Electronic dog containment systems offer an easy way for pet owners to keep their canine companions safely in the yard. These types of containment systems are highly debated in the pet industry. Rest assured, when used properly the PetSafe Classic In-Ground Fence is completely safe for your dog and will not cause him unnecessary pain or injury.
As with any electronic dog training aid, you need to ensure that you read the instructions thoroughly before using this product with your dog. You need to understand how it works, how to train your pet to use it and how to test the system to ensure that it is working properly before you use it with your dog.
I've been using a wireless pet containment fence for many years, but wireless systems are much more expensive than their in-ground counterparts. I wanted to test out this system to recommend it as a budget friendly option for dog owners looking for an electronic containment system.
PetSafe Classic In Ground Fence Review
The first (and most important, in my opinion) thing that I need to make clear is that an in-ground fence like this is going to be more reliable than similar wireless products. Unfortunately, it does have a physical wire that needs to be buried underground. While the setup is more work, an in-ground fencing option has many other benefits over wireless containment systems.
The PetSafe Classic In-Ground Fence comes with 500 feet of boundary wire included, which allows you to fence in up to ⅓ of an acre. That is about the same area that a wireless fence can contain. You can purchase additional fence wire to secure up to 5 acres of land with the Classic In-Ground Fence from PetSafe.
Another benefit to this fence is that you can customize the area that you want to enclose. For example, if you have a garden, pond or other space in your yard that you don't want your dog to have access to, you can set up a perimeter around it with underground fencing.
If you have any of the Pawz Away products from PetSafe, they are compatible with the Classic In-Ground Fence. That means that you can use the same system to keep your dog away from garbage cans, flower beds, ponds of other areas that you don’t want him to have access to.
The rechargeable collar receiver is waterproof, which is great for rainy days or dogs that like to swim. The battery should last about 1 month, depending on use, and the collar is equipped with a low battery indicator. It charges fully in 3 hours, which means you can plug it in at night or when you're gone to work and it will be ready to go when you wake up/return home.
This system comes with one included collar, but you can buy additional collars to contain an unlimited number of pets. Another benefit to this system is that it offers 8 levels of correction. The first is just an audible tone with vibration, and the other 7 are increasing levels of electronic correction. This is a nice feature, because you can use the first setting during the training process so your dog doesn't have to get shocked before learning what is expected of him.
The biggest drawback to this fence is that you'll need to bury the wire that marks the boundary. It's a tedious, time consuming task, especially if you're planning to cover multiple acres of land. And, once you get the fence buried, there is always the chance of the wire breaking, meaning you'd have to dig it all up again to find the break.
However, if you're on a budget this option is much more affordable than wireless systems that can cost anywhere from $300 to $1,000+ depending on the size of the area that you need to cover. Having a company come to your home and install an in-ground fence costs well over $2,000!
There is an LCD screen that displays the boundary distance and has a wire break warning indicator. This containment system is designed for dogs over 6 months old that weigh at least 5 pounds. The collars adjustable from 6″-26″.
You can purchase the PetSafe Classic In-Ground Fence for $199.99 on Amazon and additional collars can be purchased for about $119.95. I know it's not the cheapest in-ground fence system on the market, but it is safe and effective. In my opinion the reliability of the product and peace of mind that it provides make it a great value for the money spent.
