DogWatch
With the arrival of the new daughter we wanted to make sure that our dogs were “contained” and had a larger area where they could run in case we were not able to walk them.
Invisible Fences are quite popular here in New Mexico where people seem to have a lot of property around their houses and want to use those acres for something. We called Critters and Me in Santa Fe and asked for a recommendation. They did not really have a recommendation but happened to have a card of Robert Sellman who is one of the authorized DogWatch dealers for New Mexico.
We called Robert and promptly got an appointment with him where he would survey the area and give us an estimate on how much it would cost us to install the fence. Sure enough, Robert came out a when promised and together we walked the area that was supposed to be fenced in. The quote sounded reasonable and I was delighted to hear that Robert would be able to incorporate some left-over pieces from the previous owner’s invisible fence.
Robert would have been able to install the fence soon after coming out the first time, but then this thing with our daughter happened (see Welcome to the world, Pia!) and we had to postpone installation.
A week and a half ago they came out to do the hardware installation of the invisible fence. It’s basically a wire that has to form a circle all around the house. The wire gets moved close to the house where you want to restrict the dogs from walking any further. As long as they are inside the safe zone (within the circle) everything is fine. As they get closer to the wire, their special radio receiver collars will pick up the FM signal that is sent through the wire and they will hear some signal from the collar. If they decide to get closer to the wire they will receive some “stimulation” (read: they get zapped) which tells them it’s better to turn around.
The perimeter where the audible alert can be heard is marked with little white flags.
After the installation, Robert came out a few more times to train the dogs. Training involves a procedure where the dogs are walked along the flags and being told that the flags and the area beyond are off-limits (”LEAVE IT!!!”). This is repeated for a few days and also requires that the dogs hear (and feel) what happens when they don’t follow your orders.
The picture below show very nicely how Max refuses to go through the flags although Robert is pulling lightly on his leash:
Even after Robert stopped the training we walked several times with the dogs along the flags and reassured them that everything would be ok as long as they stayed inside the marked area. They are still a bit cautious when they are outside by themselves, but I’m sure this will change over time.
Highly recommended if you are in the same situation as we are. And we can really, really recommend Robert Sellmann. He was excellent from the moment we called him the first time. Give him a call at (505) 994-0214 (or 1 (800) 258-7037) if you’re interested in an invisible fence.
Little Max’s expression is hilarious! It’s as if he is saying, “Okay, you seem to be a nice guy, but HOW can you ask me to go beyond the safe zone?” Hee hee! Those guys were probably confused!