Could not take my dog for a walk after the Radio Dog Fence was installed

Written by Colin Seal

10/18/2016 Dog Bark Collar, Barking Dog Collar

So we just finished training the dog NOT to go through the open gate – but then she absolutely refused to go for a walk (even though the collar was off)

The Magic Walking Lead... and Taking the Dog For a Walk through the Radio Dog Fence.

We needed to prepare the dog to go for a walk through the Dog Fence.

It may not be an early thought for people when they buy a Radio Dog Fence. Their main concern is ensuring the dog will not leave the property to stop them escaping and causing more drama.

The stress of driving home wondering if the dog would still be there, getting calls at work from strangers who have

found their dog (not to mention The Facebook ‘Post of Shame’)or paying pound fees and heading off to the Ranger to plead for forgiveness.

But... what happens when it comes to... “Walkieees” ?

What do we do then? The dog is conditioned to stay well away from the Radio Dog Fence wire from day dot. And if we do it right and follow the training guide, you should get almost instant results and they will refuse to go through the open gate almost immediately

Here’s the Short Cut First... How to take your dog through the Radio Dog Fence for a walk.

This may not be ideal (but it works and no there is no harm done) you will probably find that if you follow the Guide to ‘The Magic Walking Lead’ below that your dog will not even notice. Although this short-cut may depend on how big and heavy your dog is...

But quite simply, pick him up and walkthrough. (Ensure you have taken the collar off first though)

Follow some of the steps below in preparing your dog for the walk... the idea is that we separate the 2 events. 

1. I have my collar on = stay away from the flags and the open gate.

2. Mum took the collar off and put my magic walking lead on = let’s go for a walk.

‘The Magic Walking Lead Technique’ – and getting excited

Dogs are smart… they know what a walking lead looks like… I just have to open up the kitchen cupboard and Milo is all over me with shrieks of joy at going for a walk. Can your dog keep still long enough to even get the lead on?

So make a song and Dance of this special time for your dog, reinforce that we the Dog Fence ‘bar-lease’ when the walking lead goes on.

Phase 1 – Introducing the Magic Walking Lead.

A. Take your dog to the usual place you store the walking lead        Have some treats with you to keep her focused. Try to make this a different lead to the one you did the training with.
B. Take the Electronic dog fence collar off... And really show your dog that it is off
C. Put on his usual and regular walking collar - Leather collar, check chain, harness, whatever you use that the dog recognises as his walking gear.
D. put the Magic Walking Lead on and make it a really happy time and experience for your dog… keep the treats coming.
 

Now you are pretty set to go for a walk across the Radio Dog Fence.

If your dog is quite big or you would not be able to carry him you will have to lengthen the process explained below to get the result.
It will take time for the dog to build up the courage (and be relaxed) to go across the Radio Dog Fence wire for a while.
But all you can do is keep up with this routine and keep reinforcing in your dog that it is ok to walk across the dog fence wire - When you have the Magic Walking Lead in your Hand.

Phase 2 - Extending the Technique for Going through the Radio Dog Fence.

So now in order to take either a large dog through or to improve on the short-cut and extend the Technique we would need to introduce some additional steps.

I would recommend using this extension, rather than the short cut but that depends on you, your dog, and the time you have.

So after you have got the Magic walking lead on...

A. Take your dog to the car – and put him in a different seat to the one you use when you go for a drive (again we are separating the message for the experiences)
B. Drive across the Fence Wire and STOP just on the other side of the gate or property.
C. Take your dog out of the car and go for a walk.
D. Reverse this on the way back and really reward your dog throughout the whole process – happy high tones – maybe the odd treat to keep his mind off the radio dog fence.
 

You can use this part of the procedure over a couple of weeks. I would recommend making the distance between the car and the front gate become shorter and shorter each time.

The First Walk across the Radio Dog Fence Barrier.

Well now it comes to the Crunch... it gets pretty arduous having to hop in the car to drive the dog out the gate all the time I know. So the day will come when you decide to walk the dog across.
Be prepared, you are quite possibly going to get a mixed bag of results or a combination of a few of them to watch out for.

1. The Speedy Gonzales

Your dog bolts across like Flash Gordon… so you better hold on to the lead and get some firm footing.

2. The Absolute Refusal.

Will just NOT go across the Radio pet Barrier...Yup, you just walked right past the car and your dog just put the skids on and is flat out refusing to go across.

3. On Strike.

Your dog simply lays down and refuses to move. The big Sit-in

4. The Bucking Bronko.

Your dog is so freaked out by the thought of going through the signal that you think you are trying to break in a pony for the first time.

This won’t happen instantly - but the idea was to stop the dog from escaping.

Don’t stress – you will get there eventually to gain some level of understanding between you and your dog about going for a walk.
I cannot give any guarantees about how this will go for you because (as I have said before) we are dealing with a lot of different personalities, temperaments and different levels of sneakiness.

The better you do the escape-proof Dog Fence Training the easier it will be to go for a walk.

Some of the results above certainly indicate that you have done a good job of training your dog not to go through the Radio Dog Fence.
The training is set out in the guide we supply and there are a few case studies to show the training in our private Dog Fence Area.

Colin’s Summary - On taking the dog for a walk through the Radio Dog Fence

You will find your own way to take your dog across the line for a walk eventually. 

I have heard back from many clients, that even after years of having the Dog Fence and after taking the dog for a walk nearly everyday - they still say their dog does a ‘Speedy Gonzales’ across the line. Or they still have to pick their dog up and carry them through.

Our main objective is to stop the dog escaping… so if we have been successful with that then all well and good.
There is a mixed bag of results you can expect and you could get a combination of any of the above - 

I would love to hear your personal story to add to the list. But you will get there. Here for you and your dog,
Colin Seal

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