Basic Pet Fence System

A hidden fence is an underground pet fencing system that uses a radio signal to keep your dog in a designated containment area, such as a yard; or out of an area, such as a swimming pool, patio, or garden. Hidden fences can also be used to create Indoor Boundaries that work inside your home to keep your pet off a couch, out of a room or away from a kitchen counter.

Hidden fences are often mistakenly referred to generically as “invisible fences”. Invisible Fence® is a brand name and Registered Trademark of the Invisible Fence Company.

Hidden fences are created by burying a ‘boundary wire’ a few inches underground around your property. The buried wire carries a harmless, low level radio signal from a transmitter installed in your house or garage. Your pet wears a lightweight, waterproof receiver collar that recognizes the radio signal. As your pet approaches the buried wire, the receiver collar emits a warning signal (audible or vibration). If your pet travels further, he will receive a mild but safe stimulation (also called a “correction”) from the receiver collar. Through a training program, your pet learns to recognize his fence boundaries and learns to stop at the warning signal. Although there are differences in some of the product features, this is how all hidden fences work.

With an indoor system, the hidden wire runs around your couch, under the lip of the counter, around the trash or across a doorway or wherever you need to create either a containment area or an “off-limits” area. We also have “wireless” indoor units that do not require placement of a boundary wire.

The training includes teaching your pet to recognize the containment area boundaries through a combination of voice commands, audible warning signals from the receiver collar and visual flags that are set in the yard where the pet hears the warning alert. With training, the dog remembers the placement of the flags and associates the flags with the warning signal. As your pet learns, the flags are slowly taken away. Your pet also learns that if he continues beyond the flags and warning alert, he will receive a mild correction (a stimulation from the collar). After training, most dogs do not cross the boundary; they usually stop before the warning signal to avoid the correction.

Our systems include PetFriendly™ training from our experienced trainers. As a result, dogs using our hidden fences rarely leave the containment area. In the rare instance that a pet does leave the containment area, our MaxxBoundary system includes WelcomeHome™ technology. The WelcomeHome technology allows a pet to return to their yard without a correction.

No. The “stimulation” from the collar is unpleasant, but it will not “burn” or injure your pet. It is a sensation similar to the static shock you receive after walking across a carpet in your socks. It is uncomfortable, but it does not harm you.

The cost for a Hidden Fence is almost always much less than traditional fencing. The cost varies based on which system is right for you, the number of pets, the size of the property, how many sidewalk and driveway cuts, if you want internal “garden loops”, etc. In addition to costing less than traditional fences, hidden fences provide more flexibility and more secure containment than traditional fences. For example, you can contain your dog in your yard, but keep him out of a pool area, garden or driveway gate. Plus, your dog cannot jump over, chew through or dig under a hidden fence. And hidden fences don’t need to be painted and don’t deteriorate like traditional fences.

Retail brands may seem to cost less than the installed brands, but they do not include installation (which can be challenging), training (which is very important), ongoing support or a good Warranty program. Also, installed products tend to be better quality than retail brands.