Review on Rechargeable In-Ground Pet Fence and Receiver Collar by PetSafe, YardMax System for Dogs and Cats, Multiple Wire Gauge & Indoor/Outdoor Barrier Options by Sandra Landgrebe

I have a 4 year old Luwellin (English) Setter who loves to be outdoors and explore. Which is logical, because that's what they were bred for (hunting on the hills). We used to live in apartments with a fenced yard. But this summer we moved to a place that had no physical boundaries with side and yard neighbors. Also, some neighbors have small children who spend a lot of time outside but are very afraid of large active dogs. So I knew I had to restrict my dog's freedom of movement. At first I figured I could do with a simple rope about 30 feet long. nope She broke it more than once. The steel line was better, but there were so many flaws. it wrapped around everything. it got tangled and stuck around the trees and I had to go and untangle it. and she ran on in the great circle that marked the extremity of her line, mostly leaving a muddy path on the lawn and killing the grass. So I needed a "wireless" system, so to speak. :) And to complicate things even more, I have a very narrow space between the yard just outside the patio door and the neighbors' sandpit where their kids play. So I wasn't sure if a border wider than a few feet would work. After doing a little research, I decided the YardMax system would be the best choice. With its ability to be customizable with almost zero wide margins, it really was the only sensible choice. And this is confirmed by its excellent reputation. And he lives up to his reputation. Since my dog was already very familiar with e-collars, it only took him a few days to understand the term "beep means stop" and to associate it with flags. By the end of the first weekend, I felt comfortable leaving her unattended while I did chores. The neighbors were also very impressed by the system. When the kids are playing ball in the parking lot right behind me, my dog clearly wants to join in and grab the ball, but sits right on the perimeter. Even if the ball lands only a few meters away from her, she doesn't get an inch closer to it. Children feel very comfortable outdoors and no longer worry about the "big scary dog". So it's a huge win-win situation. In fact I would say it's a win-win because the dog is happy to have more room to run and not have to worry. The neighbors are happy because my dog is well behaved. And I'm happy because I can just open the patio door to let them in and out without having to deal with queues like I originally did. More freedom for everyone! Actually the installation was very easy. I knew I wasn't going to bury the wire, so I went to a big hardware store and bought 14 gauge black solid wire. about 500 feet for $30. I cut the lawn very short beforehand and spent about an hour laying the wire and then tacking it down with regular staples. When I was done I couldn't even tell where the wire was in most places. (And I don't see it anywhere these days.) Then I spent about 3 minutes setting the flags. I really liked how easy it was to define the boundary, both when setting and placing the flags. Just place the wire where you want the dog to stop and place a flag there. As I said, training my dog was pretty easy given her experience with e-collars. At first she didn't really understand that the flags marked the position of the border, and her standard reaction to a shock in the field was always to come back to me. So she was stuck very close to home for a few days. But I knew that eventually she would wander around and set boundaries for herself once she realized they weren't moving. After a week she was perfectly fine and now she is the happiest person I have ever seen because she has so much freedom. I wouldn't recommend this type of introduction to invisible fences for most dogs, but I know how my dog thinks. So I was happy with this method. Overall I would say YardMax has been one of the best investments I have ever made for my dog. Now I have more neighbors to worry about than ever before, but I don't worry anymore.