Electric Dog Fence Installation Instructions |
Installing your electric dog fence is actually pretty easy. For an average sized yard (1 acre or less) it’s a Saturday or Sunday afternoon project. You’ll need a couple of tools:
- Phillips head and standard screwdriver (depending on your system)
- Wire cutter/stripper
- A large flat edged spade
- Caulking gun (if you have a concrete or asphalt driveway to cross)
- Exterior silicon caulk (if you have a concrete or asphalt driveway to cross)
- Circular saw with a masonry blade (if you have a concrete or asphalt driveway to cross)
Before you do any digging, you’ll want to contact your utility, gas and phone companies to locate any buried utility, gas and phone lines. You should draw a diagram of your fence, making sure that you do not run your wire within 6 feet parallel to any buried phone, power or cable TV lines as this can effect the signal. When making your diagram you want to also consider your field width. It’s recommended that you plan for a field width of at least 6 feet on each side of the wire. The wider the field, the less likely your pet will be able to run through the field. Make sure that you aren’t running any sections of wire within 10 feet of each other as this can cause the signal to cancel or an intermittent signal. If your neighbor has an electric pet fence, make sure that your wire is at least 10 feet away from their wire. Lastly, make sure that you don’t make crossing areas like along the side of the house too narrow. This can make your dog afraid to cross these areas.
Now that you’ve considered potential obstacles and made your diagram, it’s time to dig your wire trench. Though the wire doesn’t have to be buried, it is highly recommended that you bury to protect it. Using the flat edged spade, dig a 2 to 4 inch trench along the line where you will be burying the wire. If you dig at a 30 to 45 degree angle, the trench will be easier to close. If you’ve got a large area you can use a trenching machine or a gas powered edger. If you use a trenching machine it’s recommended that you place the wire by hand so that you don’t damage it.
It’s very important that you don’t bury the wire until you’ve tested the fence and everything is working properly. You wouldn’t want to get the wire buried only to find out that you have to dig it up to find a break.
On corners make a avoid 90 degree turns. Make a gradual turn of a minimum of 3 feet. 90 degree turns can cause dead spots at the corners.
If you need to cross a driveway or sidewalk, make a half inch cut with a circular saw using a masonry blade. After you’ve placed the wire and tested everything close the cut with asphalt sealant. You can also place the wire in expansion joints if they are present and seal the wire with outdoor caulk. This will help you avoid having to make a cut with a saw. For gravel driveways, dig a trench across the driveway. You should place the wire inside of PVC piping or an old garden hose with the metal ends cut off for added protection. Place the PVC piping or hose in the trench. If there is a drainage conduit, you can run the wire through it. If you do this, you should put the wire inside PVC piping or an old garden hose with the metal ends cut off. Make sure to anchor the ends with large rocks.
When splicing, it’s important that you have a waterproof seal. Underground fence kits and wire expansion kits for underground fences come with waterproof splices. Use them! If you purchase extra wire from a home improvement outlet, make sure that you also purchase waterproof splices.
There may be areas where you want to create a dead zone that your dog can cross. For example you may want your dog to have access to a gate or you may have flower beds or other landscaping inside your containment zone that you want to keep your dog out of. To do this, use pre-twisted wire that comes with some kits or twist two strands of boundary wire together. The tighter the wire is twisted the more effective it will be at creating a dead zone. It’s recommended that there be a minimum of 16 braids per foot. Now that you’ve got your wire twisted, splice the twisted wire to the single strand boundary wire at one end, run the wire across the desired dead zone and splice the twist wire to the single strand at the other end.
Now that you’ve got your wire laid out, connect it to the transmitter. I’ve got my transmitter inside my garage. What I did was to run twisted wire from the boundary to my garage just outside of a window. I ran the twisted wire up the side of the garage and drilled a hole in the window frame to run the wire inside the garage. From there to the transmitter, with one end of the wire connected to one terminal and the other end connect to the other terminal. The wire has to make a continuous loop.
Everything’s plugged in and all of the wire is laid out, so now its time to test your system. Make sure that your transmitter is plugged in and turned on. Set the field width on the transmitter to 6 feet. Make sure that the collar is turned on. If your system came with a test light, attach the test light to the contact probes. Hold the collar at the height of your dog’s neck with the contact probes facing up. Walk toward the boundary wire. Once you approach the boundary you will get the warning tone or the test light will illuminate. Congratulations! You’ve just installed your fence. Now you can cover the wire.
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