Invisible fence with huskies.

[persephona]

With respect, those who lose control of their Huskys and have dogs running away when they accidently get off leash, do not understand how to be the "Alpha" individual in the relationship.

I disagree with your statement that people that lose control of their huskies don't know how to be the alpha. Just because somebody was not willing to spend many hours training their husky, it doesn't mean they are not "alpha" or don't have a good relationship with their dog.

Nobody said huskies are untrainable, however the amount of time one would have to invest in training to obtain a reliable recall makes it something not many people want to do (or even have time to!). Even with reliable recall, I still find it risky as it is in their breeding to run away.

[Meganlovestyger]

Rather than chicken wire, I would try what is called hog wire. Hog wire is welded and the thickness is greater than chicken wire. Chicken wire could cut or tear their pads, where the hog wire would not.

Good Idea. But I know it won't keep them from digging elsewhere just not around the fence. I read about this in a husky magazine. Thought it was pretty smart!!

[wjmartins]

I disagree with your statement that people that lose control of their huskies don't know how to be the alpha. Just because somebody was not willing to spend many hours training their husky, it doesn't mean they are not "alpha" or don't have a good relationship with their dog.

Nobody said huskies are untrainable, however the amount of time one would have to invest in training to obtain a reliable recall makes it something not many people want to do (or even have time to!). Even with reliable recall, I still find it risky as it is in their breeding to run away.

It's not the dog that needs training, it's the owner. The reward of being able to really connect with your dog is irreplaceable. I don't have to tell my dogs they are going for a walk, the moment I make that decision they know and the exitement immediately shows. When I talk to them using their individual names, their eyes and their head movements suggest that they understand English pretty good. It is just a totally different experience. You are missing out, try a good trainer and a few classes, it will be well worth your while.

About the recall, all it takes is that when you do have a little time to spend with your dog, reward him including a little snack, every time he comes to you. Be consistent. It may take a while, even months if he is an older dog, but if you persist, eventually the dog will adapt a recall behavior.

[valkyries]

oh dear i know most of us call the our kids but you speak like their human, i have a good connection with my dogs but their all different, i spend the same amount of time with each. but not all can be trained to do the same thing.

i have one who will come back when called, one who i could leave off lead 24/7 but not a chance in hell will i, it only takes that one time to loose one of my babies, i wont take that chance no matter what.

one i've had from a pup went to classes and then advanced classes but he's the most stuborn one i have, so now i guess your going to tell me the trainer in the classes was no good, you really need to realise that just coz you have your dogs traind well it does not mean your methods will work with al, they are all different and that does not make us any less of a good owner than any one els

[wjmartins]

oh dear i know most of us call the our kids but you speak like their human, i have a good connection with my dogs but their all different, i spend the same amount of time with each. but not all can be trained to do the same thing.

i have one who will come back when called, one who i could leave off lead 24/7 but not a chance in hell will i, it only takes that one time to loose one of my babies, i wont take that chance no matter what.

one i've had from a pup went to classes and then advanced classes but he's the most stuborn one i have, so now i guess your going to tell me the trainer in the classes was no good, you really need to realise that just coz you have your dogs traind well it does not mean your methods will work with al, they are all different and that does not make us any less of a good owner than any one els

I think everyone here tries to be a good owner and yes dogs are different. I'm still waiting for the day my Lab Retriever manages to get me into court. My kids are all grown and spread around the country, one overseas. So, wifey and I have only the two dogs and they are our family, spoilt and go most places we go. I understand everyone has different circumstances. Training my dogs were a lot easier than getting my kids to do what they were supposed to, but at least they all graduated college.

Een slept on our bed until he was about 6 months old and if I take him for an off leash forrest walk and hide behind a tree, there is immediate panic when he realizes he lost eye contact. The search follows, nose sniffing the ground and joy when he finds me. You think I am just lucky, or the way he was raised?

[valkyries]

i think your just lucky, as my Odin slept on my bed at the start, he went every where with us, i did training with him every day so your no different to me it's just my dog is different to yours, he has his own personality and your's has his so yes your just luck. oh and by the way my kids have left home now and graduated collage so it seems we do have things in common. but i realise my dog is an independent strong minded dog and i don't expect him to be like the rest.

