If you’re in the market for a simple solution to contain your canine escape artist, your strangely shaped property, or your keep your dog from digging up your garden, you’re probably in the market for a wireless dog fence. That also means you probably feel like you’re drowning amidst the online deluge of invisible fences, wireless fences, electric dog fences, in-ground fences and other similar solutions. There are hundreds, if not thousands of options available, which leads you down a frustrating path. So, what are the most important features? What’s the difference between all of these fences? And which is the best wireless dog fence for you?
We reviewed dozens of wireless dog fences to identify the best of the best. We looked at perimeter fences that create an area of effect and fences that require a wire be buried, as well as those that will push a dog out of an area.
In addition to looking for a dog fence, you should probably also look into investing in an electronic dog doors. Dog doors are a great and easy way for your dog to safely travel outdoors on their own.
In our research, the PetSafe Wireless Containment System stood out as a clear winner. With its waterproof, wireless dog collars and combined wired and wireless technology, this dog fence is one you can trust to keep your pups contained.
In This Article
The 5 Top-Rated Wireless Dog Fences
| Editor's Picks | Brand | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Best Overall | PetSafe Wireless Containment System | 4.3 |
| Runner Up | SportDOG Invisible Dog Fence | 4.5 |
| Best Budget Buy | PetSafe Stubborn Dog In-Ground Fence System | 4.4 |
| Best Perimeter Fence | PetSafe Stay and Play Wireless Fence | 4.4 |
| Best Wireless Fence Break Locator | PetSafe In-Ground Fence Wire Break Locator | 4.4 |
*Ratings are from Chewy at the time of publication and can change
Our Top Pick: PetSafe Wireless Containment System
If your dog craves freedom to run while you wish for peace of mind, you’ll love the PetSafe Wireless Containment System. Like other systems, this fence combines wire with wireless technology: bury the heavy-duty wire, install the transmitter, and control your pets via the waterproof, wireless collars. The result is a stronger signal than all-wireless dog fences, which translates to increased safety, especially with stubborn runners.
You can purchase more dog collars with this system, allowing you to add up to five dog collars to your initial purchase and transition your whole pack in a painless 1-step process. You can even expand with more dogs and add more fence to cover up to 25 acres. These expansions make the possibilities almost limitless, even for the free-range type of puppy parent.
It’s a good thing, too, because, depending on how many collars and how many acres you plan to cover, this system can set you back anywhere from $250 to $800, making this a substantial investment. But once you install it, there’s no doubt, it’s money well spent, no matter how you customize it.
PetSafe Wireless Containment System Key features:
- Proudly Made in the USA
- Expandable up to unlimited number of dogs
- Up to 10 acres of coverage
Our Runner-Up Pick: SportDOG Invisible Dog Fence
As a top-rated hybrid system, the SportDOG Invisible Dog Fence blends buried wire with wireless receiver collars, to build a highly expandable, highly customizable containment system. You’ll need to bury your wire, but the trade-off is flexibility: you can create a custom-shaped fence up to 100 acres in area. You’ll also appreciate the built-in lightning protection, wire-break alarm, and anti-linger feature.
While purchasing this containment system you can also pick up the corresponding training remote. If you do choose to use it, you can vary the discouragement with your choice of vibration, tone and shock. And these training tools can be controlled by remote with a range of intensity from one to seven on both shock and vibration modes.
Key features:
- Included coverage area up to 1.33 acres; expandable up to 100 acres
- Four levels of correction, plus a vibration-only training level
- Expandable for multiple dogs (10+ pounds); just add additional collars
Best Budget Pick: PetSafe Stubborn Dog In-Ground Fence System
The PetSafe Stubborn Dog In-Ground Fence System is made with your stubborn dog in mind, but will work for just about any. There are few things more frustrating than trying to train a strong-willed dog, but this no-wire fence system can definitely make the job easier. The adjustable collar is specially designed for hard-to-train dogs, incorporating tone and vibration warnings to aid in training and use. The adjustable, waterproof collar fits pets with neck sizes 6-28 inches, and offers 4 correction levels. It covers up to a 1/3-acre yard, but you can buy additional wire to contain up to 5-acres.
At only $200 for the system, you’ll get plenty for your money. You’ll get the base transmitter, a waterproof and adjustable collar with a 9-Volt alkaline battery, 500 feet of wire, 50 training flags, training and operating guide, test light tool, gel-filled capsules and wire nuts.
PetSafe Stubborn Dog In-Ground Fence System Key features:
- Covers up to 1/3-acre yard
- Fits most yards and easy set-up
- Train hearing-impaired dogs, thanks to the vibration setting
Best Perimeter Fence Pick: PetSafe Stay and Play Wireless Fence
If you’re looking for a completely wireless system, for a not-too-big yard, you won’t go wrong with PetSafe Stay and Play Wireless Fence. Adjustable for a circular area of up to 3/4 acres, this rechargeable system takes as little as an hour to install and just a few weeks for your pup to adjust to his new safe zone.
