my furnishings. It seems that cats just don't want to learn. They want to do what they want to do and there isn't much you can do to stop them. Finally, just when I had almost given up, I came across a remarkable device called a wireless indoor cat fence. With the use of this simple device I was able to easily keep my cat away from certain parts of my house. These cat training tools are a breeze to setup and work immediately. There is no work needed on your part. All that you have to do is do the initial setup and the wireless cat fence will do the rest.

These training tools work by simply delivering a harmless correction each time your pet decides to try and go somewhere that they are not allowed. Within a few hours my cat learned exactly where he was allowed and where he was not.

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Wireless Electric Dog Fence

Want to keep your dog or cat safe but don't want a fence? Try a wireless electric dog or cat fence. It can be used indoors or outdoors. If you have certain areas of your home or yard that you want seen by your dog or cat as "No Trespassing", then wireless fencing is the way to go.

These electric fences and containment systems utilize transmitters that you plug into a wall inside your home. The dog wears an electronic collar that receives radio signals from the transmitter. The signals give harmless shocks to the dog to alert the dog to change direction. The transmitter permits different levels of correction to be used so you can test out what works best for your dog.

The indoor or avoidance systems of the wireless cat or dog fence provide a transmitter so you can keep your dog or cat out of specific areas such as your flower garden, or the trash bin, or off the couch, or out of the baby's room.

The wireless electric dog fence covers about half an acre working in a circular 90 foot arc. The transmitter works best if it is placed near the center of the radius of containment. It has no problem transmitting through walls, but does not transmit through sheet metal so keep the transmitter away from a metal shed, for instance. Using more than one transmitter set up allows a larger area to be covered. Because it sends radio signals this fence needs to send signals without obstructions from trees, large boulders, or slopes that do not permit constant visibility. A second story location for the transmitter can improve the radial visibility on a small slope but there must be a line of sight for the signal to work.

The transmission works through a receiver collar worn by the pet. The receiver collar begins to beep and then to send static correction if the dog continues toward the boundary zone. The system for cats is especially made for their smaller bodies. The electronic collar for dogs is larger than other collars and is too heavy for the small dog of 10 lbs. or under however it works great for average sized dogs to the very large dog, like an English Mastiff for instance. It should fit snugly but not be constrictive. You can check this by leaving the space of one finger between the end of the contact point and the dog's skin. Make it a habit to check the contact each time you put the collar on for without contact there is no correction!

Since this wireless system is portable you can take it with you when visiting, on vacation or to camp. It's waterproof! Just establish the boundary limits and you and Pooch are ready to play without worry of the collar getting wet.

The batteries for the fence are replaceable and usually last about 2-3 months depending on how often your dog tests the boundary zone. A flashing 4-5 second indicator light goes off to let you know when the batter is low. So relax or go to work. Let your dog scamper and play within his new safety zone and keep the cat off the couch while you're gone!

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