How to Find a Break in an Electric Dog Fence
An electric dog fence has a buried wire, which emits a harmless but static correction when the dog attempts to cross the limit. When left uninspected, the electric dog fence can break. This can easily be quite a nuisance and a cause of stress for pet owners. It is important to understand how to look for a gap with an electric dog fence so you can quickly fix the problem.
Below, we explain several ways to locate a break within an electrical dog fence, starting with the simple ways and moving to the most complex ones. We will also give some recommendations to avoid such breaks.
Method 1: Visual Inspection
The first thing anyone needs to do when they want to look for a break in the electric dog fence is physically examine the fence line. Go around the perimeter of your yard and try to locate the buried wire; be sure to check it for any signs of damage or breaks. You should check for direct contact, evident by exposed wire, weeds tangled around the cable, or other areas where the wires may have been unearthed by digging by animals.
Method 2: Testing the System
Another simple way to determine whether the wire has been broken is by testing the electric dog fence system. These fencing systems use a transmitter, receiver, and even a tester in their package. Join the tester to the wire at different points near the boundary mesh. If the connection is good, the tester puts out a beep, or a light, and then the tester will blink. If the tester does not function at a given point, the chances are that there will be a break in the wire.
Method 3: Inductive Cable Locator
If the visual check and other tests do not provide a clear answer, it may be necessary to use an even more effective tool – an inductive cable locator. This electronic device generates a signal that, excites a small current in the buried cable when radiated. When using the locator, you shift this over the ground, and then it will produce an audible or visual signal when it is in contact with the break. However, buried linear features may not be easily detected where shallow breaks occur, and therefore, more attention should be paid to the exposed ground surface.
Method 4: Soil Displacement
Of course, the wire can be damaged and not necessarily visible on the surface, which may result in poor signal transmission. In such cases, detecting the breakthrough observation or tests will not be easy. In this particular case, you may follow the steps of the soil displacement method. It is as easy as making holes a few inches from the fence line equally space. Take a small trowel and carefully start lifting the soil away from the wire. If you look at a wire and discover a section in which it appears to be frayed or harmed somehow, that is where the flow has been interrupted.
Method 5: Time-to-Digital Counter (TDC) Method
This is the most complicated way of locating a break in the electric dog fence. In the time-to-digital counter method, a unique tool measures the time taken for the electrical signal to cover the wire’s length. This method is especially useful when working on a long fence line, or there are large breaks between the cables. The TDC will show exactly where each break is so you can fix it accordingly.
Ways to Avoid Gaps on Your Electric Dog Fence System
Having located the break in your electric dog fence, you can now repair it with specially designed tools and methods.
However, to prevent such breaks from occurring in the future, consider the following tips:
1. Bury the wire deeply: It is important to guarantee that the wire should be laid at least 1 to 1.5 inches deep into the ground. This will guard it against being overturned by the digging of animals and the cutting of gardening instruments.
2. Use durable materials: Select a reliable wire constructed from a hard-wearing outer layer. Chemical resistance is also available in some brands, and this wire is especially vulnerable to chemicals used in lawn treatments.
3. Monitor the fence regularly: You should closely monitor the fence line with signs of wear or damage on the network. It will be easier to resolve breakages in the fence if you frequently inspect the fence.
4. Trim vegetation: A tree branch hanging or high grass and weeds may be a risk to your electric dog fence system. Always cut vegetation around the wire to ensure there is no interference to the working of the wire.
5. Hire Professional Help: By hiring professional help for installation and maintenance, you can avoid any breaks in the electric dog fence.