Buying an invisible fence can be a great way to keep your pet safe. Figuring out how much it’s going to cost you, though, can be a little more difficult. While there are several variables that are always in play when installing this type of fencing, a little bit of research can help you figure out how to budget for this addition to your home.
The Basic Numbers
While there are several different types of invisible fence models on the market today, it’s relatively easy to point out the average numbers for how much one will run you. If you plan on having a system professionally installed, you should expect to pay around twelve hundred dollars. This is based on an average rate of about two dollars and twenty-five cents per linear foot of fencing being installed.
Doing the job yourself costs significantly less than having the system installed professionally. The average cost for fencing in a typical residential yard on your own is just under two hundred and fifty dollars, plus any tools that you need to buy for the job.
Of course, every job is a little different so it’s best to know how your fencing job is going to compare with the national averages in terms of cost.
Estimating the Cost of Your Invisible Fence
One of the best parts of using an invisible fence is that you can install it in virtually any shape that you like. It doesn’t matter if you’re going for a typical rectangle or an odd shape that takes dozens of your yard’s landmarks into account— if you can dig a trench, you can lay one of these fences.
The overall length of your dog fence is going to determine the overall cost of the product. The national average right now is about $2.25 per foot that’s installed, a price that includes not only the materials needed to install the invisible dog fence but also professional labor.
The great news is that this average number should give you a good estimate of what it’s going to cost you to have an invisible fence laid around your property. At the moment, an average-sized lot in the United States is going to require about 448 linear feet of fencing. When you multiply that by the average cost of the dog fence, that means you should expect to spend just over a thousand dollars on your fencing and installation.
Other Factors to Keep in Mind
The length of the invisible dog fence may be the biggest factor that impacts your budget, but it’s not the only factor that is going to matter. In fact, you’re going to need to look at a number of different details to figure out exactly what kind of dog fence will be the best fit for your family. It’s not until you can answer a few basic questions and you look at a few basic features that you’ll really be able to figure out the cost of your fence.
How Many Pets Do You Have?
The first question to ask always has to do with the number of pets in your home for whom you will be using the dog fence. The typically invisible fence kit only comes with a single collar, so you’ll have to factor in the cost of an extra collar for each additional pet who uses the fence. At the moment, each receiver collar you add to your household is going to run you just over one hundred dollars.
Are You Looking at Wired or Wireless Fences?
A wired invisible fence is the ‘classic’ invisible fence. These fences require you to run a wire a few inches underneath the boundary lines of your property, which in turn will work with your pet’s collar. These fences make use of a transmitter and a retriever collar, sending a signal whenever your pet gets too close to the wires. Relatively cheap and easy to shape, these fences do require a good bit of set-up and they definitely cost much more to install than the wireless option.
Wireless fences, on the other hand, use a transmitter and a receiver collar without the wires. They can use wi-fi, radio signals, or even GPS signals to create a containment area for your pet. Older units can only transmit in a circular area, but newer units can be shaped via an app to create virtually any type of space that you like. As you can imagine, these units tend to be easier to set up and don’t require professional installation, but the price of the units themselves can be significantly higher than their more traditional competition.
What Brand Will You Buy?
As with virtually all other types of products, there are certain brands in the world of invisible fencing that are more trustworthy than others. Some have great extra features, while others offer dependable operation on a budget. It’s always good to look at some of the better brands before you decide on which dog fence you are going to buy.
Are You Concerned About Power Outages?
How important is it to you that your invisible fence keeps working no matter what? If you absolutely must keep your pet fence on all the time, you’re going to need a unit that has some kind of backup power supply. For some, this means finding a unit that can be hooked up to solar power, while for others it means getting something that’s hardened against the weather. Having a good backup isn’t important to everyone, but it’s vital for those who need a fence on which they can always depend.
What Else Do You Need Done?
Let’s be honest – an invisible fence is just one of many things you’re going to need to get done to keep your pets and property safe. As such, you need to think about the other services that your installer (or other professionals) can do for you in order to make sure that you get the most from your invisible fence.
One of the biggest things to look at is whether or not your installer provides any kind of training services. Invisible fences are only useful when your dog understands how they work, after all, and taking the time to train a pet isn’t possible for every dog owner. As such, it’s definitely worth looking at whether or not your installer offers any kind of training programs and figuring out whether or not your budget can stand up to such extra costs.
