The benefits of a wireless dog fence

Any outdoor dog fence gives your pup freedom to romp and roam, while being safely contained. However, wireless fences are a practical and often more economical solution than a physical fence. Based on the size, shape and terrain of your yard, as well as the cost, a physical fence may not be an option.

With a physical fence, if your dog jumps over or digs under the fence, you may not even know it, as you don’t get any alert notification that your dog has escaped. So being able to keep tabs on your dog and know when they’ve breached the fence is a big advantage to GPS wireless dog fences.

Other wireless fence benefits include:
• They are often less expensive than installing a physical fence
• They work on properties where physical fences sometimes don’t, such as over rocky terrain and through water and woods
• Gives you a fence-free, unobstructed view of your yard • Some are portable for travel or if you move (except buried wired fences)
• Don’t require the upkeep and maintenance of physical fences
• Requires training your dog to the system, which promotes bonding and can help your dog learn better behavior.

How to choose the best wireless & electric dog fence.

When shopping for wireless dog fences or other containment solutions for your pup, there are many different options on the market. Here’s how the different types of wireless fences work.

GPS dog fence

A GPS dog fence is the only, truly wireless dog containment solution. The SpotOn GPS dog fence was the first GPS dog fence on the market, and is the only one with patented True Location™ technology. SpotOn replaces buried wires and base stations with patented GPS technology. So all you need is the SpotOn dog collar + app + smartphone. There is no digging, installation or costly maintenance required. Simply use the SpotOn collar to walk a boundary anywhere, creating an instant wireless dog fence.

Create multiple custom fences - for home and on the go.

With SpotOn, the cost of your fence stays the same, whatever the size of your yard, making it the best wireless dog fence for acreage. You can fence any area from 1/2 acre to 1000s of acres.

This containment system is like a fence your dog wears. The high sensitivity antenna on SpotOn's dog collar faces upward to the sky and communicates with up to 30 satellites across four global satellite systems, making it more reliable than other pet tech systems that can only tap into one satellite system at a time. Because all of the technology is in the SpotOn collar, it’s totally portable. You can take it with you when you move, use it at a second home, and set it up at a campground or park. And the GPS powered system will work in all weather - snow, rain, sun and clouds. Plus, if you live on a wooded lot or are going camping under dense tree cover, you can use Forest Mode to increase GPS accuracy.

Tricky terrain? It’s no problem for the SpotOn's GPS dog fence. The built-in pause feature allows you to make your fence through any area you may not be able to physically walk to, whether it’s water, hills, or even just around the border of a huge property. Use the pause feature and get in your car! The fence will “snap” a straight line between two points. Make use of the pause feature to fence through water without getting wet. With the ability to set up to 1,000 different waypoints, you can create a custom shape wireless dog fence of nearly any size, and through any terrain.

SpotOn GPS Fence also provides escape notifications on your phone if your dog breaches the containment area. Tracking will kick in on the app, so you can see where your dog is, enabling you to bring him or her safely home as quickly as possible!

With this GPS fence, it only takes 3 steps to get started; 1) create your custom fence 2) train your dog and 3) manage fences & keep tabs on your dog on the app.

The benefits of a GPS Fence

• Easy & quick setup. All you need is the SpotOn dog collar, the app and your smartphone.
• Make and use multiple fences for different days, times and seasons
• No digging, installation or costly maintenance required.
• You can fence through water so your dog can swim while contained.
• You can fence through tricky terrain like marsh, forest & boulders, for an all-terrain outdoor dog fence.
• The cost stays the same no matter how big your yard is.
• Fully portable. You can take it with you when you move, travel, and visit friends & family. No power source or plug required.
• Most offer containment and tracking, with escape notifications if the dog breaches the boundary.
• There is no boundary too big! The SpotOn GPS Fence works from ½ acre to 1000s of acres.

Traditional & Electric wireless fences

Many wireless dog fence solutions use a base station that you place in your house, garage, or other sheltered area. 
They emit a radio frequency in a circle around the base station. Your dog wears a collar that communicates with the base station and keeps your dog inside the boundaries using audible warning tones and optional static corrections.

These systems are easy to set up and inexpensive. However, you cannot change the size or shape of the containment area—it’s always a perfect circle around the base station, which may or may not be the area where you want to contain your dog. You need to ensure the circle does not extend out to a dangerous area. These systems are also fairly portable, provided that wherever you take them has somewhere you can plug in the base station. So moving to a new home works, but taking it to a campground or park does not.

They usually have a maximum area of .75 acres, so are not meant for big properties. Be sure to read the product reviews before choosing, as some brands that seem to have better durability than others. Many customers report that these systems stop working after a few months.

Buried wired (underground) fences 

Buried wire fence systems, such as Invisible Fence®, are often considered when shopping for wireless dog fences. These systems, though, require you to bury a wire on the perimeter of the containment area. You can either pay to have it professionally installed or dedicate a weekend to digging a trench and burying a wire. It can be difficult to install if your yard has a lot of solid rock or swampy areas. These systems can be configured in any size or shape. However, once the wire is laid, making a change would require a costly re-installation from a professional…or for you to spend another weekend digging it up and relaying it.

These systems are not portable and are usually left behind when you move. Be sure to budget for yearly maintenance fees, as customers report these fences often break and need to be repaired. These repairs can be costly (+/- $600 a year). Wires can also get too close to the surface and be damaged by lawn mowers, animals, or weather. Manufacturers say that these systems can create containment areas up to 25 acres. However, when pricing them out be sure to check the box of the system to see how much wire is included. Most only include enough wire for 1/3 of an acre. One additional consideration is that the containment signal is emitted as a circle around the buried wire, so if your dog can jump high they might be able to jump over it. Just be sure to proof the system before leaving your dog alone in it.

Consider these factors when choosing an electric or in-ground fence
• Cost varies per the size of your yard; the bigger your yard, the more expensive your fence. You need to ensure you have enough wiring.
• Some have acreage maximums, so make sure to choose one based on your property size.
• Electric fences are powered through the base station; which requires an outside electricity source.
• The containment signal is emitted as a circle around the buried wire, so if your dog can jump high, they might be able to jump over it. • Once the fence is laid, it cannot be changed without digging up and reburying wires to create a new fence.
• Buried wire fences require installation and often maintenance which can be costly.
• Buried wires may freeze or break and cause your fence to stop working. They are also sometimes accidentally cut by lawnmowers or other devices.

Do Wireless Fences Really Work?

Wireless dog fences absolutely do work, but there can be a big difference among brands, and some work better than others. So do your homework to understand the pros & cons of each system, and evaluate which one is right for your property and your dog. Some properties may be too small or narrow for certain GPS or wireless fences, and some yards too big for other types of fences. It’s important to also consider your specific dog; their breed, personality, prey-drive, and level of determination or stubbornness. Some breeds such as Pit Bulls and Rottweilers are known to have a greater tolerance for static correction.

Another key factor is training. Make sure you are willing to train your dog to the system if you are going to go this route. In addition to your dog understanding the boundaries, including the warning and alert tones or signals, you need to also understand how the system works and the significant features. Pay attention to battery life and how often you need to recharge the battery. Also make sure to remove the collar when your dog comes inside, and always start on a low level when using static, and adjust as needed for your dog during training.

An additional factor to consider before purchasing a buried wire system is the weather in your region. Buried wires may be susceptible to freezing or being accidentally cut by lawnmowers, animals or weather.

Training is required for ALL types of wireless fences.

For all wireless fences, GPS, buried wire & electric, it’s important to remember that unlike with a physical fence, you must train your dog - and yourself to some degree, to the specific system, since each system has their own warning, alert and breach signals.