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Writer's pictureShel Graves

To Fence or Not to Fence A: I'm Not a Fan of Invisible Scary Things

Recently, I had a client ask me what I thought about invisible fences. They were not surprised to hear that I am not a fan. 


One concern I expressed was that some dogs, when sufficiently motivated (let’s say out of a strong desire to chase a squirrel or some such), can escape the fence.


This was followed by my next concern which is that the dog then gets shocked again if they try to return home. So the fence may deter their return and teach them NOT to come home. Yikes.


Sure enough, my client then told me a story about a dog they knew who had done exactly that, escaped the fence to get something enticing, repeatedly. The dog appeared to know they were going to get shocked and did the fun thing anyway. Uh-oh.


A relaxed dog lying by a toy

This reminds me of a couple of incidents (which perhaps unsurprisingly both took place at the Burning Man festival). My spouse and I were walking down the playa when someone holding a cattle prod asked us if we’d like to get shocked with it. I said, “No.” thinking this was the obvious answer. My spouse shockingly said, “Sure.” and proceeded to get shocked for the sake of novelty. And, yes, afterwards he said it was unpleasant.


On another occasion, my spouse played a game called “Dance, Dance, Immolation” where if you failed to get certain dance steps correct, you got blasted with a flamethrower. Yes, they gave participants flame-retardant suits, but it was still a hot and disturbing punishment. Yep, that's Burning Man.


Oh, animals! The things we do! Surprise!


Again, I said “no thanks” to this game.


Consent and choice make a huge difference.


Invisible fences work by delivering something unpleasant to the dog to reduce a behavior.


While I can understand the reasons why someone might want an apparently fenceless fence, I can’t recommend teaching an animal this way.


And here, I’m in line with the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior Position Statement on Humane Dog Training and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants’ (I am a member) Industry Standards, use of shock is strongly discouraged


I’d rather teach dogs what I want them to do instead, using “good stuff” training. We can’t always avoid aversive, punishing, or bad things. For example, for some fearful animals our mere presence or enthusiasm or well-intentioned pats on the head might be scary.


But as much as we can, we should avoid being scary! That’s always my goal. As someone who has worked with a lot of rescue dogs, my biggest concern about invisible fences is that they, like other aversive methods, can cause fear. Fear, once installed, can be very difficult and time-consuming to overcome.


Dogs are always learning by association and it can be difficult to control those associations. The invisible fence shock is supposed to be associated with an invisible barrier. 


But what if:

  • A loud sound occurs just before the shock? 

  • The dog sees a squirrel just before the shock?

  • The dog sees a passing stroller before the shock? 

Etc. etc. 


Oops. Now the dog has just learned that loud noises, squirrels, strollers, or whatever  = bad stuff. Yikes.


I feel strongly about this! However, I am wary of ALWAYS or NEVER statements. Relationship expert at the University of Washington and founder of The Gottman Institute John Gottman cautions against them when arguing with your beloved.


I am cognizant of a number of times in my life where I have changed a solidly held opinion when I gained new information. It can also be fun to watch this in others –for example, when my father for whom “smoker” was a strong identity suddenly quit of his own recognizance. 


I also believe we should give others (including the animals in our homes) choice and control over their decision-making whenever possible. Let them surprise you! You may be delighted.


At the rescue I worked at, because of what the science says about aversives and fearful dogs, we had a policy to NEVER adopt out animals to homes with invisible fences. 


BUT, one time we did a meet and greet with a wonderful family who had one because we weighed the options for that dog and decided it would be better to give that dog a chance at a home than to be unwavering.


We did ask that they not use the fence on the dog, but knew we really had no way to enforce this request. 


As it turned out, that family’s dog was extremely fearful and shut down (perhaps or perhaps not due to the fence) and did not do well meeting the potential adoptee. 


Another time, we did adopt out a dog to a family with an invisible fence after careful consideration. The family ended up hiring an excellent trainer to work with the fearful dog and they built a wooden fence for them, taking to heart the information that this dog needed less fear in their life, not more sources of it.


I was absolutely delighted by this outcome!


Here are a couple of other excellent blogs on the topic of invisible fences by fellow graduates of The Academy for Dog Trainers:




Questions about Shel Graves Animal Consulting's methods? Book a call.



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