[persephona]

It's not the dog that needs training, it's the owner. The reward of being able to really connect with your dog is irreplaceable. I don't have to tell my dogs they are going for a walk, the moment I make that decision they know and the exitement immediately shows. When I talk to them using their individual names, their eyes and their head movements suggest that they understand English pretty good. It is just a totally different experience. You are missing out, try a good trainer and a few classes, it will be well worth your while.

About the recall, all it takes is that when you do have a little time to spend with your dog, reward him including a little snack, every time he comes to you. Be consistent. It may take a while, even months if he is an older dog, but if you persist, eventually the dog will adapt a recall behavior.

I did attend training classes with my dog and he is trained recall. We all chose, however, not to have an off-leash dog. Yes, he will come back most of the time, which is why we always got him back when he escaped. But he is simply not an offleash dog (and mind you, we attended those classes for a few months).

Not all dogs can be trained the same (I agree with the above poster) and maybe it works with some huskies, but this is not the breed norm. Huskies have not been bred to want to please their owners, hence they don't have that willingness to come back and honestly, trying to train them out of their instinct would take a lot of time, much more than the occasional treat (which, shockingly, we actually do) and training class.

Many owners have strong connections with their huskies. Having a dog that can't be let off leash doesn't have anything to do with this.

[BlueWolf]

Your quite lucky with that. And I have to say that the owner of Glala thought exactly the same! Glala was great off lead, she went to agility training with her, listened absolutely perfectly. It was a big enclosed area and wasn't on a leash obviously. Everything went well except for one single day. Out of nowhere she ran off, there was nothing around here that "triggered" her, not even a squirrel or anything, suddenly she decided not to listen _at all_. She ran away and it took the owner a long time to catch her - and that was while she used to do so perfectly with the recall for all these years. And up to today she still is still like that, no matter in how many ways we've trained her. She is extremely smart, she is perfectly trained and response very good with all the commands we give her when she's in the house or in an enclosed area now. But as soon as she realises there is nothing that's preventing her from escaping she's off. Even after being a few inches away from being rode over by a car, just an invisible electric fence won't stop her at any time.

Like yours I guess she keeps the eye-contact in place at all times. At no time she looses you out of her eye. What does she do with that? She makes sure you can't catch her...

And this is just a random story of a husky that was trained and did extremely well before this incident. I've been on this forum for quite a while and I had to read many stories of people who had the exact same experiences. Some had an happy ending, some had not. We're not here to bash you, we're here to give you an honest advice - given by all the people which story did not end so well. Even after many years of perfectly listening, any husky can suddenly turn deaf. This is not a fault of the training, this is nothing but just a husky thing.

[wjmartins]

Your quite lucky with that. And I have to say that the owner of Glala thought exactly the same! Glala was great off lead, she went to agility training with her, listened absolutely perfectly. It was a big enclosed area and wasn't on a leash obviously. Everything went well except for one single day. Out of nowhere she ran off, there was nothing around here that "triggered" her, not even a squirrel or anything, suddenly she decided not to listen _at all_. She ran away and it took the owner a long time to catch her - and that was while she used to do so perfectly with the recall for all these years. And up to today she still is still like that, no matter in how many ways we've trained her. She is extremely smart, she is perfectly trained and response very good with all the commands we give her when she's in the house or in an enclosed area now. But as soon as she realises there is nothing that's preventing her from escaping she's off. Even after being a few inches away from being rode over by a car, just an invisible electric fence won't stop her at any time.

Like yours I guess she keeps the eye-contact in place at all times. At no time she looses you out of her eye. What does she do with that? She makes sure you can't catch her...

And this is just a random story of a husky that was trained and did extremely well before this incident. I've been on this forum for quite a while and I had to read many stories of people who had the exact same experiences. Some had an happy ending, some had not. We're not here to bash you, we're here to give you an honest advice - given by all the people which story did not end so well. Even after many years of perfectly listening, any husky can suddenly turn deaf. This is not a fault of the training, this is nothing but just a husky thing.

Thx and appreciate the advice. We are fortunate to live in a very large enclosed gated community and all the neigbors love Een the Husky. My fence was disabled for 3 weeks by a lightning strike without my knowlege and as far as I know he only skipped it once, I immediately got a phone call to find him admiring a Poodle across the road.

My Husky spoiled my, as he is an absolute walk in the park compared to his step-sis. You can read about it here. http://www.husky-owners.com/forum/threads/difficult-dogs.30830/

[valkyries]

lol ok ok you have a great spoiled husky who obays your every command, your a lucky man weldone, still don't wish mine were the same i love the fact their different and theres no way i'll brake them just to suite me. how old is Een ???

