After some research, we purchased the PetSafe ComfortFit Deluxe
system.
Here's some feedback in no particular order
Pluses
- We purchased it on Ebay and saved quite a bit of money over what
Home Depot / Petsmart was selling it for. We still used Home Depot
for extra wire, extra flags, and batteries for the collar.
- Bella, our 60 lb labradoodle, loves to run and the fence system
gives her the ability to do that. We have 2.5 acres and putting in a
physical fence was not feasible for us. We do not let her out on her
own without watching out for her (others have made good points about
the safety of your pet).
- The system works well and our dog has learned the boundaries. The
receiver that we have in the garage has status lights that visually
indicate that the system is on and working. If a wire is broken, it
will sound an audible alarm (though this has not happened for us.
- The shock level on the collar is adjustable as is the width of the
boundary zone (i.e. how wide is the zone from the wire).
- Petsafe supports their product and their tech support was very
helpful.
Minuses
- We followed the training instructions in the manual to the letter,
yet our dog became apprehensive about going outside. When we
consulted Petsafe, we found that their Tech Support group had
switched over to a new training method while our manual (and their
website training) had the old training method. This created quite a
bit of confusion initially. Getting this sorted out took several
phone calls, but we were taken care of and a supervisor's personal
number if we had further problems (we didn't).
- If you are not a do it yourselfer, this could be a somewhat
challenging job. I installed 1500 ft of cable in clay soil. The
Home Depot rental ditch digger / cable layer, which was admittedly in
bad shape when I started, smoked before I got done. Had to hand dig
the remaining cable.
- Figuring out the layout for the fence wiring to keep the dog out of
the gardens and inside the yard perimeter took some planning and
forethought.
- The collar does not have a low battery warning. We realized the
battery was dead when the dog nonchalantly walked across the boundary.
Hope this helps!
Ken
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