Dog VS. Electric Fence

[jparrucci]

Yesterday as I was packing up to leave a friends cabin, my dog got tangled up in the neighbors electric fence (that I was NOT informed of, even though its only 40 yards from the front door) Length of time he was getting shocked is hard to know, but he squealed LOUD for at least 10 seconds..but I know some of that was as he was running back to the cabin (still screaming!). What is the voltage/amps on one of those things, and should I be concerned about any long term or short term injuries? He was acting VERY timid and affraid after that all night last night, today he woke up and seemed normal. There are no physical burn marks that I could find. Never fails, he always seems to find trouble.

[ikeslayer]

honestly i cannot tell if you are trying to be funny or if this really went down and you are genuinely concerned or if you are sharing it for our benefit

[MattL]

He should be fine. More than likely he just got a short shock, less than 1 second. My dog has run into them a bunch both on the farm and pheasant hunting. She is a bit timid when she comes across them and tends to avoid the wire now.

I have been shocked many times while working on the farm and have never had any sort of burn even with direct skin contact.

[nofishfisherman]

It was probably a very short shock. I believe most electric fences alternate off and on every second or two. It shouldn't produce a continuous shock so if your dog was touching it for 3-4 seconds he probably only took a shock for 1-2 of those seconds.

But I'm sure it hurt like a bugger.

[DOC33]

Nofish is right it would only have been a couple of quick shocks, not continuous. I too have been shocked many times on the farm. No long term effects, no long term effects, no long term effects.......wait a minute.

[Scott M]

My dog got shocked on Sunday and still kept trying to mess with the fence...I guess dogs really are like their owners!

[jeffreyd]

I can appreciate his screaming and yelping as i pe ed on one when i was a kid, talk about screaming. Glad he is ok. depending on the model, they can range from 1000volts up to 20k volts. the amps are very very low around .02 amps. It will let you know it is there.

[riverview]

some weed cutter fence really gives a jolt.from what i see most dogs should be used to shocks

[Leaddog]

My kennel is electric lined (standoffs) to prevent digging out. The dogs hear the unit snap every few seconds as it pulses or snaps on a weed leaning on it. If they don't hear that, they'll test it. If no shock, time to start chewing standoffs! It doesn't hurt them. Those unfamiliar will get scared by the shock (squeel all the way to the door, but NO harm done.) It's not much different than an adult dog taking a snap at a pup - doesn't hurt it, may not have even touched it but the pup still squeels all the way to me!

Shock collars probably give more a jolt.

By the way, the various short term use kennels I have around the state look like they have hot lines (no controller) but the dogs respect them none the less.

Even the Weed Cutter (Bulldozer) controllers aren't that hot. Test it yourself, if you won't touch it don't use it for you animals!

And, unless local ordinance there generally is no requirement to warn of a hot fence. And, you or animal need to Ground the system to get shocked.

[jparrucci]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I really had no idea the intensity of an electric fence, and wanted to make sure my best bud was ok. He is acting fine and normal no marks/burns. Hopefully he will get some good duck hunting in this weekend, although this water may already be getting cold for my brittany. Thanks again guys!