Electric fences really depend on the dog. We tried various things with our beagles over the years to keep them out of certain parts of the house. The two dogs, Bailey (oversized butch smart lazy dog from show stock) and Bonnie (small timid stupid loving dog from hunting stock) didn't react very well to the first things we tried.

We first tried electric mats in the doorways. Bonnie was too stupid to understand the connection between being shocked and the location. She would sometimes sit on it and cry. Other times she would hide in the corner all day. The other dog, Bailey, figured out that she could get through it with only a mild shock if she took a running jump. This was humourous one day when she proceded to slide across the hardwood floor into a wall 20 feet away, knocking over her waterbowl in the process. She looked very embarassed and quickly licked up all the water.

Next, we tried collars that would warn and then shock. Again, Bonnie didn't understand what was going on, so she would sometimes stand there and get zapped repeatedly while crying. Bailey still figured out that she could run right through with only a mild shock. Unfortunately, everytime we had a lightning storm, they would get shocked repeatedly.

Neither of those systems made us feel very good about ourselves, nor were they very effective. Finally, we set up a system that would make a loud ultrasonic sound whenever the dogs passed through the wrong doorways. They quickly figured out where they could and could not go, even Bonnie. It has seemed to work pretty well so long as the batteries are fresh (they still test it or forget every few weeks). Still, lightning storms can sometimes set them off, but much more rarely than with the old system.

-Biscuits