I just got done over looking a invisible fence units for pets.
It got hit the other night by mother nature.. I have repaired this unit two other times in the past for mother nature hits however, this time, I don't think it's going to be repaired!
Lets see:
AC adapter. (15Vac 800 ma) with custom jack.
Low voltage AC side fuses, no problem there but one of them is total soot in side.
Both power amp IC's are physically blown apart. These aint cheap.
Driver chips to IC amps also got it or course!
2, 10 watt, 10 ohm R's out the door.
TVS diodes on the wire loop shorted.
RF module no longer RX's, still transmits though.
4 electro's had a shredding party.
BUt all is not lost, the uC (CPU) still boots up, and the loop detector still works. Maybe some other stuff but I stopped looking at that point.
Looking at the carnage, my guess would be that maybe a new unit is in order ;)
Mother Nature has done your pets a favor. Invisible fences are worse than useless.
The "invisible" fence does nothing to keep stray or dangerous dogs out of your yard.
If fear or temptation makes your dogs ignore the fence's "stimulation" for any reason, why would they ever return, when their reward is more "stimulation"?
I've often wondered about that--why would people who like dogs fit them with torture devices?
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058
hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net
Yup, smart dogs only need to escape once to figure out the thing doesn't keep zapping them once they are past the wire. Our next door neighbor had one that would run full-speed toward the fence, so when the zap tetanized him rigid, he'd roll and tumble past it and be free, free, free! You'd hear this horrible howling yelp when he did it. I think some more of the neighborhood dogs now have figured out the same.
A neighbor's dog figured out that the beeper drained the battery faster, so would creep up on the "fence" until the beeper went off, then lay down until it stopped. He was then free to roam.
I'm not a dog person myself. I've looked after other people's dogs for periods aggregating to a few months, but never had one of my own. I'm obviously missing the lobe of the brain that makes people like having dogs around so much--they're okay, but I can definitely take them or leave them.
However, on the most elementary humane considerations, surely fitting your dog with a torture device is a strange way of showing it love.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058
hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net
We have had two dogs but now that the kid is out of the house, we like to go out of town some weekends. Cats can take be left alone for a few days. Dogs can't. We have two cats now, and zero dogs. OTOH, cats *hate* traveling (we took them to the GA house for the week).
I AM a dog person, now, after having had Muttley for more than 6 years = now.=20 At that time I had a cat and I didn't want a dog for similar reasons. = But=20 the choice was to take him or have him put down, and I just couldn't do=20 that. But he has actually been very good for me. He motivates me to get = up=20 out of bed and go out with him for a walk, and invariably I feel much = better=20 after I do. I have been able to leave him alone with full run of the = house=20 for up to 18 hours and there have been no problems. He loves to travel = in=20 the car, and I've taken him to KOA Kabins and also hotel rooms at the = Red=20 "Woof" Inn. He has also been helpful for social putposes and I have met = some=20 very good people in person and on-line.
There is also some evidence that humans and dogs "co-evolved", so that = they=20 helped early humans as they evolved from hunter-gatherers to=20 agriculture-based civilization, and they worked as guardians and other = jobs=20 in return for scrap food and basic needs. Dogs as pets, at least for = common=20 folk, is a fairly recent phenomenon over a couple hundred years. But = there=20 is also much evidence that dogs can directly contribute to the mental,=20 physical, and emotional health of people, and they can sense cancers,=20 epilepsy, and diabetic problems.
The shock collars used for invisible fences or as remote operated = training=20 devices deliver a very mild level of shock which is mostly used to = startle=20 the dog. The amount of energy delivered is actually much lower than TENS =
units and many orders of magnitude less than Tasers and stun guns. But = the=20 arguments against the electric fences are valid. There are a lot of = people=20 who are horrified at any sort of aversive used on dogs, even verbal=20 corrections such as "NO!" or collar pops. They have banned the use of=20 e-collars in some countries like GB and OZ, and prong collars are also = seen=20 as "medieval torture devices", although studies have proven that they = are=20 actually much safer than choker chains, haltis (GLs or head collars), = and=20 even flat leather collars.
If anyone is interested in dogs and their behavior and training, and = also=20 many other topics of interest, there is a new forum which grew out of a=20 discontinued Cesar Millan Dog Whisperer community.
Declawing outdoor cats is clearly inhumane. Indoor ones, not so much.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058
hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net
Dogs (can) provide unconditional love. Very good medicine if I am having a bad day. They also are wonderful companions for a walk in the woods. When I lived in the city I had a big dog that would always bark loudly at the door. Following the theory that I don't need to be faster than the bear, but only faster than my neighbor, my apartment was harder to burgle than one down the road.
Our two Tennessee 'boy dogs' are getting a bit long in the tooth, it=92s hard for them to go on walks. But I fear getting a new dog would break their hearts. I keep hoping life will hand me another couple of strays.
FYI, Motel 6 lets you bring your dog without any extra fees or even a refundable pet deposit. Though some Motel 6s are scuzzy, others are quite decent. Just remember to bring toiletries.
en
Training can be entirely done with only positive methods, but some dogs willfully disobey. If a dog knows what it should do and decides not to, a training collar is the only control the owner has.
The prong collar spreads the force of the correction around the dog's neck while the traditional choke chain can pinch at a single point, often hurting the dog's windpipe. The choke chain must also release immediately, which sometimes does not happen with furry dogs.
No question. I agree with all of the above and did all that with the two dogs we had. But, 18 hours is about 54 hours short. Also, I can easily con a neighbor into looking in on the cats once or twice, which extends the time to a week. When we were younger, with a kid, we were tied down a lot more so a dog was great (we also had a cat all the time).
Cats have similar effects on humans. That isn't to say that cats "evolved" in a similar manner. The obviously didn't.
No arguments. Though people who think it's abuse to say "NO" shouldn't be allowed to have dogs. ...or children.
It's not being able to climb a tree to escape a dog that's the main problem.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510
845-480-2058
hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net
I've seen some declawed cat that can climb with the best of them. Again, it's their back claws that do all the heavy lifting. The fronts help but cats can compensate. No, our cats have never been outside, well, if you don't count our screened-in porch as "outside". ;-)
I've heard of people getting dogs vocal cords shorten or removed so they couldn't bark :O
I've seen one good use of a shock(maybe it wasn't shock but something bad smelling) collar, it was on dog whisper or what ever it is called it was a dog on a farm that liked to run after tractors and try to bite the tires, with the collar it learned real fast that it was bad idea, probably saved its life
The vet will nick the vocal cords so that the dog sounds merely hoarse. Some people think it is cruel, but if it keeps a healthy dog from being euthanized I am all for it. (Assumes behaviour modification has been tried, and debarking is the last resort. Neighbors find non- stop barking dogs intolerable, and dogs have to live somewhere.)
Phil, the device has an audible alert that the dog learns about. It alerts them that a shock is coming if they don't back off. It usually works.
Of course, if the dog starts getting death, then maybe it's time to use a runner.
For my dog, she does not have any form of shock device. I have a rope out in the yard, a long one that allows her to pick a spot and lay in it. Most of the time she comes up on the porch because she does not like the bugs crawling on her..
For a few days at one time she was tied to the rope and what I didn't know, the bottom of the rope was severed! You see, my aging father in-law ran over it with the riding mower, for the third time and cut it. He coiled up the rope and didn't say anything. She was hitched to that rope a few hours each day for several days and I just happen to notice it when I decided to move the coil else where.
That is what you call a well contented dog! She knows which side her bread is buttered on! ;)
The farmers in the country would shoot dogs bothering their livestock with rock salt. Taught them a badly needed lesson really fast.
Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
--
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