Bitches, Rural Properties And Getting Out

[Daisy]

Yep because dogs aren't stock and you can be charged for cruelty. I think it is possible that different types of electric fencing are considered ok, such as the ping string, but not entirely sure. And even if you have stock you can't put the dog in the paddock with the electric fencing, ask DOLer Steve about that, apparently she couldn't use electric fencing to keep a ram in because she has maremmas that live in the paddock with the stock.

Before you use electric fencing please do check your state laws. I live in NSW and had an electric wire around the top of my fence and was threatened with prosecution by the local RSPCA inspector unless I took it down. Apparently I was lucky they actually warned me, they have been known to come in and prosecute without warning.

That's crazy. What was the rationale behind it? Is it because your dogs weren't classed as stock, and you're only allowed to use electric tape for stock not pets? Or was it because you were in a suburban not rural zone, and you're not allowed to use electric tape in suburbia?

(You know the solution to the first one, get a couple of chickens or a pet lamb & claim that the fence is for them! :rolleyes: )

Edited July 18, 2010 by Daisy

[OSoSwift]

Is that the case in WA??

All my fences are electric as my livestock paddocks go all around the house, so essentially the house yard fence is electric as the cattle paddocks are.

I have never heard of anyone in WA that has had a problem with the RSPCA and electric fences?????

Does anyone know?

[Staff'n'Toller]

Was going to be my suggestion check on the ping string as they have it for possums etc. here in Vic.

There was a thread on this just the other day and K9 Pro was recommending the containment system as the hot tape current has to travel through the dogs CNS.

[Lab_Rat]

Is that the case in WA??

All my fences are electric as my livestock paddocks go all around the house, so essentially the house yard fence is electric as the cattle paddocks are.

I have never heard of anyone in WA that has had a problem with the RSPCA and electric fences?????

Does anyone know?

Not sure about WA electric fence/dog laws.....Everywhere rural I have lived for the past 30+ years has had electric fencing surrounding the house fence, on the outside to keep stock out. Our chook pen on our original farm had a hot wire running around the outside about 50cm off the ground to keep foxes out. It worked - on foxes, dogs and children owwwww!!!

Where we are now our small paddock that was dual designed for dogs and stock had a hot wire (tape actually) running around the top of the fence. Its not used now though as we dont have horses. I would put it back if I thought I needed it.

My last kelpieXBC used to have a knack of jumping through ringlock fences!! She would run at it, jump

sideways and glide through the gap in the ringlock...........I couldnt believe it the first time I witnessed it!! Didnt even touch the sides!! Agile little bugger! :D

I hope you find a solution to your escapee problem JulesP!

Rat

[OSoSwift]

We had ringlock on my parents farm and yep it never stopped any of the dogs!

We have five strand plain wire. Two are attatched to the electric fencing unit. The house yard is 5 acres so they are not contained by it as such, if they are contained they are in the dog runs, and soon to be dog yard attatched to the front of the runs. There, of course, is no electric fence on those.

All of the dogs have had one zap reasonably early on in the piece and have never been near it again, not that they really get far enough away from me to get close to the fence anyway!

The fences are not constructed to contain dogs they are a by-product of having cows, bulls and calves.

Edited July 19, 2010 by Rommi n Lewis

[JulesP]

Brock manages to get out and then back in by jumping over the mesh but under the wire. This is not a very big gap!

Still not sure what to do. Was thinking about a ping string and moving it around. The dogs are all really soft and I reckon it would only take one zap for them to not go near the fences.

[Staranais]

Yep because dogs aren't stock and you can be charged for cruelty. I think it is possible that different types of electric fencing are considered ok, such as the ping string, but not entirely sure. And even if you have stock you can't put the dog in the paddock with the electric fencing, ask DOLer Steve about that, apparently she couldn't use electric fencing to keep a ram in because she has maremmas that live in the paddock with the stock.

How bizarre. What about when you go to move your stock with your dogs. Do you have to turn the fences off, and then let the dogs in the paddock to move the stock? Sounds like townies making the laws.

[JulesP]

Maybe because dogs aren't flight animals? I've never seen a horse stand and just zapped. They tend to bolt off. But I have seen a dog sit there and get zapped again and again. He just didn't understand. Also there is the size/weight difference between a cow/horse and dog. A good zap can knock me to the ground and my dogs are less then half my weight.

[noisymina]

Even at full power, there is no way our fence would knock me to the ground. It is a normal electric fence.

If the dog is staying for repeated zaps, then the fence is not strong enough. Increase the voltage aand the dog WILL respect it.

I have seen a dog stay for repeated zaps. One. At the low setting. All the rest certainly do go into flight - over the hill and far away.

It was only when we put the fence in that we realised how many feral dogs were accessing our property of a night. They don't usually come back for a second zap. It was all quiet after the first few nights.

I wonder if the RCPCA woudl be interested in the fact that we installed it on the recommendation of our vet?

That that dog would have ended up under a vehicle or similar if we had not contained her? I still say a zap is the lesser of many evils that she could have encountered off the property. And a small price to pay for the huge grassed, shaded area she had to run and play.

