Aggressive dogs and invisible fences

W

WhoseHouse

250+ Posts
A couple of times lately when I've been walking my dog (8 month old lab puppy, read: huge pansy), we have walked by a house and their two huge, very aggressive dogs have run full speed towards us, barking (NOT in a friendly way) and growling, with every intention of tearing us to shreds. The first time, I freaked out, certain that this was the end of my pup, if not me as well, but they skidded to a halt right before they reached the curb. Then I saw the sign in the yard that they have an invisible fence. I was still pretty shaken by it, as was my dog. This time, I wasn't nervous but they did it again, and I was wondering, what if the fence fails?? Are invisible fences a legal way of restraining your aggressive animal? Also, maybe those of you with experience with them can answer this: how are they powered? Do they shut down if the electricity goes out or are they battery powered or what? Does the dog wear something on its collar to react with the fence? What if its collar comes off? It just doesn't seem like a safe bet with a potentially dangerous dog.

Thoughts??
 
i dont know of any laws that require a dog owner to have a fence, whether its an actual fence or an electronic one, in order to restrain an animal on their own property. there are laws that require dogs of any breed to be restrained when in public. for the same reasons you mentioned (that it would be prone to failure) i advised my parents from getting an electronic fence.

they didnt listen to me, and what i learned was that, after a short amount of training, whether the fence was powered or not, their dog would not challenge it. basically, he learned the boundaries, got shocked a couple times, and now he doesnt even think about leaving the yard. they even put him out there without the collar sometimes.

their fence is not battery powered, but it reacts with a battery powered collar that the dog wears. the collar has two metal prongs that connect with the dogs neck. they will make a distinct noise when the dog gets to a certain point(after training the dogs come to recognize this noise and back off), and then shock it when it gets even closer to the threshold.

im still not a fan of the electronic fence, but my folks love it for their back yard. im even less of a fan of the electronic leash that they use when they take him on walks, in part because it is not a legal restraint with respect to leash laws.
 
Please say they were employed by Dell. It sounds like typical Dell dog behavior.

Seriously, very irresponsible by the owners. It is good they at least did something and probably like the thought of people having the **** scared out of them. But once, just once is all it takes for one of the dogs to have momentum to bypass the system, pain and all. Also, just once for it to not be working properly.

I would suggest contacting animal control and maybe they can write a letter suggesting to them that an upgrade of some sort is a good thing. They cannot be made to do so but it can be suggested.

Also, maybe write an anonymous letter and mail it to their address. Express your concern and that the letter is being forwarded also to the Police and Animal Control in the event that anything ever happens, for legal reasons. Don't be attacking, just concerned and firm. Mention you have seen others in the same situation with similiar concerns.

Cite results of past attacks by dogs both with the dogs being destroyed/put to sleep but also the legal cost or consequence. Remind them it is probably not worth it in the end. I dunno, maybe that would work?

I have a feeling they enjoy watching people freak out.
 
Just so you are aware, even if the fence is working properly and the dogs are wearing their collars it does NOT mean they can't come through the fence. If the prize on the other side of the fence is sweet enough some dogs will endure the pain and go through it. I'm not saying it's the case with these dogs, but you can take that info for what it's worth.

If I were you I would invest in a good can of pepper spray just in case they ever get past the fence.
 
You know, with a regular wooden fence they can run through that or jump over it if they want to bad enough as well. Do you worry as much if there was a 4 foot wooden fence? My brothers Irish setter clears 6-foot fences effortlessly.
 
I have a feeling the dogs in question are not Irish Setters. But you are right, some dogs can get through barriers if they want. But I think the temporary pain, esp. if they build up a tolerance to it, is less of a barrier than an actual fence.

I think I would just walk my dog elsewhere and not go by that house. I would be afraid I would pepper spray my own dog in the process of aiming for the other dogs. Given dogs much higher sense of smell I am sure that my dog would suffer from it too. Not worth it, imho. Just walk elsewhere and see if the authorities can do something about this if enough people share your conern.
 
but thats the point: the authorities cannot do anything about it. hell, they arent even required to have a fence at all, so long as the dogs stay on their property (unless there is some strange homeowners association rule at play here that requires them to have a fence, which i highly doubt).

unfortunately, the law that comes into play here is standard tort law, and wont apply until some bad **** happens.
 
Yeah I have already decided not to walk by the house anymore. It's entirely possible that the dogs aren't as ferocious as they pretend to be behind their "fence" but still, if they threaten the wrong dog, somebody or their dog could get seriously hurt. What keeps another dog from coming on the property in response to their aggressive advances? That wouldn't be the home owner's fault, but it's still a bad situation and it seems like they're just asking for it. They're not pit bulls, nor are they irish setters, they are stocky, medium sized (prob 60-70 lbs) dogs, probably mutts.

I think I will send the home owners a non-confrontational letter in the mail, as suggested above. Too many dogs and kids in the neighborhood to not at least try something.
 
Invisible Fence makes most of their money from people who have regular fences and the dogs dig out, sneak through and jump over. That just doesn't hapen with invisible fence. People call them for when the regular fences don't work.
 
Maybe so, but there are at least four houses in our neighborhood where the invisible fence is the only thing keeping their dog in the yard. With all the others, it hasn't been a problem (for me) as their dogs are laid back enough to just hang out. But that still doesn't solve the problem of another dog coming into their yard and attacking their dog. I just don't see how people think this is a good idea at all.
 
FWIW, if the fence fails and you or your dog gets mauled, you will be able to sue the ever living **** out of them.

We've had problems with loose Pits and other aggressive dogs in my hood (I don't have a problem with Pits, just ****** Pit owners). I got bit right in my back bacon by a Mastiff/Lab mix last June while jogging. Ever since then when I walk my dogs (80 lb Lab and 55 lb mutt) I always carry a nice 5 inch Buck knife with me. If any stupid dog attempts to **** with me or my dogs, I've got a sweet little piece of metal and a sense of vengeance waiting for that ******. I'm almost looking forward to the day ...
 
My brother-in-law in Maryland lives out in a rural area and has an invisible fence for his dog, but if the dog sees a rabbit, it will still bolt through, getting a shock in the process. They don't always stay, but as others have said, they can also dig out and jump over physical barriers.
Dogs protect their property, and are particularly territorial around other dogs. Many times if the dogs were released, and run down the block, they are now off their territory, and won't act as aggressively toward another dog. But you never know.
 
I have some friends that lived on an Army post many years ago and since they couldn't build a fence used the invisable one. The MPs came along one day and saw the dog running "loose" and picked it up to take to the pound. Poor dog.
 
A family on my street did this with the insane PB/Lab mix that they adopted. If it got angry enough, it would run outside the fence.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top