You can add as many as 5 collars to your purchase so this system is perfect for your whole dog pack. It even has options for large and stubborn dogs, so you won’t need to worry about your one brute escape artist corrupting the others. The collar goes from dead to fully charged in 2-3 hours and you can pick this transmitter up and take it with you if you plan on extended stays elsewhere.
PetSafe Stay and Play Wireless Fence Key features:
- Absolutely no wires to bury; just plug in the lightweight and portable wireless transmitter
- Offers 5 levels of static correction, plus a tone-only mode for training
- Suitable for dogs 5+ pounds, with neck sizes from 6-23 inches
Best Wireless Fence Break Locator: PetSafe In-Ground Fence Wire Break Locator
Forget about shedding blood, sweat, and tears re-installing your wireless fence when you suspect or find a problem with it. The PetSafe In-Ground Fence Wire Break Locator makes detecting breaks in your fence an absolute breeze. To use it, simply walk along your fence while hovering this ingenious device over it. If there’s a break in your fence, it will alert by flashing a red light and sounding a special tone.
One of the best things about this kit is that it includes everything you need to repair any breaks you find. That is, along with the actual break locator device, it also comes with wire, wire connectors, stakes and gel-filled capsules to easily repair any broken wires.
PetSafe In-Ground Fence Wire Break Locator Key Features:
- Very easy-to-use
- Alerts you of any problems with lights and tones
- Includes all the items you need to make repairs to your fence
Who Should Buy a Wireless Dog Fence
Several people who use wireless dog fences find themselves wondering how they ever lived without them. You use these fences to protect your dogs from escaping the safety of your yard. Please note, though, a wireless fence will not protect your dogs from intruding animals. So you’ll either need to keep monitoring the situation closely, or you could consider using a wired dog fence instead
If your home is part of a community that has restrictions, you may be limited in terms of what kinds of fence you can and can’t install at your home. An invisible fence is very rarely included in those limitations because they don’t change the community’s aesthetics at all. That’s probably the biggest motivation for a wireless fence: you don’t want to change your yard’s scenery.
You can also greatly benefit from a wireless dog fence if you want to contain your dogs in a large area. With regular fencing, the cost can really add up per foot, but the wireless fences are much more cost efficient that you may want to use them, even if you actually like the look of some above ground fences. The wireless fences are just so much more cost efficient, it’s hard to ignore the appeal!
Important Features to Consider
A wireless dog fence should have a few important features. Here’s what to consider when selecting a wireless dog fence:
- Perimeter. These types of fences are virtually plug and play types that don’t require burying wire. The transmitter will emit a barrier out at your chosen range, creating a “fence” that specified distance from the base in all directions. For example, if your transmitter is set to a range of 1,000 feet, there will be an invisible circle 2,000 feet in diameter with the transmitter at the center. This will give an area that will allow your pup to play completely within it. It creates an area of effect fence that will contain your pup perfectly.
- Buried wire. If a round area fence won’t work for your property then you may want to look into the more labor-intensive hybrid wireless fence. By burying the wire wherever you want the boundaries for your pup, you can control the play zones and the out of bounds perfectly. You can keep your pup in the front yard, allow him in the backyard, but keep him out of the side yards with this form. But keep in mind – every barrier he has, you’ll have to dig and bury.
- Containing or repelling? You’ll want to consider what you want from the wireless fence you’re using for your dog. You probably have already thoroughly considered the containment: to keep him in the yard and on your property. But if you want to protect your garden, you’ll need to set your containment into zones to repel him from those areas. You can even find transmitters that will emit an area of effect that is entirely an off limits zone. You can place that in your garden (for example), then your pup entering it will set off his deterrent.
- Customized areas. Measure before you buy to make sure you have enough but don’t stress it too much; you’ll be able to add to it later, as well.
- Range. Keep in mind for those perimeter fences that contain your pups within an area of effect surrounding the transmitter that you’ll want to have a range large enough to cover all the safe zones. These transmitters cover a circular zone so if you have a property that has a corner not covered by the circle, you may want to think bigger. And for buried fences, you’ll want to keep that range in mind and do a bit of math to encompass all your dog safe zones.
- Training and containment combination. To go hand-in-hand with a good range, you may want to find a system that will take care of training your pup as well as containing him. You can find a behavior e-Collar that will correspond with your containment transmitter; 1 collar for both the fence and the handheld remote that you can use to manually issue discouragements for bad behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a wireless dog fence and how does it work?
The collar will respond to the barrier when it crosses, setting off a discouragement to urge your dog back into his safe zones. Those discouragements are generally a gentle static shock, a beep, a vibration, or some combination of the three. You may be able to choose which is used if they have a variable mode or you can pick at purchase which collar does what you’d like.
What's the difference between a wireless dog fence and a hybrid or semi-wireless dog fence?
Are wireless dog fences effective?
Are wireless dog fences safe?