[Staranais]

I've never been knocked to the ground by an electric fence and I've been zapped plenty of times. And the farm dogs that I've known learn to stay away from electric fences pretty darn quickly, just like stock do.

It sounds to me more like the SPCA has decided that these are cruel simply because they sound nasty, with very little evidence to back them up - just like they did with tail docking, e-collars, & pinch collars. And I would also suspect that they are only picking on suburban dog owners because they know farmers would just laugh in their faces.

The SPCA do some good work, but I wish they would stick to prosecuting genuine cruelty cases.

[JulesP]

Electric fence to wet head = me sitting on my arse

[OSoSwift]

Ours has a decent boot, but I haven't been put on my bum yet! I have however sworn at it profusely a couple of times. A zap to the head would feel a bit odd though

Funny thing is our old Stafford can get through it and not get zapped. He goes through near the posts where there is a small amount of wire on the dead side of the insulator. He only does it to get horse hoof trimmings after the farrier has been, and only once it is dark. I try and remember to throw them all a piece so he doesn't do it.

I still find it strange that people have actually been prosecuted and had dogs removed due to having an electric fence - absolute stupidity.

[jm266]

As far as I am aware, electric fences are not illegal in Victoria, like they are in NSW.

I ran 3 strands around 1/2 acre to keep my BCs contained as I lived behind a stockfeed and the guy there didn't contain his whippets and my younger dog would go berserk when he saw them.

The electric fence kept both of my dogs well away from the fence, one zap was enough.

On a side note two friends who helped me with it zapped themselves well and truly. They used a brand new car battery and managed to touch a metal cage. Then I absentmindedly decided day to check if the fence was on but forgot that I was holding the gate. That gave me a good kick too.

Easier to buy a fence tester

[JulesP]

I was sitting here reading this 30 mins ago when I thought 'umm it is a bit quiet', went out and Amber was outside trying to get back in. This at 11.00 with me home.

I took the other dogs outside and put her in. After a shitload of drama which involved 1 bucking 2yo pony, 2 BC who were umm trying to help, and me screaming like a fish wife I finally found were Amber is getting out at the moment. Looks like it was the pony that was the draw to get out. There are little dig marks all along his yard.

Right now there are quite a number of animals that I would enjoy seeing get zapped!

[JulesP]

Came back in. Dogs not on beds again. 2 girls down playing with the pony. Fence fix appears to be holding. Pony helpfully standing with nose just out of reach so both girls can jump up and down and try and bite him! Yell at them, they stop.

Dogs still not on beds. Brock has jumped out. I go out, he jumps in.

They all seem really unsettled. Very strange.

[noisymina]

Ours has a decent boot, but I haven't been put on my bum yet! I have however sworn at it profusely a couple of times. A zap to the head would feel a bit odd though

Funny thing is our old Stafford can get through it and not get zapped. He goes through near the posts where there is a small amount of wire on the dead side of the insulator. He only does it to get horse hoof trimmings after the farrier has been, and only once it is dark. I try and remember to throw them all a piece so he doesn't do it.

I still find it strange that people have actually been prosecuted and had dogs removed due to having an electric fence - absolute stupidity.

I have not been zapped very often. DH installed some switch thingys so It is easy to isolate various parts when we want to do stuff.

It does, however, put me in a very bad mood when I do get zapped. Partly becasue I am cranky with myself.

I think it is silly too. What's a zap or two compared to a dog getting run over or causing an MVA etc etc? Better to keep them in, IMHO.

It also keeps feral dogs OUT and away from ours.

[j]

The only legislation that I can find which seems to deal with it in the ACT is the Animal Welfare Act 1992

13 Electrical devices

A person commits an offence if—

(a) the person administers an electric shock to an animal; and

(b) the person administers the shock using an electrical device that

is not prescribed by regulation for use on that kind of animal.

Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units, imprisonment for 1 year or

both.

When you go to the Regulations, it has a Schedule of devices

Schedule 1 Permitted uses of electrical

devices on animals

(see s 5)

column 1

item

column 2

permitted electrical device

column 3

permitted species of animal

1 electro-ejaculator cattle and sheep

2 electric stock prod cattle and pigs

3 electric fence animals other than poultry or

domestic animals

So you can't use an electric fence for dogs in the ACT.

I imagine it would be covered under similar Legislation in each state and territory

Edited July 20, 2010 by j

[noisymina]

A dog is not a domestic animal?

[Wilderblu]

When we moved into a large property I made the exact same runs as at my old place but the dogs were unsettled and continued escape over the first few weeks. With stud sheep farms around us I wasn't going to risk them getting blamed for anything so I purchased a low voltage "pet" electric fence that is to keep pets such cats and dogs. I put 2 strands up a low one and a high one and after a couple of little zaps each and a week running I turned it off and haven't had it on since and no dogs out for over 12 months! Happy neighbours and safe dogs!! :rolleyes:

[Staranais]

Electric fence to wet head = me sitting on my arse

Oh ouch, poor you. Almost as bad as the story someone told me about the time they peed on the electric fence... ;)