A transmitter, a buried wire, and a collar your dog learns to read. No posts, no panels, nothing blocking your view. Here is what the system actually does, what putting one in involves on a real yard, and what it will not do.
If you have been shopping for one of these, you have seen it called several things. Hidden fence. In-ground fence. Underground fence. Wireless fence. Or by the Invisible Fence brand name, which people often use the way they say Kleenex for tissue. Most of those point at the same basic idea: a boundary your dog learns, instead of a barrier your dog runs into.
We call ours an electric dog fence because that is what it is. A low-power coded signal travels through a wire around your property, and a collar reads that signal. Invisible Fence is a brand owned by another company, not a category. We install Pet Stop equipment, and we service most other brands, including Invisible Fence brand systems, Dog Guard, and PetSafe.
One distinction that genuinely matters: a wireless fence broadcasts a circle out from a base unit inside your house. It cannot follow property lines, and the edge of that circle moves as conditions change. A wired boundary follows the actual shape of your yard, including the awkward parts, and it stays where we put it.
Every system we install comes down to these three, whichever package you end up with.
A small unit that mounts in the garage, basement, or a weatherproof box outside, and plugs into a standard outlet. It sends a coded signal down the boundary wire and controls how wide the warning zone is. Every install includes a dedicated lightning and surge protector on that outlet, since Alabama storms are hard on electronics and a fried transmitter is one of the most common storm calls we get. Yours is programmed to your yard and your dog, not to a factory default.
Buried a few inches down around the perimeter, carrying the signal. Because it is wire and not a broadcast, the boundary follows your property exactly, including odd angles. Burying it is standard, but we also staple it down with steel sod staples or fasten it to a fence, wall, or other structure where that fits the job better. It can also loop inward to close off a pool, a garden, or a flower bed while leaving the rest of the yard open.
Worn by your dog, reading the signal. As your dog approaches the boundary the collar warns with a tone. If they keep going, a mild static follows. Levels adjust to the dog, and the collar comes off at night. Options range from replaceable-battery to rechargeable with a phone app. Fit matters more than any other setting, and we cover it on the collar fit page.
A typical layout. The boundary follows your property, the lead-in is neutral so your dog can cross it, and interior loops close off anywhere the dog shouldn't be.
Alabama yards are not uniform. Red clay, limestone, creek beds, steep lots, and mature landscaping all change the method. None of them stop the system from working.
We place an Alabama 811 locate request at least 48 hours ahead, so buried utilities are found and marked before our crew arrives. The locate is performed by the contracted locating service, not by us, and we keep the documentation. Here is how the locate works and what the colored marks in your yard mean.
Standard runs go a few inches down along the perimeter. Around irrigation lines, exposed roots, and mature trees we hand-bury or route around instead of trenching through and hoping. Where there is rock or a steep grade, the wire gets secured with sod staples or follows an existing fence line.
If there is existing conduit under the drive, we fish the wire through it. If not, we cut the expansion joint, lay the wire, and seal it back with concrete or asphalt repair. Either way the crossing is protected and the surface goes back looking like it did.
A creek crossing gets protective hose and staking rather than burial. Longer water runs are weighted and sunk so the boundary holds across the water. If your place backs up to a lake, that has its own considerations, and we cover them on the lake homes page.
The stretch from the transmitter to the boundary loop is twisted pair, which cancels the signal. Your dog can walk over it without the collar reacting, so you are not stuck with a corridor through the middle of your own yard.
Pools, vegetable gardens, and flower beds can be closed off with a loop inside the main boundary. Indoors, separate units keep dogs off counters or out of specific rooms using the same collar already on your dog.
We plan better than nine out of ten layouts from satellite and aerial imagery of your property, so you are not waiting on a scheduled appointment to get a number. Want someone on-site instead? Just ask.
Alabama storms are hard on electronics, which is why a lightning and surge protector comes standard on every transmitter we install. For homes that lose power often, a battery backup is also available to keep the boundary live through an outage.
We troubleshoot, repair, and reprogram existing systems no matter who installed them, and can usually upgrade the collar or transmitter without re-running boundary wire that is still good.
The same collar already on your dog works with small indoor and area units that create a keep-away zone anywhere you need one. No new wiring, no second collar, and no gates across your doorways.
Most customers do not know these exist until we mention them on an install, and most who try one end up wanting a second. The collar warns first, exactly the way it does in the yard, and corrects only if your dog pushes into the zone.
These can go in during your original installation or years afterward. If you already have a Pet Stop system, an indoor or area unit works with the collar your dog is wearing right now.
Most residential installations finish in a single day. Larger lots, heavy woods, or a driveway crossing can push into a second.
Confirming the layout we planned from imagery against what is actually on the ground, and settling anything that needs a decision: where the gardens are, which side the drive crosses, whether the pool comes out of the run.
Perimeter first, then any interior loops, then crossings. This is the longest part of the day and the part where terrain decides the method.
Mounted somewhere dry and protected, connected to the boundary, then set for your yard and your dog rather than left on a default.
Flags go in along the entire boundary. They are how your dog sees the line during the first weeks, and they come out gradually once the boundary is learned.
We fit the collar properly, which matters more than most people expect. Training itself is a separate visit with a trainer, scheduled around you and often the same afternoon. The two weeks that follow are what make the system work.
Worth knowing before you buy, from anyone. Here is ours.
The system contains your dog. It does nothing to stop a loose neighborhood dog, a deer, or a coyote from walking into your yard. If keeping things out is the goal, this is the wrong tool.
No collar, no boundary. Same if the battery is dead. Checking the collar is part of the routine, and a dead battery is behind a good share of the escapes we get called about.
The transmitter needs power to keep the boundary live. If your area loses power often, battery backup solves this, and it is worth asking about during your estimate rather than after the first storm.
Equipment is maybe a third of the result. Two weeks of short daily sessions is what actually teaches a dog where the yard ends. Skipping that is the single most common reason these systems disappoint people.
A dog with serious prey drive takes more training time and sometimes a higher setting to respect the line when a squirrel commits to a bad decision. We would rather tell you that up front than pretend otherwise.
An annual service membership with priority scheduling, discounted parts, and battery coverage, built for homeowners who'd rather not think about their fence again until it needs a checkup.
See Full Plan Details →Tell us about your yard and your dog. Most estimates come back without anyone needing to visit, and there is no charge either way.
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