[wjmartins]

lol ok ok you have a great spoiled husky who obays your every command, your a lucky man weldone, still don't wish mine were the same i love the fact their different and theres no way i'll brake them just to suite me. how old is Een ???

He is 10 1/2 months old.

Here is a real serious disciplinary session, he is teaching me Husky language.

[Removed #2]

I'm not going to read through all the responses, but I will share my story. My Stormy girl, who has since crossed the Rainbow Bridge, was a 30 second escape Houidini. I have a 6 ft privacy fence and she chose to go under. She could be out of the yard in 30 seconds, no shit. So we added an invisible fence. I put the collar on myself and let it "shock" me. It did not really hurt, more of a wake up and a shock, but not like a pain shock. Besides that, the warning buzzer might work, but on Stormy, not so much. We were not real successful training her with it, but being the drama queen she was, figured on "shock" would be all it would take. NOT! She screamed through the digging and shock, and eventually broke the wires, and was free again to dig out and run. Since then, I've done some research when I saw that the boys I have now could jump and get their heads/necks over the 6 ft fence. I saw a website (which I'll have to look for again and post later) that had options for dogs that jumped, but I think it could be adapted for diggers. At just below the top the people ran a tight wire. Over the wire they ran plumber's plastic pipe. When the dog tried to grab for the top of the fence, they would grab the pipe, which just constantly turned, not allowing the dog to ever get a grip, thus, no going over the top. My guess is you could figure a way to run the same plumber's pipe around the bottom inside of your fence where he is digging, and he will not be able to dig, because he'll just be turning the pipe. May be something that needs to be buried first, and not sure what you would mount it on, but hope you get the right idea. Everyone has different opinions...and I respect them all, so don't beat up on me for going with the collar and the shock. In the winter, it was virtually useless because of the thick hair, anyway.

[Removed #2]

Fencing solutions...http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_FenceJumping.php#s5

[Removed #2]

More solutions: http://www.coyoteroller.com/home

http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/escapeartists.html

[Sleepys13]

i've never tryed the invisible fence, but this is what im doing. when ever suki starts digging at an area of the fence. i dig right under the fence and put cement blocks there. then fill it back up with dirt. so when she starts digging in that spot she runs into the cement block, and so far it has worked great. plus the blocks are pretty cheap at least they are were i live they're 1.48 at home depot. for me cement blocks was a cheaper fix than poring cement under the fence.

[Rosemary]

Huskys are trainable. I will not let mine off leash in public, as with any other dog, but once out in the woods Een knows to maintain eye contact and he knows the difference between being serious and when it's play. When it is serious, he will lie down and wait for me. When it is play, he will run in circles and bark at me. Those are the rewards of training, repetition, repetition and spending a whole lot of quality time with your dog. With respect, those who lose control of their Huskys and have dogs running away when they accidently get off leash, do not understand how to be the "Alpha" individual in the relationship.[/quote]

I agree that Huskies are trainable - they are extremely intelligent - but they are also very stubborn, and it is that, accompanied with their inquisitive streak and their very, very strong prey drive which makes them unrealiable off lead.

Your husky is a puppy. As a puppy, all/most huskies have good recall when trained. Mine would not venture out of eye sight and would always look back to see that we were close. As they get older they push those boundaries and wonder further, and eventually, the unknown, or some other exciting scent or sound will lure them away - then they will be gone. The perfect recall flies out the window, and we, the so-called Alpha can do absolutely nothing, except pray.

This has been proved time and time again with very experienced husky owners, even an agility trained champion with perfect recall, died, when recall failed.

I admit that my huskies can, and will, run circles around me when they want to, and that I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert in training and discipline - nor do I want to be, but my huskies are well mannered, they know their boundaries within the home and backyard, they know what is acceptable and what is not. They love us and each other, and live a very, very good life. But they do, and will push the boundaries at times. Am I Alpha? Probably, but for some unknown reason, that is not something I dwell on, nor try to obtain. Each to their own.

[Rosemary]

At just below the top the people ran a tight wire. Over the wire they ran plumber's plastic pipe. When the dog tried to grab for the top of the fence, they would grab the pipe, which just constantly turned, not allowing the dog to ever get a grip, thus, no going over the top. My guess is you could figure a way to run the same plumber's pipe around the bottom inside of your fence where he is digging, and he will not be able to dig, because he'll just be turning the pipe. May be something that needs to be buried first, and not sure what you would mount it on, but hope you get the right idea. Everyone has different opinions...and I respect them all, so don't beat up on me for going with the collar and the shock. In the winter, it was virtually useless because of the thick hair, anyway.

