[LaurenBev]

Hi all,
Since this post seems to have been revived over the past few weeks, I though I should post an update on Leo's progress with his invisible fence. Many say that Bluetick Coonhounds don't do well with the invisible fence because their prey drive is just too much for them - which may be the case with many of them, but not for us. Leo adjusted to it within about 2 weeks and now spends a lot of time out in the yard unaccompanied and unsupervised (but never home alone)! He hasn't had a shock in months. I would think, though, that every Hound is different, so I can't say I'd recommend an invisible fence for all of them - prey drive would be a good indicator - Leo's prey drive seems to have declined significantly over the past few months that we've had him. He used to go absolutely nuts at the mere sight of a squirrel, but now he seems to "get" that he's not a hunting dog anymore, and that he's just our house pet now.

We definately took a gamble on the invisible fence, knowing that it might not work on a hound, but it turns out we made the right choice - other options were either a dog run or a 'real fence' around a smaller area of our yard.

Blaster, to your questions, Leo is a most un-territorial dog, so I don't know if this type of fence would be beneficial to you in helping calm your bluetick of her barking and charging. Also, I think pricing depends on the size of the area you want to enclose. Our yard is pretty big (2 acres), and it cost us around $2K (USD) to enclose the whole thing. I would stress, though, that this fence is only a "psychological barrier" and so training is the KEY to making it work. If you don't train your dog to it properly, it will not keep her in. With our purchase, 4 training sessions were included. We started out with the shock at a very low level, lured Leo into the shock zone and then pulled him back into the 'safe' zone and gave him a treat, thereby teaching him that if he gets into the shock zone, the way to stop it is to come back into the yard. This is they key - to teach your dog that to end the shock, they must come back. Leo got progressively better at this and by the last training session, the trainer brought a live chicken to our house, let it run around and Leo would NOT chase it past the border. Now that is impressive for a hound - I'm sure you know! That's when we determined that he was 'trained' to the fence.

Hope this update is helpful to anyone considering an invisible fence. We are very happy with how it worked out for us, but I must stress again that it is not a magic solution - proper training is the key.

Here is a pic of Leo enjoying a frolic in his yard.