Wireless vs Wired Dog Fence [in ground] : What best suits your needs !!!

We may earn commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Learn more

Pet Containment Systems: Wireless vs Wired Dog Fence [in ground]?

One important decision every dog owner has to make is how to contain your dog. If you are in the city, with shared yards or parks, a leash may be your only option, but if your house has its own yard, you will have a few options to consider. Of course, there is the obvious option of a wooden or chain-link fence. These both keep dogs in and intruders out (human or animal), and even provide privacy from neighbors. However, these above-ground fences are quite expensive (they start at $2500), and often don’t keep determined dogs in – they will just dig or chew until they’re free.

A great alternative to a wooden or chain-link fence is a pet containment system – a “fence” that consists of a transmitter, which sends out a signal to establish a boundary around your yard, and a receiver, a small box on the dog collar that is in constant communication with the transmitter. If you are planning to install a pet containment system, you should know the differences between the two options.

First, you need to know how each one works. “Wired” containment systems are more common, and easier to picture. You’ve probably seen a yard with tiny pennant flags for training a dog to a new containment system, marking the area where the dog is allowed. In a wired invisible fence, a wire travels out from a transmitter box and around the edges of this allowed area. This wired system, which has the wires either traveling above ground or buried underground, works because the transmitter (in a garage) sends a signal through the wires around the yard. When the dog’s receiver-collar approaches the boundary wire, the receiver starts receiving the signal from the wire. It then emits a warning beep. If the dog continues and is about to cross the wire, the receiver will give him a low-level “static correction” to tell the dog to turn back. The dog will quickly associate the beep with the impending correction and will avoid the discomfort in future!

The other kind of invisible fence – the wireless kind – works in a completely different way. In a wireless system, the transmitter box is inside your house, and sends out a signal. This signal travels an equal distance in all directions, creating a circle of the dimensions you prefer. The dog’s collar-receiver does not activate until the dog leaves the circle and the receiver is no longer picking up the signal. The collar will beep and if the dog doesn’t turn back, will deliver the correction.

To help you decide what best suits your needs, it us important to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each system. We have broken these down and compared them by category below.

Setup Time

Wireless: A wireless system is extremely simple to install. Simply plug in the transmitter inside your house, set it to the size of your yard, put batteries in the receiver-collar and the collar on your dog, and you have a way to contain your dog. After a few days of training with flags to mark the edge, he should be able to run around unsupervised!

Wired : This system takes more work up front. In addition to plugging in the receiver and training your dog, you’ll need to dig a 2-3” trench for the wire. This takes an average of 1-2 days, so plan to set aside a weekend. If you have money to pay professional installers, it could take as little as an afternoon.

Winner: Wireless is a cinch!

Cost

Wireless: A wireless system is affordable, usually between $250 and $300. You will also need to plan on $10 to $25 for a battery to power the receiver-collar, and up to $150 per extra collar if you have more than one dog. Some people with large or oddly shaped yards need two transmitters, which would also affect the price.

Wired: A wired system varies more in price because a larger area will need a powerful transmitter and a lot of wire. You can spend as little as $150 for a basic unit with enough wire for a small yard, or as much as $500 to cover a much larger area (up to 100 acres). Many of these collars are rechargeable, so there is no need to buy a separate battery. In addition to the unit and wire, though, you’ll also need to plan on the cost of installation unless you plan to dig the trench yourself. This will add anywhere from $500 to $2000 to your total cost

Portability

Wireless: Wireless systems are the essence of portability because if you need to relocate the system, all you need to do is unplug, transport, and plug it back in. Do keep in mind that your dog will be confused at first and may need a perimeter of flags set up just as a visual cue that the border is in place. But if you have a cabin in the mountains you would like to take your dog to, all you need is a power source to keep them contained.

Wired: You can imagine the headache involved in relocating one of these. If you are not sure you will be in the same location for long, you can always install the wire above the grass, which would make the system slightly easier to remove and relocate. Ultimately, though, the transmitter might be okay to relocate, but it would make more sense to leave the wiring in place and purchase and install new wire at the new location.

