PetSafe Wireless Pet Containment System Receiver Collar - Battery-Operated & Waterproof - Adjustable Receiver Collar with 5 Correction Levels - for Dogs 5lb+

We have 6 month old golden retriever and a fenced back yard. Our golden began digging under the modular that we live in and no matter what we tried to do to block her she still dug around it, through it, in a new spot etc. The fence was doing it's job already so our alternatives were to build a concrete kennel/run for her, stake her out, or put the invisible fence to work. When I ran accross this wireless invisible fence system, I saw this as a great alternative to the previuos mentioned fixes. We got it in two days and were ready to try it out. We followed all the instructions to get the perimeter set-up (which is an adjustable sized circle)and got down to training. The manufacturer has a month or more training schedule - our golden caught on quickly in just two days (we spent about 6 hours training in total.) We followed the instructions to a tee just at a more rapid pace since she began catching on after just one shock at a level 2. We left the flag markers in place for about 8-10 days and began removing them as directed over three days. By this time the dog (Holly) was used to hearing the beep and knew what would come next if she continued in that direction. It has been wonderful , as this also keeps her from wandering off to the neighbors, out to the road, or disappearing out of shouting range. The adjustable radius is great for containing Holly in a smaller area, such as at a BBQ, away from the pool, kids, etc. This is not a system for a small dog as the collar is bulky - I would say the dog should be at least 25 lbs to support the collar. The system is expandable if you buy additional collars (which is still a lot cheaper then building a fence or concrete run). I can't wait to take it camping with us so Holly can roam freely in her area and not need to be staked down or shut up in the car or trailer. The only down side to this system is that the central unit is not weather proof - so you are advised to place it indoors. This was not an issue for us as we have shop and a pump house, but I can see for some if you only wanted to contain the dog in the back of the house it might pose a problem since the circle size might need to be reduced. The only improvement I can suggest would be to make the unit smaller (it is about the size of a gallon jug) and weather proof, so you could place it in a tree or on a table to get the containment area exactly where you want it (guess you could use the old wire system to do this as well). Overall though it is a great invention works well for Holly and we don't have any more digging under the house.FYI - for those that think the shock is cruel - I held the collar in my hand and it is not painful, but I can feel it (it is much like the sensation of placing your tongue on a 9 volt battery - not painful)- I think since it is a different sensation dogs react to it. We have kept the level at a 2 for Holly (it goes up to 6, which I would imagine feels like a zap, bnut just like humans some dogs are more or less sensative then others)- but I have only seen her get shocked 4 times, 2 of which I made happen in order to train her to go back inside the circle instead of outside it and 2 of her own mistakes. Holly responds to the sound now and eventually she won't even need the collar on to stay within her boundary.One year later - still works. Holly (the dog) definately knows where she can roam when the collar is on. We have replaced the battery 5 times, so about every 2 months. There is a low battery indicator on the collar itself and the batteries are pretty cheap here on amazon. We leave the unit on 24-7 becasue it is just easier than worring about openeing a door and having Holly escape without her collar and we have not had any issues. Holly actually wants the collar on, after a bath she goes straight to where the collar is and can't wait for us to put it back on. After the inital training Holly only has gotten zapped one other time and she was chasing a duck - this was about 7 months after being with the collar - she did escape her boundaries although she returned back inside the boundary as well - she is almost full grown so we figured the level 2 was just not as effective as it had been when she was a pup. That same afternoon we upped the level and let Holly test it again, now that she thought she could get outside the boundary area. It worked, she cried out, so we knew she felt it, she immeadiatly returned to the front porch and still to this day if she hears the warning beep she returns straight to the front porch to ensure she does not get zapped again. The Collar is still in good shape and we hope the unit last another couple years.

