What to Do When Your Dog Runs Through an Electric Fence

Let’s face it. It can happen. Your dog ran through your electric dog fence.

Is it the dog? Is it the system?

Let’s discuss why some dog owners experience their dog running through their electric dog fence. We’ll offer some likely reasons why this happens and what you can do to prevent it.

What’s the Problem?

Wired pet fences are training tools. They create an hidden boundary around your property to keep your pet contained. So, when something malfunctions, this hidden boundary may no longer keep your dog or cat inside.

Here are some things you can do to see if your system is working:

  • Check if your boundary width is set to the optimal distance.
  • Test batteries in the collar.
  • Test the fence to see if collar is working when passing over fence.
  • Turn up the transmitter dial.
  • If the collar works, make sure your dog is groomed well so that it’s closer to the skin.
  • Make sure everything is plugged in and functioning.

If your confident your system is working properly, it’s time to explore other possible issues, such as behavior.

Stubborn Pups

Some dogs are easily startled or excitable. According to the VCA, “If the dog sees something he really wants to chase or is frightened by thunder or something inside the yard, he may breach the electric fence ignoring the electric stimulus. Then the dog is essentially “locked out” of his yard unless he is willing to be shocked upon re-entry.”

Some dogs struggle with what’s called barrier frustration. This is what happens when they see other dogs or animals outside of the electric fence. If your dog is very social and get very excited in anticipation of playing with other dogs, this can cause them to have barrier frustration. Then, all training can go out the door as they zoom out of the boundary.

This can be a problem for dog owners, but not impossible to overcome. You can retrain your dog to work within the boundaries you’ve set for them.

Retraining Dogs

Corrections from the collar alone is not always enough to keep a dog within the desired boundaries. Retraining for the most stubborn dogs is sometimes necessary.

To train your dog to stay inside an hidden pet fence, you need to remind them where the barriers are. We suggest walking the perimeter (marked with flags) with your dog to remind them. At eXtreme Dog Fence, we provide all our electric fence customers with FREE comprehensive training on our website.

We break training down into 4 easy steps:

  1. Introduction
  2. Correction
  3. Testing
  4. Off Leash

We even answer common questions such as: “My dog is completely ignoring the correction. Should the correction level be turned up?” and “My dog learned to not cross the boundary, but now he stays very far away from it. How can I help my dog be more comfortable of the entire yard?”

At eXtreme Dog Fence, we understand your pet’s safety and happiness are priorities. Our experienced staff will work with you to get your fence working to your expectations.

Reach Out to the Manufacturer

Customer service is KING when it comes to troubleshooting your electric dog fence. When you are struggling with training or the actual technical aspects of your pet fence system, the manufacturer should be there to help.

Therefore, we pride ourselves on our customer service. Our team is available 7 days a week to answer your questions. Don’t hesitate to contact us.

 

33 Replies to “What to Do When Your Dog Runs Through an Electric Fence”

  1. My dog is a golden retriever he respected the fence for quite some time but now it doesn’t seem to phase him at all he just runs right through it. I think I have it turned all the way up… please help. I purcahsed the system from you guys.

    1. Hi Greg! We will be more than happy to help you through these issues. We will need to program your transmitter to the proper correction level and/or possibly upgrade your collar.
      Please give our office a call so that we may better assist you with troubleshooting. You can reach us at (800) 305.6116 M-F 8:30am-7pm and Sat. and Sun 9am-5pm.

  2. My dog knows the boundary, but something exciting enough will get him to run. It’s like he doesn’t even notice the correction at all he moves so fast (also we don’t hear a beep or anything). Is it possible he goes so fast that he doesn’t even get a shock? He gets shocked on re-entry and lets out a loud yelp…. so we know it’s on and working. Any suggestions?

    1. Hello Katy, thanks for reaching out to us. Sorry to hear that your dog is running though the fence. To answer your question, no your dog can’t run so fast that they don’t receive the correction. With that being said, we need to make sure of a few things. If your boundary width is not set high enough, your dog isn’t likely to get stopped before the wire. Another thing we need to make sure of is that you haven’t tried to program your active (red) collar to a level 8. Level 8 is reserved for the hyper collar, which is all blue. If you try and program the red collar to a level 8, it will not work properly. We will be happy to help you get your fence up and running successfully if you would please just give us a call. You can reach us at 800-305-6116. Hope to speak with you soon!

      1. Our dog is going right through the invisible fence line when she wants to. And will come right back through it like nothing. It is turned up to level 8 and is beeping and working. FRUSTRATED

        1. Hello Ananda, thanks for reaching out to us. The reason your dog is going right through the fence is because your red and blue collar doesn’t work on a level 8. Level 8 is reserved for the hyper collar, which you don’t have. The strongest level of correction for the collar that you have is a level 5. We will be happy to help you set your collar to a level 5 if you would please give us a call! Hope to hear from you soon! 800-305-6116.