Winner: Wireless systems are clearly once again the winner when it comes to being portable. If you are even thinking about moving in the next year or two, one of these would make that process much easier for you and your dog.

Flexibility

Wireless: The wireless system is weak on this point. Because the shape is determined by the radio waves getting sent out evenly in all directions, the shape of the area is always going to be a circle. This definitely does not work with every yard, because a rectangle, for instance, is going to have a large swath of unused grass. Adding a second transmitter on the other end of the house will help somewhat, but there will always be some amount of unused space. Added to this, the transmitter’s waves are interrupted by any slope, so an uphill slope will reduce the dog’s running space even further, and a downhill slope might mean the dog can farther than desired on that side. The one way that a wireless system can be customized is size (up to 500 feet radius), so even a very large range can be covered by one of these.

Wired: A wired system can send its wires around any shape, no matter how large (some brands advertize up to 100 acres). The wires can be doubled to prevent a stubborn dog from escaping. And finally, the wires can be run around objects such as flower gardens, swimming pool, or even a private putting green in order to keep them safe from pup intruders. Setups can vary infinitely, so if you have an unusual-shaped yard or special areas to protect, this is the system for you.

Winner: Wired

Intensity

Wireless: A wireless system usually comes with multiple collars or multiple prong plug-ins with varying prong lengths. This allows for a variety of hair lengths and thicknesses. The wireless system also has several settings so you can vary the intensity of the correction quite easily. If you have a very sensitive or very stubborn dog (or one with very long hair) the wireless system might suit them better, so you can customize the intensity of the correction.

Wired: Many wired systems have a set length of prongs and also a set intensity for the correction, so a sensitive (or small) dog might feel strongly what a stubborn (or big) dog wouldn’t blink at.

Winner: Wireless

Repairs

Wireless: The wireless system is easy to repair – simply mail in to the manufacturer for an easy fix. Unfortunately, because the receiver is programmed to give a correction when it stops receiving the signal, will continue to give the shock for a short time after the transmitter has stopped working. It has a safety feature that will turn it off after a few minutes, though.

Wired: The long wires dug into the ground will make repairs tricky. You will need to turn off the transmitter, and use a special tool to walk along the perimeter and find the gap in the wire. However, the wired system does have one positive in this category: because the correction is only felt when the signal is received, the dog will not receive a shock after the transmitter has stopped working.

Winner: Wireless for you, Wired for your dog.

Reliability

Wireless: The wireless has some issues with reliability. The waves that it sends out do have a margin of error that increases over a longer distance. With a margin of error of up to 1%, the perimeter could vary up to 2 feet from minute to minute, particularly in bad weather. The signal is further affected by slopes in the terrain, by metal objects like refrigerators or flagpoles, and even by trees. This system is not for rugged, wooded terrain.

Wired: The wired system has a negligible margin of error, since it is held in place by its wires! Its signal is also not affected by the weather or landscape.

Winner: Wired

WOLF-HYBRIDS AND THE CONTAINMENT THAT I USE

I apologize in advance that this is so long, if you do not have the time to read all of it right now I completely understand. Once I start writing about my beloved pets, I have a hard time stopping. Lol. I live on a few acres in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and had a breeder of wolf-hybrids move in next door to me, and his female had just had a litter of pups, so he gave me my first male wolf-hybrid. Then, he rescued a female wolf-hybrid that was being severely abused and brought her to my house because I had a great containment set up, and I am here with them 24/7, 365 days a year, and he knows how much I love my pups, and would never do anything to bring harm to them. Long story short, the female ended up mating with my male hybrid, after she had refused to be mated with by any males for the first four years of her life, so it was rather unexpected. They ended up have 12 pups, all of which my husband and I helped her give birth to and raise for first 12 weeks of their lives. Then, we found appropriate homes for 10 of the pups with friends and family members who have the proper containment for them and I only gave them to families who have one person who stays home / works from home, because they cannot be kenneled and require pretty much constant supervision. They are all spayed and neutered now, so that we don’t have any more puppies. Although I wouldn’t change that experience for the world, having 12 wolf-hybrid puppies and two adult wolf hybrids was one of the most exhausting things that I have ever done. How did you come to have 14 of them? That is so neat. I would love to have a sanctuary for wolf-hybrids, one day. They are so misunderstood, and such amazing creatures.