After trying several GPS systems, I decided to try one that made its own signal. I had a GPS tracker, and she would be a mile away before it even said she was gone. A wireless fence with GPS, our signal was too weak to set it up. This or wired fence was all that was left to choose from.Our girl is special to us. She wandered onto our property although our herding dogs barked at her. She was emaciated and it was cold outside. She had no chip or tags, and no one was looking for her. That is a common occurrence around here. About 2 weeks later she kept running away. Always to the same place. A little boy to play with. The little boy told the truth. It was theirs. They didn't want her anymore. We tried everything and this was the last resort. It worked great.It was very easy to set up. The transistor is lightweight. You don't even need molly bolts to hang it. Before I actually put the collar on her and turned the transistor on, she was outside tearing up the flags. LOL But you get lots of them. Is it very expensive? It depends what price you put on your dog. Priceless. Now I can get something done besides chasing dogs down the road. The system has very sturdy collars and with a battery I don't have to charge every night. On other collars the dogs play rough and actually turn the thing off. Fitting the collar was the hardest part of setting this system up. It worked so well, we bought this extra transistor to expand the play area. I was worried that the collars might shock them in the house where the areas intersect, but I found no places that would do that. We are extremely pleased with this system.

For ease of setup, I gave the PetSafe Wireless Pet Containment System a 4 stars, but for actual use, it is definitely worth 5 stars for performance.We adopted a 3 year old mixed breed (30lbs, looks like a hound-mix) who has escaped our 6-foot tall privacy fence by digging under the concrete footer, by chewing a hole and yanking a board loose, and by dashing out the gate. He is an inside dog and we have a pet door, which allows him (and our other dogs) access in and out as they wish. It is almost as if he becomes overcome when he gets a whiff of something and just goes nuts trying to hunt it down.The third and last time he escaped he was found nearly a mile away across a busy road, which made us finally face that we needed a more drastic approach before our little guy gets himself killed (or one of the other dogs, who like to go with him). So with deep reservations and regret, we overnight ordered one of these systems. Neither of us liked the idea of a shock-collar, but were at a loss as to what else we could do to keep the little guy safe from his own instincts.It took two of us about 2 hours to set it up. The difficult part, ironically, was the shape of our lot (narrow and deep) and house (three stories) compared to the spherical size of the electronic boundary. In order to allow our dog access to as much of the backyard as possible but not more than the fence, we had to not only change the strength of the field but move the transmitter until he also had access to the front part of the house. He still cannot quite get all the way to the front of the house upstairs but it was the best we could do. The transmitter (which is HUGE) has to sit on a table in our central hallway on the second floor in order to give him the access we wish.Something I wish we had known before we bought it was that you are not intended to leave the collar on the dog 24/7, but rather to put it on him just when he is being let out. We have conditioned ours to wear it during the day, then we take it off at night when we close the dog-door. Hopefully he will not get raw where the electrodes touch him (that seems to be the concern with leaving it on too long). So if like us, you normally give your dog free run of both house and yard and want to use this to limit escaping it might not be the best option (though if like us you are at your wits-end as to keeping your dog safe, it might be one of your only options shy of an in-ground system).The electronic part of the collar is large and not suited to small dogs. It looks large on our 30lb dog and he has a very stout 14" neck. I can't imagine putting it on a 10lb dog.Setting the charge on it: So once we were happy with the field we went to test it. My son-in-law happily volunteered to be the guinea pig. We set it on 4 as that seemed to be the strength recommended for medium sized short-haired dogs (shock settings are 2-6). My son-in-law got quite the shock (he had it across his palm). So we turned it down to 2 (the lowest setting that shocks) before putting it on the dog. When he crossed the line and it shocked him he yelped, reared up and nearly flipped over. It was painful to watch. Fortunately after that he was quite cowed by just the beeping. I've only seen him get shocked one other time and that was sadly in the house.Unfortunately it made him loathe to go outside at all at first, so that created issues with house-training. But better to have to re-crate train him than to have him escape and get run over. This has improved recently as he has gotten used to his new restrictions and I'm confident he will be fine. At least now he does not have to be leashed indoors in order to keep him from sneaking off to do his business where he should not. The last week I have let him have free-reign while on collar with no issues. But it is an unexpected consequence that other pet-parents should be aware of when considering this system.Overall, I am so glad it has stopped him escaping, but still wish this had not been necessary.