what name brand invisible fencing is the most user friendly/ easy to install yourself/ reliable, etc?

I have had this type of fence for almost 10 years.

Huskies are escape artists. We have 14 of them. The only thing that I have found that they can't go over or under is invisible type fencing. Some folks say that it doesn't work on Huskies. They don't know what they are talking about. You can't buy the cheap stuff either like what they sell at Lowe's or Home Depot or PetSmart etc. The best I have found is the Smart Dog 2100 by Innotek. You can find it on line for less than $300.00 with 2 collars. Extra collars are about $80.00. The kit has everything needed. The collars are rechargeable (unlike the "Invisible Fence" and most others where you have to buy the batteries every 3 or so months), has battery backup for the transmitter, run through prevention, water proof, etc. Innotek now owns Invisible Fence brand. Be sure to use heat shrink type splices in the wire if needed. They are available at marine supply stores. Do not use the "weatherproof wire nuts" from Lowe's etc. They will not work for this application. Use an edger to dig the "trench" for the wire. The wire only has to be buried 1 or 2 inches down.

The key is taking the time to train your pet. I have known of people to pay big money to install a fence, strap the collar on their dog and then complain that the fence is junk when the dog blows right through it. Also, you do not mention the breed of dog. Long haired breeds require a longer contact probe on the collar (these are included with the system above). Training may take awhile, one of ours took 18 months (she was a bit stubborn) before we trusted her, most were pretty good in a month or so and we have one that it only took 3 days! The amazing thing is that we can take the collar off, put them on a leash and when we head towards the perimeter their brakes come on immediately! You can also block off areas of the yard that you don't want them in. When hurricane Isabelle came through we had no power for 3 weeks, the terrain was changed with all the fallen trees, and the underground wire for the fence was damaged and NONE of the kids even tried the fence. As I said earlier, the people who say that it doesn't work don't know what they are talking about. We have 14 Huskies (15 until we lost one over the summer due to medical reasons), all free to run around, contained in our 6 acre yard. And no I am not a dealer ..... just a satisfied customer with 14 hardheaded Huskies most of them rescued as adults. We can leave them outside unsupervised for hours with no problems.

It will not keep other animals out including the neigbor's brats. Neither will a 6 foot stockade fence ... this I learned when I lived elsewhere and was attacked by a neighbors dog in my back yard. As far as people being scared of dogs, well if a 15 to 20 foot barrier field isn't enough, neither would a chain link fence be. Besides, if the pet stays on your property who cares if they are unreasonably scared. As far as a dog running through ... well yes, that could happen, however, with proper training it is unlikely. Huskies have an extremely high prey drive. Where we live we have a lot of wildlife, large and small. The kids will line up along the edge of the field and watch the rabbits, geese, deer etc. They won't challenge the fence. The deer and geese have learned where the kids can and can not go and will stay just outside "Husky country". Sometimes within 5 feet of the kids. As I said it does work. The key is training. That is the most important part of the installation of the fence.

ha ha...That first answer makes me laugh. I have an American Pit Bull Terrier and we have her on one and it is perfectly fine. We did ours ourselves...All the materials you need is copper wire(that's coated)...and the collar packet that's at home depot(I'm not sure on the brand but I have seen them at 3 different Home Depots) . The way we dug the trench was with an edge-trimmer and instead of one blade we used 2.(you don't need a trench-digger b/c that will make much too big of a trench). After you are done make sure you purchase the little white flags to put along the perimeter,(where you fence is) so that your dogs can associate the flags as their stopping point. It only took my dog a few days to figure out not to go by the flags. After a week we took down every other flag and a week after that removed all of them! Now she doesn't even ever get shocked b/c she KNOWS exactly where she can and can't go!

Good Luck, I hope I have explained myself good enough so that you can understand! Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

EDIT: Also, we NEVER ever leave our dog outside by herself, even though it will keep her in it won't keep other dogs out! And when we first got the fencing EVERYBODY told us it wasn't going to work on our dog b/c she is a pit bull(b/c they are "so" tolerant to pain. Well, it works great. Yes, it may not work on most, but it is fairly inexpensive, so I would just give it a shot!

Invisible fencing really isn't safe for most dogs. Left unattended in one your average dog will run right through it, They will work for some but not most and they do not protect against another dog or child coming into your yard and picking on your dog. When your dog does run through it and sooner or later he will, when he tries to return he will again be shocked which will encourage him to leave the area. I've seen way too many dogs of too many breeds get killed because their owners left them out in an "invisible fence". As a breeder I won't place a dog with someone who has an invisible fence.

If you want your dogs to be safe put up a regular above ground fence.

I had a contractor put in mine, you're right the big brand named fencing price is prohibitively expensive. Mine was one I brought at a pet store and the guy installed it, it was around $350. and that included the equipment and collar. Happy Holidays.

None. Invisible fences suck. My neighbor's had one for their lab, and had it turned up on high, and the thing would still take a shock to get out. Then when it came time to go back into the yard, the dog refused to take that shock, so he stayed roaming free. A shock isn't enough containment for most dog who see a squirrel or another dog. It isn't gonna save your dog from being hit by a car. Do you really want to risk it all because you think a little shock is going to protect your dog from all evil? And what's to stop an aggressive stray from getting in your yard and biting your dogs while they are invisibly prevented from running?

Keep in mind that invisible fences only keep your dogs in, they don't keep bad things such as aggressive stray dogs, or mean kids, or wildlife out. Depending on the type of dogs you have, they may not even keep them in. For example, they don't work well for dogs with a strong prey drive. Overall not very satisfactory.