In regard to the question of whether or not I ever considered using an underground / wireless fence, my husband and I definitely discussed that option at length. Especially at first, when we only had the one wolf-hybrid. I liked the idea of a wireless / underground fence for several reasons. Mainly, because we live in a beautiful canyon, surrounded by mountain views, and we have a creek that runs through our front yard that I always want to be able to see, and did not want to block out any of the views that we have with solid, wooden fencing. And also, because the ground is so rocky where we live, and full of massive boulders, it can be difficult to put fence posts in the ground. However, once we discussed the option of installing underground fencing with the guy who breeds these hybrids, he informed us that those types of containment systems (underground / wireless electric shock fences) do not work for wolf-hybrids, at least not for the ones he has bred.

These hybrids have such a strong prey-drive that they will run straight through an electric fence, even with the highest level of static shock. Also, they are incredibly smart animals, as I am sure you know, and the breeder said when he tried to use an electric fence with his pack, they figured out how to make the receiver collar beep until the battery died, then they would leave the containment without getting shocked. Furthermore, if the system shocks them upon re-entering, they might not re-enter the containment area, and I did not want to take that risk. But above all, the biggest concern that I have with electric fencing is hurting my beloved canine companions. Even if the shock doesn’t cause long term, physical damage to my precious babies, I know from everything that I learned about behavioral training, classical conditioning, and shock while receiving my degree in psychology, that these animals would definitely start to distrust me / being in our yard, if I used a shock collar on them.

On top of that, their breed, especially the males, are known to become quite aggressive if they are being threatened, or hurt, and perceive that they are in any kind of danger. I fear that if I shocked them, they would either become agitated and attack one another, or turn on me. And those are all risks that I am not willing to take. Another factor with underground fencing and living in the mountains is that where we live, we are surrounded by bears, deer, mountain lions, and wild animals of all kinds. I have had bears come onto my property and walk right in front of the 6-foot fencing that we put up for our hybrids, and if that fence was not there, I can guarantee that my wolves would have chased after that bear, shock or no shock. And I am not certain what would have happened to any of the animal involved in that situation. Also, I worry about wild animals coming into my yard if I did not have a tall, physical fence to keep them out. Bears wander all around the yards of my neighbors who don’t have fences.

For all of those reasons, we opted to install several layers of metal, chain link fencing and chicken wire, with 6-foot metal pound posts dug into the ground every two feet around the entire perimeter, in order to hold the fencing up. Honestly, I was initially concerned that four large wolf-hybrids would be able to break out of this fence if they really wanted to. But even when they are all four jumping on the fence in the same area, it stays sturdy. They have never escaped (in nearly four years). Truthfully, they don’t really even try to escape, unless there is a wild animal taunting them. However, that is not the case with all hybrids and in some cases, they need chicken wire on the top and buried under the ground, at least a foot deep in order to keep them from digging, or jumping / climbing out of the fence. I feel very thankful that I am able to work from home, and keep a close eye on them and even more thankful that they really do not seem to have any desire to escape. I chalk that up to being because they are pack animals and because they have a pack to live with here, with mama, papa, and two of their male children, they are content and do not wish to go anywhere. And I am very happy about that. How about you? What kind of containment do you use for yours?

Summary

Between these two options, the wireless system comes up the winner in a few more categories, but most people choose the system that allows them to fully customize the shape of their space. The most important thing is to take into account the differences and make the informed decision that is best for you, your space, and your dog.

Wireless vs Wired Dog Fence [in ground]: Which best suits your Dog’s needs?