Electric Dog Fence Wire for Your Underground Dog Fence
I. Introduction
In our review of the best underground dog fences 2017, we looked at the advantages and disadvantages of dog fences with buried cords and we reviewed some of the best in-ground dog fences that are available right now.
The best underground invisible dog fences come with a reasonable amount of electric cord for burying around the perimeter of your yard, but there are times when you might need to some more wire. When that does happen, it is usually advisable to purchase the suppliers’ own brand of cord to go with the dog fence that has. Here, we discuss why you might need to buy extra dog fence wire and we explain which wires you will need to buy for the leading underground dog fences.
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II. Some cases where you might need to use more dog fence wire
Most in-ground invisible dog fences come with sufficient wire for an average sized yard, along with a good number of training flags, but there are a number of reasons why you might need to purchase additional wire for your dog fence system:
1. You have a very large boundary
One of the advantages of an in-ground dog fence over a wireless system is that it can be expanded to cover a wider area simply by purchasing more dog fence wire. If this is the reason that you need purchase more wire, read the product manual first and find out what the maximum area is that your unit will cover.
Source: www.flexpetz.com
2. You are moving home
One of the disadvantages of a buried wire dog fence is that they are not as easily portable as a wireless dog fence would be. However, if you buy some additional dog fence wire for your in-ground dog fence when you move home, all you need to take with you is the transmitter and the dog collars.
3. You want to change the shape of your boundary
With an underground dog fence system, you can create an irregular boundary and, using twisted wire, you can create safe areas over which dogs can pass without being given a correction. If you change the layout of your yard, you get a pool, or you enlarge your house, extra dog then you might need to purchase more electric dog fence wire to accommodate those changes to the boundary
4. You want to set up a temporary boundary
If you are going on a long vacation, you might want to take your underground dog fence with you and set up a temporary boundary for your dog where you are staying. If you extra dog fence wire, you can take the main transmitter unit and the dog collars with you on vacation and set up a temporary boundary for your pet.
III. Important Features need to check before buying underground dog fence wires
By far the easiest way to make sure that you have the correct wire for your underground dog fence is to use the wire that is recommended by the manufacturer, but you can use other wire with your dog fence if you really want to.
1. Thick gauge or thin gauge wire?
Some people like to buy thicker gauge wire than that which is supplied with their in-ground dog fence system because it is less prone breakage. In some cases, a thicker gauge wire will give you a greater range was well, which can be useful if you have a very large boundary to cover.
The downside to a thicker gauge wire is that it is harder to work with because it is not as easy to manipulate as the thin gauge dog fence wire is. You will also find that thick gauge wire is quite a lot more expensive, so that’s another thing to bear in mind.
2. Twisted wire or untwisted?
The difference between twisted wire and untwisted wire is very important indeed. Untwisted wire is used for the parts of the boundary that you do not want your dog to cross over and the twisted dog fence wire is used for the safe areas of the boundary that your dog is allowed to cross.
3. Colour can make a difference
Of course, the colour of the dog fence wire makes no difference at all to its performance, but the colour can be important to some people. If you intend to use your extra wire to set up a temporary boundary on the surface of the ground, a bright colour will make it easier to see. If you do this, don’t forget to take some flags with you as well, because your dog will not be familiar with where the boundary is.
4. How to work out how much dog fence wire you will need
The easiest way to work out what length of dog fence wire you will need is to walk around the boundary and count your steps. If you multiply your steps by three, you will have a good approximation, in feet, of the length of wire that you will need.
IV. Short Reviews for Some Popular Dog Fence Wires
1. Wires for SportDOG Brand In-Ground Fence System
The SportDOG In-Ground Fence System comes as standard with 1,000 feet of boundary wire which will be enough to cover about 1 1/3 acres of ground. If you need to expand that area or you need extra wire for any of the reasons that we mentioned above, you can buy a SportDOG Brand Wire & Flag Accessory Kit for In-Ground Fence (SportDOG Product Code: SDF-WF). The kit includes 500 feet of 20-gauge wire, 50 extra boundary flags, and 2 wire nuts and 2 waterproof gel-filled splice capsules for joining the wires together. This extension kit from SportDOG will give you extra boundary coverage of up to a further 1/3 acre to your existing in-ground dog fence system.
2. Wires for PetSafe Little Dog In-Ground Fence
The PetSafe Little Dog In-Ground Fence, which we reviewed in our best underground dog Fences 2018 reviews, is a great underground dog fence system that is designed especially for little dogs. The basic system comes with enough wire and flags to cover an area of 1/3 of an acre, but with additional dog fence wire and flags, it can cover an amazing 25 acres. The recommended wire for extending the boundary of a PetSafe Little Dog In-Ground Fence is PetSafe 500-foot Spool of 20-Gauge, Solid Core Boundary Wire (PetSafe Product Code: RFA-1). This will cover an additional 1/3 of an acre, but it doesn’t include extra boundary flags, so you will need to purchase those separately.
3. Wires for PetSafe Stubborn Dog In-Ground Fence
If you have a PetSafe Stubborn Dog In-Ground Fence, the recommend wire for extending the boundary is the same as it is for The PetSafe Little Dog In-Ground Fence, which is PetSafe 500-foot Spool of 20-Gauge, Solid Core Boundary Wire (PetSafe Product Code: RFA-1). The PetSafe Stubborn Dog In-Ground Fence is designed especially for dogs with a will of their own, so it has higher levels of intensity of correction than the little dog model. The PetSafe dog fence wire extension pack is 500 feet long, so that will give you about 1/3 of an acre extra coverage. Additional boundary flags will need to be purchased separately.
