Invisible Dog Fence vs. a Real Fence

Pros and cons

	Electronic	Physical
Cost	Lower	Higher
Keeps others out	No	Yes
Works for all dogs	No	Yes
HOA friendly	Often	Depends

Related: Coyotes and fences.

When an electronic fence makes sense

• Your HOA prohibits physical fences in the area you need
• The lot is large and a physical fence would be very expensive
• You have a calm, trained dog that respects the boundary
• You want to keep a dog out of a garden bed inside an existing fence

When a physical fence is better

• Your dog is a runner, chaser or very motivated by squirrels
• You need to keep other dogs, coyotes or people out
• You have small kids who come and go
• Power outages or dead collar batteries are a concern

Combining both

Some Charlotte owners run an electronic line along the inside of a low open fence, which stops jumpers and diggers from even trying.

Installation conflicts

If you already have an electronic fence and are adding a physical fence, tell us where the wire runs. NC 811 doesn’t mark it, and post holes can cut it.

Training matters

Whichever you choose, train your dog on boundaries and gates. A fence works best when the dog understands it.