It’s also a good idea to figure out if your installer has good customer service. On one hand, most people tend to think of customer service from such companies as being the same thing as a good warranty. While it’s nice to know that the company stands by its products, you also want to make sure that you’re going to be able to get in contact with the company if anything happens to go wrong with your pet fence.
Finally, you’ll want to figure out what it costs to fix your landscaping back up after the invisible fence is installed. Whether this means having to cut a trench in a driveway or simply covering back up the lines after they’ve been dug, knowing what your installer charges for such services can help you to make a much more realistic budget.
The Cost of Doing it Yourself
All of the costs discussed above assume that you’re going to hire a professional to install your fence. In reality, though, many people choose to save quite a bit of money by installing these simple systems on their own. It’s entirely possible to lay an entire wired system on your own in an afternoon if you have all the necessary tools, while installing a wireless system may take you less than an hour.
How much does an invisible fence cost if you install it on your own? It’s incredibly cheap— as long as you own the right tools! A cheap kit can cost as little as fifty-four dollars, while the most expensive kits run less than eight hundred dollars. Given that the average kit still runs less than two-hundred and fifty dollars, you’ll definitely save a lot if you’re willing to do the job yourself.
The Pros and Cons of Invisible Fences
While invisible fences have been around for quite some time, not everyone agrees on how useful they might be. Proponents note that there are some great benefits to using such fences, while detractors note some glaring downsides. Knowing the arguments of both sides can help you to figure out if an invisible fence is right for your home.
The Pros
Fans of invisible fences correctly note that it’s much cheaper to have an invisible installed than to have a traditional fence installed, while also noting that the upkeep for such a fence is significantly less than its more traditional counterpart. Invisible fences don’t rue sightlines, they don’t mess with landscaping, and they can be easily used by renters when building a fence isn’t a possibility. Proponents also note that pets can’t jump or dig under an invisible fence, helping to make life a little safer for escape-prone dogs.
The Cons
Opponents of invisible fencing have their own arguments. They note that while these fences can keep your dog in, they don’t keep anything else off of your property. They also note that it takes some time to train most pets to use the fence, and even then the fence might not keep very headstrong dogs from running off. To add, few claim that these fences use a negative stimulus to correct the dogs— something that could expose your pet to pain and lead to anxiety and behavioral problems over the long term.
Conclusion
Invisible fencing is less expensive than traditional fencing, but the cost can vary greatly by location and by your personal needs. It’s always a good idea to stop and think about what you need from a fence before setting a budget and to consider whether or not you’re willing to put in the work to install a fence yourself. At the end of the day, only you know if an invisible fence is right for your pets so don’t be afraid to do some research to come to your own conclusion about these products.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is Invisible Fence worth it?
If you want to make sure that your dog can run around off-leash on your own property and you either don’t want to spend money on a traditional fence or you simply don’t want a traditional fence, then an invisible fence is definitely worth it. While there are definitely arguments for and against these fences, those who have come out in favor of them will usually note that adding one of these fences to their properties has made them feel a bit better about letting their dogs run around outside.
2. How much does it cost to install an invisible dog fence?
It really depends on a number of different factors. If you plan on having an invisible dog fence installed professionally, you should plan on paying anywhere between nine-hundred fifty dollars and fifteen hundred dollars for your fence, depending on the size of your lot and the features that you need to form your fence. If you plan on installing the fence on your own, you should expect to pay between fifty and two-hundred-fifty dollars, depending on the invisible fence kit you choose.
3. Can a dog run through an invisible fence?
Yes, dogs can run through an invisible fence. First and foremost, there are always issues that can cause a fence to fail – power outages, dead collar batteries, and interruptions to the signal are all uncommon but they do happen. It’s also important to remember that while the dog does receive a stimulus when he or she runs over the boundaries of the fence, this stimulus isn’t enough to cause the dog injury. As such, a sufficiently determined animal can get out whenever he or she decides that the rewards for doing so are worth the potential pain.
4. Can you install an invisible fence yourself?
Yes, you can definitely install your own fence. There are plenty of DIY fence kits out there and you can technically do the entire job yourself as long as you own a shovel. While more complex properties require more tools, there’s no denying that installing the fence yourself is significantly cheaper than having someone do the whole thing for you.
How To Install Invisible Fence in 5 Steps