Five Critical Problems People Overlook When Installing an Invisible Fence

Invisible fences may seem like the perfect solution for keeping your pet at home. However, they contain several huge flaws that most people overlook when installing an invisible fence. This blog will explain issues with invisible fences and will propose a safer, more cost-effective, more secure, and smarter way to contain pets using vinyl fencing.

What is an Invisible Fence?

Invisible fences, or hidden fences, are a category of fences that involves the use of shock therapy to keep your pet within its boundary limits. These fences use underground wires, radial distance detection, or GPS to warn, then electrocute, your pet before they reach the edge of your property line. The electricity comes from the collar assigned to the invisible fence’s system. Pets must wear the collar, containing a battery pack and metal shocking nodes, at all times in order for the fence to work.

What is a Vinyl Fence?

Vinyl is a popular material used in fence construction that was invented in response to problems of traditional chain link, ornamental and wooden fences. Vinyl fencing is a cost effecting, sturdy, reliable, and attractive way to create a permanent boundary and offer additional privacy to properties. They’re even easy to install. There are dozens of sizes, styles, and colors of vinyl fence. Vinyl fences are virtually maintenance free and can withstand the harshest of elements. With Vinyl, you won’t need to worry about rotting, chipping, peeling, or fading colors.

Here we explain five critical problems (that vinyl fence avoids) of invisible fences that the manufacturers didn’t want you to think about

1. The most obvious flaw of an invisible fence is the inevitable electrocution of your pet. At first, some people might not see this as a big deal. However, numerous studies have shown that using shock therapy to control your pets could have seriously negative consequences. In fact, using punishment to train your pets is proven to be less effective than reward-based training and in some cases has been shown to increase aggression. Shock training has shown to cause anticipatory fear in many animals. In others, severe anxiety and displaced anger and aggression can arise. Of all the ways shown to train animals, afflicting pain is far and away the worst option.

1. Upwards of two million pets are stolen each year and less than 10% are ever returned. While an invisible fence is able to contain your pet(s) (but not always – keep reading) a hidden fence does nothing to keep thieves away. Anyone with ill intent can walk by your property and have a clear view of your home and pet. What’s worse, they can enter and exit your property without any issue. This flaw in hidden fences is the most dangerous and overlooked aspect of the technology. The whole idea behind a solid boundary for your pet(s) is to keep them safe. Thieves account for 1/5 of all missing pets and an invisible fence will do NOTHING to stop that from happening. A standup fence will eliminate the possibility of this outcome and will provide your family with added privacy.

1. While strangers can see into your yard, invisible fences also do nothing to prevent your pet from viewing people or other animals that walk around your property line. Anything from a squirrel to a neighbor dog could be enough for your pet to break through its barrier. Even if your dog doesn’t break through the invisible barrier, he/she can still bark at joggers, delivery people, or other pets. A vinyl fence is capable of blocking your pets’ view of the road without hindering your view of your surrounding properties. This is because a vinyl fence can be installed with openings on the top half and full coverage on the bottom half.  You can also install vinyl with or without openings for the entirety of the fence.

1. A fourth highly overlooked aspect of hidden fencing is its tendency to fail. As we noted above, pets can break through invisible fences when met with the proper motivation. Once a pet, especially a dog, learns that it is possible to break through the boundary, they will remember and do it more and more often as time goes on. In these circumstances, invisible fences become completely untrustworthy and useless.

If this isn’t bad enough, most invisible fences deliver a shock from both directions. An escaped pet will hear a beep, followed by a shock, on its re-entry to your property. This will deter your pet from returning home on its own. It will also reinforce the behavior of non-reentry, making it even more difficult to train your pet to stay home. The Humane Society estimates that over ten million cats and dogs are lost or stolen each year. Invisible fences are a very poor solution to improving this statistic.

Invisible fences can fail in many other ways as well. Of course, the boundary is maintained only through a continuous power source and it’s a requirement that all the pieces of the fence’s system are in proper working order.

1. A power outage or tripped wire is all your pet needs to realize it’s free to wander. If the system’s power is off (cord unplugged or breaker flipped) you might not know anything is wrong until you fail to locate your pet.
2. Fences are made of thin wires underground. Frost, gophers, or other rodents can (and often do) break through this thin wire. This scenario is a common nightmare of invisible fence owners. Shifting frost (in colder climates) has shown to twist and break underground wiring. When this happens, an invisible fence likely cannot be repaired until spring. A chewed fence will show no sign of damage until you realize your pet has left its boundary. Once this happens you need to fix your fence by reconnecting the broken wire. This is a HUGE problem. The fence is underground and the only way to tell where it is severed is by digging up the entire fence until you locate the break. This requires you to tear up your lawn and re-dig the trench to bury the wire all over again.
3. Your pet needs to wear a special collar AT ALL TIMES. If the collar falls off or you forget to put it on, your pet will be entirely free to roam. Forgetting to take off the collar can be even worse. Each time you take your pet in the car, you must remove the collar or it will be shocked when you leave your driveway.
4. Finally, the battery on the collar is bound to die eventually. When this happens you’ll have absolutely no warning that something is wrong in the system until you guessed it, you see your pet running down the street (or worse, you don’t see your pet at all). When the battery dies you will almost never find out until it’s too late.

None of these problems can occur with standup, vinyl fencing. Vinyl fences need only to be installed once. There is no chance of rodents, seasons, or weather offering your pets a chance to escape. The vinyl will offer added privacy and to safely securing your pet at home.

1. The fifth and final overlooked flaw of invisible fences is the need to train your pet on how to use it. It’s not safe to simply install a hidden fence and let your pet run loose. Animals do not understand the concept of a “hidden boundary” – they will walk right into the fence line and receive a shock that, to them, has no meaning. On their own, pets may never understand how, why, or when, they are being shocked. This could lead to aggression, confusion, and other social side effects. For an invisible fence to work, you need to take your pet through multiple training sessions using specific commands and teaching methods that are not readily known to pet owners. A standard vinyl fence requires no training, no psychological trauma, and no pain on the part of your pet(s).

We hope that the inconsistencies and dangers of invisible fencing are now apparent to you. While installation of hidden fences is a route some people take, it’s not the best option. Vinyl fencing is the safest, most economical, and clever solution to pet containment. Vinyl fences can be short or tall, colorful or plain, moved and reinstalled, and even taken with you to your next home.

With vinyl surrounding your property, you can be certain that your pet(s) will stay within their limits. Strangers and thieves will not be able to see your pet nor will they be able to easily access your property. As the years go by and severe weather occurs, your vinyl fence will look brand new. This is because vinyl is easy to clean, easy to restore, and cannot rot away.