      2. Admin: Would it be possible to sprint through the boundary zone without getting shocked if the band is only 2-3 feet wide? I have the PetSafe brand fence, and it is my understanding that the collar emits a warning tone and then there is a time delay before the correction is applied. I had the band width set to the lowest setting, and I am wondering if increasing the width of the band will prevent her from running across, or if it will trap her outside the wire once she gets across. I have also put the flags back out, and she will not come near them. Hoping that the flags will be a quick patch, but also want to fix the problem so this doesn’t happen again.
        Any suggestions?
        Thanks in advance!

        1. Hello Josh, thanks for reaching out to us. I can only speak for our Extreme Dog Fence in regards to your question. Here is how it works. If your transmitter is set so that the collar triggers 3 feet before the wire, that means it also triggers 3 feet up from the wire. Let’s say that your dog’s neck is 5 feet above the wire. This could mean that your dog will not receive the correction, as it never reaches the collar. Know what I mean? Increasing the signal width would make it so that the correction would reach your dog’s collar. Feel free to give us a call if you would like to chat. Thanks! Pam 800-305-6116

  3. I have a different brand of fence. Extreme is coming up on the list as a top fence. I have two German Rottweiler 135Lbs each. One has three stubborn transmitters on his collar and he continues to go through the fence. I need to know if Extreme will contain this guy. Not sure why he is willing to get shocked coming and going. Is it possible due to his height or is this system just not good enough?

    1. Hello Stacey. Thanks for reaching out to us. We do have a stubborn dog collar for our eXtreme Dog Fence. However, I don’t want to give you a false promise that our stubborn dog collar is going to be any stronger than the collar that you currently have. Although we have had success with it, I have never personally felt each of the collars to tell you which one is stronger. Just want to be 100% honest. (:

  4. I have a electric fence, I believe that it is not through you. But I have a labradoodle and and snodoodle who will run through the fence no matter what. I have tried training with the flags, testing the collars, walking the yard, and so on. But NOTHING keeps them in, they see a dog they run, they see a person they run. I’m so frustrated and I don’t know what to do because people in my neighborhood are getting upset and calling dog patrol on us. Both collars are set on the highest level which is 5 on the collars I have but it doesn’t stop them.

    1. Reagan, thanks for reaching out to us. You mentioned that you believe your fence wasn’t manufactured by us, so it is a little difficult to troubleshoot what could be happening with a product that isn’t ours. But I will try! In many cases, the reason why dogs are escaping is because the collar is not fitted properly. It is imperative that the collar probes are fitted snugly against the dog’s neck. The collar should not be able to spin around the dog’s neck at all. If the dog has longer, thicker fur, the longer probes should be used to make the best contact with the dog’s skin. In regards to your collars being set on the highest level, I would recommend contacting the manufacturer to make sure they are functioning properly. Our company offers a hyper/stubborn dog collar option for dogs that are more difficult to contain. If you are ready to make the switch over to Extreme, you could simply purchase the transmitter and collars to use with your existing wire. We offer this option on our website: https://www.extremedogfence.com/product/invisible-fence-replacement-system/ Feel free to give us a call to discuss further. Have a great day!

      1. My son has a Golden and another dog that is oart beagle/lab. She continues to run through the electric ingroind fence. We just replaced wire but just found this extreme fence. Do you need the transmitter and collar for this or could we just buy the extreme collar. Just curious if they work together. His original is a pet safe brand. The new wire is a heavier gauge just bought from a hardware store. Just trying to keep her in and don’t want her to get hit but licking her up seems cruel too.

  5. Hi I am just about to buy your product and have 2 main questions. (1) How do you train the dog to respect the boundaries but also be able to take the dog on the leash outside/through the perimeter for a normal walk into the woods or neighborhood and (2) if the dog goes through the fence, what is the best way to bring the dog back so she knows she isn’t going through the perimeter? Thanks Mitch

    1. Hello Mitchell, you ask some good questions. Regarding your first question about how to take your dog over the boundary for a walk, while still respecting the boundaries of the fence, detailed instructions can be found in our FAQ section here: https://www.extremedogfence.com/frequently-asked-questions/ After the dog is trained on the fence, it begins with removing the dog’s receiver collar, (and replacing it with your dog’s walking gear). When going on a walk, you will need to enter and exit your dog fence in the same spot every time, to not confuse the dog. Let him watch you move the flag out of the way and replace the flag when you come back home and put his dog fence collar back on him.
      Your second question was about if your dog breaks through the fence, how do you get him back. You will need to remove his receiver collar, or the dog will get corrected when crossing back over the boundary. Please call us so that we can chat more about any other questions or concerns you might have. You can reach us at 800-305-6116. Thanks!

  6. We have the stubborn collar and the field is set to 5 feet before and collar is set to 5 as you advised us to do and my dog still is running in and out with very little reaction. He is a 9 month old lab mix. We are retraining and he won’t come near it during training but put something he wants on other side and off he goes. Then walks right back with a tiny Yelp. And yes literally walks. Any suggestions. Thanks

    1. Charlene, thanks for reaching out to us and providing us with some insight into your situation with your lab puppy. I just wanted to be certain of something. Have you checked to see if your collar is actually beeping 5 feet in front of the wire? I ask because if your transmitter reads 05, that doesn’t equal 5 feet. Just wanted to be sure that the number on your transmitter reads high enough, as it will go all the way up to 32 if needed. Is your dog’s collar nice and snug around the neck, where it won’t spin around at all? If your collar is indeed beeping 5 feet or more in front of the wire, and the collar is snug enough, it may be time to look into trading out your active collar for a stubborn collar. We can do that for you, for a small upgrade fee of $30. Please call us at 800-305-6116 so that we can discuss that with you. Hope to speak with you soon!