I really like this idea of the 'rolling' pipe fitted to the top of a wall or fence. Makes perfect sense to me. Great idea, and could work out to be reasonably cheap compared to extending a wall or fence. I'll show this to my husband, we have a section of wall I am not comfortable with.

i've never tryed the invisible fence, but this is what im doing. when ever suki starts digging at an area of the fence. i dig right under the fence and put cement blocks there. then fill it back up with dirt. so when she starts digging in that spot she runs into the cement block, and so far it has worked great. plus the blocks are pretty cheap at least they are were i live they're 1.48 at home depot. for me cement blocks was a cheaper fix than poring cement under the fence.

We have also put down cement blocks - and we also get them at a reasonable price, so it works well for us.

[Removed #2]

It's not the dog that needs training, it's the owner. The reward of being able to really connect with your dog is irreplaceable. I don't have to tell my dogs they are going for a walk, the moment I make that decision they know and the exitement immediately shows. When I talk to them using their individual names, their eyes and their head movements suggest that they understand English pretty good. It is just a totally different experience. You are missing out, try a good trainer and a few classes, it will be well worth your while.

About the recall, all it takes is that when you do have a little time to spend with your dog, reward him including a little snack, every time he comes to you. Be consistent. It may take a while, even months if he is an older dog, but if you persist, eventually the dog will adapt a recall behavior.

Sorry, couldn't leave this one alone. Not trying to start a fight, but it doesn't just take a little time with a reward of a snack, and even persistence to train recall behavior in a husky. I've tried, and my Stormy girl had grande recall, as long as I was in my car with the door open, in the middle of the park, in the middle of the night, trying to avoid the police ticketing me for driving in the park! It just doesn't happen that easy for everyone, or even mostly everyone. I've posted this before...so I'll do it again....http://www.aarf.net/id10.html

[wjmartins]

Sorry, couldn't leave this one alone. Not trying to start a fight, but it doesn't just take a little time with a reward of a snack, and even persistence to train recall behavior in a husky. I've tried, and my Stormy girl had grande recall, as long as I was in my car with the door open, in the middle of the park, in the middle of the night, trying to avoid the police ticketing me for driving in the park! It just doesn't happen that easy for everyone, or even mostly everyone. I've posted this before...so I'll do it again....http://www.aarf.net/id10.html

Sad story, sorry to hear the end. As with any living thing, we can't always predict behavior accurately. I guess it's about knowing when the risk and consequences of deviation becomes to0 high.

Getting back to the invisible fence, personally I would probably also be cautious should I live in a high risk area, which I don't. Again, as mentioned before I have 3 years of 100% success with my Lab mix, her being an exceptionally difficult dog to train compared to the Husky. After getting all the negatives here, I contacted my fence supplier and post his response below. Of course he will say it works, as he sells this stuff, but I post it just for what it is worth anyway. My experience with Een very much agrees what he says though.

"Rudy

I used the Sport Dog system with 100% success on my hyperactive Lab mix for three years now. We just moved to a new home, so I purchased the new model from you and it worked from day one. We have a new family member though, being a Siberian Husky, now at five months old. It took me one day to train him and we had success now for two weeks.

Everyone tells me though when a Siberian Husky grows up, the fence will not hold him back. I have almost been crucified by the Husky owners board, for being stupid and cruel. Any Husky experience will be appreciated."

"Hi Willem,

We often get the same reaction when doing installations for with Husky owners. They have a reputation as being stubborn, untrainable, and impossible to contain. Our experience, has been the exact opposite. Then tend to be very sensitive dogs, very receptive to the correction. I have noticed they are independent and hard to train when you have no leverage, but with the correction they are very quick to learn.

The big challenge with Huskies is to get the collar on correctly. Many people are not aware the probes need to touch the skin for the collar to work. With the thick undercoat, that can be a little tricky with a Husky. I suspect the reason there is such a high rate of complaints from Husky owners is that they aren't getting the collar fitted quite right and consequently the dog does not get he correction consistently leading to breakouts.

As long as you keep that collar well fitted, I would not expect problems.

Let us know if you need any further assistance!

Best Regards,

XXXXXXX

Customer Support Manager"