# Puppies and electric pasture fencing?



## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

One year, when I was a kid, we strung two strands of electric fence low to the ground around our garden to try to keep the racoons out of the corn. Unfortunately, the cat wandered too close, got zapped, JUMPED INSIDE, and then got zapped getting out again.


Cat was fine. Charge was reasonably high. 



We're just about to move my horses to our new home and it will be one strand of electric fence. Our yellow lab's tail might be tall enough to hit it .... she'll probably just have to learn the hard way eventually. I'm just more worried about teaching my almost 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son to not touch it!


Personally, I wouldn't be overally worried about your pup, but can you turn off the lowest strand, and only make the top two live? That might be one solution for now.


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## Change (Jul 19, 2014)

Sinna, my not yet 2 yr old GSD has hit the wire a couple times. She doesn't seem to remember as well as the horses. After a shock, she high tails to the porch and glares, then is careful for a month or two until.... Squirrel!!!

ZAP!! Yelp! Glare....


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## QueenofFrance08 (May 16, 2017)

All of my dogs have hit the fence a time or two. I get a yelp and then they run to the door and glare just like @Change's pup!


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## ClearDonkey (Nov 27, 2016)

I got my dog after she was full-grown, so along with introducing her to large animals, she was introduced to the fence...well, she introduced herself to the fence. I was riding, and all of a sudden I heard her screaming and saw her running as fast as her legs would take her. Luckily there are other dogs that go in and out of the pastures, and she quickly figured out which fences she could not touch, and which were okay.

Every once in a while I will hear a quick yelp, and see her darting across the pasture. Fortunately she no longer screams, because that first time I could've sworn that a horse had tried stomping her dead.

I don't truly think there is anyway to teach a dog not to touch the fence, unless you were to teach them to completely NOT go into the pasture unless going through a gate. They will figure out the fence = ouchie, or they won't, and occasionally you will hear a yelp. Maybe there are some super smart dogs that will figure out where the fence isn't getting charged, as some horses do, but my dog certainly isn't that sharp.


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## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

if the low strand is high enough for the pup to crawl under then I wouldn't worry too much. same as the rest of us learned, we didn't "trust" what our parents told us about not touching the fence got shocked a time or too and figured out how to avoid it


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## ChasingDreams (Nov 14, 2017)

Um... I just want more pictures of the pup!!! [emoji7]Is he an Aussie too? If so, we have matching puppies! [emoji3059] Mine is 11 weeks now.










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## secuono (Jul 6, 2011)

If you want him to respect it, let him hit it now. 
If not, keep it off or keep him away from it.
Doesn't always work for all dogs, though.
If it's high enough that you aren't trying to keep him out, leave it on and left him figure it out. Probably wouldn't ever touch it unless playing and accidentally ran into it oddly or he climbs it.

My LGDs meet the fence as soon as they're mobile enough to get out of the way from an angry sheep.

Couple years later, I teach them that they can crawl under it or wait until I lift a wire and call them over. I keep the horse one at 25" from the ground, lower or higher in some spots because of uneven ground. Dogs can slip under if they get brave enough or something is forcing the issue, like a predator for them to chase.


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## Jolien (Aug 19, 2019)

My friend her shepherd dog is selectively deaf so when we were calling him off he just looked at us and ignored us, wandering right into the wire that was on the ground because I had just opened the gate and was trying to lead one horse in and prevent three others from sneaking out... That poor dog got entangled and was yelping for dear life. I could not get him loose because I would be electrocuted too. Eventually after some seconds he got out. He was limping behind the horses the whole time. It was really sad but also a little bit funny. After that he steered clear. I am sure he will forget and in a few months he will be entangled again, lol. 



When I was 6 I got electrocuted several times while trying to crawl underneath the wires, touching them (to check if the adults were not telling me unthruthful things) and getting zapped because a horse bumped me into the wires. I survived.


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