  7. We have an electric fence installed. My Soft Coated Wheaten ALWAYS respected her boundaries. We learned a very difficult lesson last night. When a dog wants something it will go after it. Our 1.5 year has been chasing Chipmunks. In the yard. I saw her “hunt” become more active. Last night, she saw a Chipmunk in the driveway. She chased it down at full speed. She ran through a 12 foot pinch zone and a boundary to get to it. Ultimately, she ran into the road and was killed. The point it is that I should have not relied on the electric fence. I should have had an absolute blockage to keep that from happening despite no matter how many times I watched her respect the boundaries. She has never ever gone close to the boundary in our driveway until she saw the Chipmunk which by nature in her breed to instinctually chases. Yes, I feel incredibly guilty and responsible for not doing more. I am posting here not to blame the equipment but to just share with the community that the electric fence is invisible and can be penetrated subjecting our loved pets to harm. Please be mindful.

    1. Hi Jay,
      We first want to extend our deepest apologies and sympathy to you about your dog. We all love our pets and see them as family here at Extreme. If you need anything else please feel free to contact us anytime!

      Thanks,
      Jayne @ Extreme Dog Fence

  8. Hello, we’ve had Extreme Dog Fence for at least a year now and love it! My son recently bought a new collar as the old one fell off and got lost on our property. The new collar works just fine on the wire around the house but quit working on the property line wire. Any troubleshooting ideas why this might be?

    1. Hello Anita!
      Have you tried changing the frequency on the transmitter and collar to see if that gives you a better result? If you have any issues with that please give us a call at 1-800-305-6116 and we can walk you through some troubleshooting over the phone!

      Thanks,

      Kelsey @ Extreme Dog Fence

  9. We purchased your fence system and active dog collar this fall. He is aware of the boundary location, he isn’t accidentally running through it. When the temptation is too great for what he wants on the other side he squares his shoulders up to the fence line and darts through. I have about 1500 feet of wire, and upgraded to the stubborn collar turned to 5 and his neck shaved. Is there anything left to do? We live rural, we have kids and dogs all up and down our road. They kids play together, ride bikes together, they each have a dog and all the dogs run with the kids when they are together, it’s an awesome situation, except for our dog. He is the only one of the bunch who won’t come back to his own house at the end of the play session. All the other dogs go back home with their owners.

    1. Hello Aubrey,

      Is he giving a reaction at all when the collar is beeping and giving a correction? Since he is shaved are you using the long or short prongs on him? I would recommend the short prongs in the case of him being shaved. We do have a stronger collar than the stubborn that we have available that we can offer if you wanted to reach out to us at 1-800-305-6116. Also do you know what your boundary number is set to on the transmitter? This is the number on the transmitter without pressing any buttons. We would be glad to try and help!
      Thanks,
      Kelsey @ Extreme Dog Fence

      1. I still have the longer prongs on him. He’s a Golden and even shaved (not bare skin) he still has lots of hair. I have the boundary set at maximum width, 32 maybe. I am going to start retraining on the boundary awareness this week. But I may be interested in the stronger collar than stubborn if this isn’t enough. Do you have a link to that collar on your website? Is there possibly an “upgrade” option from stubborn to next collar up?

  10. Our hound has been crossing the boundary the last 3 days. How do I stop this? We turned the collars up to 8 and it’s not keeping him in.

    1. Hello,
      The collar being on an 8 means that it is a progressive mode but if you have the active collar that is not a setting at all if you want it on the highest level you will have to change it to a 5. When you put it on an 8 it means that it went back to the beep only mode.

  11. I have just purchased the stubborn dog system with the hyper collars (blue). I have my German Rottweiler’s collar set at level 8, but he continues to run through the fence. Is this the correct/highest level for this collar? He runs right through it, but then of course will not come back across, but will run through it within 30 minutes of getting him back in the yard, HELP!

    1. Hello,
      Level 8 is going to be a progressive level level 5 is going to be the highest constant correction setting that the collar can be set on. Progressive levels are usually used for training. So of you change it to a level 5 you should be good to go.
      Thank you!

  12. Yes, thank you, I changed to level 5 and NO MORE ISSUES!! YAY!! Love this system, thank you for wonderful customer service and a wonderful product!!

  13. We have the stubborn collar ( blue). It is set on level 8. Our dog knows the boundary and can’t be dragged near the fence, however he will run right through whenever he feels like it. I have the boundary zone set at 22. He is a border collie.

    1. Hello Julie,
      A level 8 is not the highest shock on that collar it is a progressive level that will start at a low level and then will progressively get higher the longer the dog stands in the zone but if the dog is bolting over the line then the collar does not have enough time to get to the higher setting. If you want the dog to get the strongest correction right away you will need to set the collar to a level 5.
      Thank you!
      Darianne

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