<![CDATA[Pittsburgh Pet Fence - BLOG]]>Sat, 20 Sep 2025 06:46:20 -0400EditMySite<![CDATA[At What Age Should You Train Your Puppy On An Underground Hidden Fence?]]>Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:16:24 GMThttps://www.pittsburghpetfence.com/blog/at-what-age-should-you-train-your-puppy-on-an-invisible-fenceAs a new puppy owner, you're likely eager to give your dog the freedom to explore your yard while ensuring their safety. Electric dog fences have become a popular solution for many pet owners, something offering a balance between freedom and security.
However, a crucial question arises: at what age is it appropriate to introduce your puppy to this type of pet containment system?

While some experts advocate for early training, others caution against introducing young puppies to hidden dog fences too soon.

In this article, we'll discuss what we've experienced (as installers of these containment systems for the past 16 years) is the best times to start training your puppy on these systems, everything you need to know about why we suggest those ages, and give you some tips on how to make the most of your training so that it's quick and easy for you and your pet.

Why Should You Trust Us?

I’m Ed and I’m the owner of Pittsburgh Pet Fence.

We’ve installed over 4,000 dog fences for pet owners. We are highly rated on Google (check out our 290+ 5-star reviews!) and have won 19 Angie’s List Super Service Awards over our 16 years in business.
We have won those awards 12 years in a row now. We’ve had plenty of first hand experience installing and successfully training little puppies to big dogs to stay within the boundaries of these systems in the most humane and safe way possible.
View all our 5-star reviews.

How Old Your Dog Should Be To Use An Electric Fence

From our 17 years of experience, your puppy should at least be 3-4 months old before introducing them to an underground fence. "Most" puppies can be trained after 12 weeks of age, once they are past their "fear of the world" stage. It is also our experience that all puppies can be trained on a dog fence after 16 weeks (4 Months).

What Are Some Of The Issues That Could Arise If Started Too Early?

The problem that could arise from training a puppy too early on a hidden dog fence is that it would experience some confusion not being able to associate the flags with the warning sound and the mild stimulation they will feel on their neck if they ignore the beep and flags and move past the flags and the warning.
That’s the reason why the 12-week mark is usually recommended before starting training on these pet containment systems. Because by that point, the dog's brain/intelligence level is mature enough to understand the association between flags that are placed in the yard and the warning beep that the dog will hear when they reach the flag and associate the flags and warning beep as a precursor to the mild correction.

It is important to note that not all professional brands of dog fencing have a warning tone. One local Pittsburgh company, in particular, is still using very old and antiquated technology that does not give a warning beep before stimulating the dog. We think that is cruel and inhumane to not give your dog at least a warning before delivering a mild correction.

Does The Size Of Your Puppy Have Any Influence On If You Should Start Training Them On A Hidden Fence?

No, the size of the puppy doesn't really matter, it is all about the mental maturity of the dog.

How Do You Know If Your Puppy Is Ready For An  Underground Hidden Dog Fence?

You will know your dog is ready when your puppy starts to wander off the boundaries of your property. Also, your dog should have basic experience on a leash and can perform a few simple commands, like “sit", “stay”, etc. they tend to be ready for an underground dog fence.

How Long Does It Take To Train A Puppy On An Electric Dog Fence?

This will be determined by what technology you use, which training method you use and the experience of the person training the puppy.
A huge benefit of our technology is that we use the far superior “Blunt” style stimulation, and our dogs seem to learn much faster and easier on our technology than our competitors that are still using the old fashioned “Sharp” style stimulation.

​When we install our dog fences, we also provide training for you and your dog, we include training instructions and support with the installation so that our customers see faster success with the pet fence. With our training protocol, it usually only requires two 10-minute sessions a day per dog for approximately 3 - 10 days. Without a tested method, it may take you much longer.

What Are Some Things You Should Focus On When Training Your Puppy On An Electric Dog Fence?

We recommend shorter training sessions (no more than 5 minutes) as puppies do not have the same attention span as older dogs.

You should also focus on the flags and the sound a little more while using a milder blunt-style stimulation in the beginning. 

Another thing you want to make sure of is that your collar receiver has a user-adjustable stimulation feature so that you can easily change the stimulation yourself to the right level for your pup.

Some of the well known professional dog fence companies that we compete against have collars that are not "user adjustable" or are not "independently adjustable", which is a huge shortcoming.

One thing to avoid is wireless systems, as they are difficult to train puppies on since they don't have a concrete boundary like a wired, underground dog fence, and they tend to make corrections in the wrong areas of the property (like inside the house). This can negatively impact the well-being and behavior of the dog.
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Our company, Pittsburgh Pet Fence, uses the World's Most Humane and Safest Stimulation by using blunt stimulation versus the sharp stimulation that all of our competitors use, and our collar receivers are "user adjustable" to make it easy for people to adjust the stimulation levels. 

​We have a proven training process where we begin with multiple short (5 minute) training sessions to work with the shorter attention span of the puppy. 

Also, pets using our blunt stimulation always learn faster, easier with less stress and less anxiety versus systems that still use the sharp (shock) stimulation, making our pet containment system far more effective sooner than other systems.
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If you’re looking for a way to contain your puppy within the boundaries of your property and keep them safe in the most humane way possible, and you’re in Pittsburgh or surrounding areas, give us a call or submit a form to ask your questions and learn more about our product and service.
]]><![CDATA[Merry Christmas!]]>Sun, 23 Dec 2018 17:18:04 GMThttps://www.pittsburghpetfence.com/blog/merry-christmasOUR NEWEST CUSTOMERS!
Two adorable new Christmas presents for the family! Now they are safe and free to roam around the yard with their lovingly installed Pittsburgh Pet Fence!
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