Our puppy Cali is so much fun! She has quickly won our hearts over and is a big part of our family. When we adopted her earlier this Summer, we vowed to never let her off a leash until we had an in-ground fence system for reasons noted at the end of this post. I’m hear to tell you today that installing a DIY in-ground dog fence is easier than you’d think and more affordable than I could have imagined. And, it works. I wish we did it sooner.
I received product to facilitate this post.
PetSafe In-Ground Fence™ System
In-Ground Fence™ Systems start at just $190, a small price to pay for a safe yard for your dog to run and play. PetSafe In-Ground Fence™ Systems are perfect for any size yard and any shape as you customize the boundaries. You can even section off portions of your yard that you don’t want your pets near like pools, gardens, driveways, etc.
We chose the YardMax® Rechargeable In-Ground Fence™ as it maximizes the amount of yard our puppy, Cali can run and play in. With this system, you don’t lose 10feet of space from the in-ground fence like traditional systems. This system includes everything you need to install the in-ground fence including a transmitter, rechargeable collar, wire, and boundary flags.
Video of our PetSafe Puppy
Our Experience Installing the PetSafe In-Ground Fence
We rented a cable layer to make the job of laying the wire easier. The cable layer created a small trench a few inches down into the ground, then the cable would feed down into the trench and we covered it over with the dirt. It was the best way to install the in-ground fence since our yard has a lot of tree roots! 
There were some parts of our yard that required hand-digging because it was too muddy or too thick in the woods. Since we didn’t have to dig deep into the ground for the in-ground fence, this was not difficult to do, just timely.
It was easy to lay the cable into the trenches and cover back up with the dirt/mud. It takes 1-2 days to install an in-ground fence, depending on the size of your yard. We probably spent 10 hours total, over the course of several days. This was because we had to clear brush in the woods and dig through tree roots!
We also had to run a small conduit between our concrete driveway and the gravel apron near the road. This was much easier than we thought it would be. We fed the wire through the conduit and covered back with gravel.
Our kids are big helpers, especially when they know they can earn a couple extra dollars in their allowance! Both of my kids helped us lay the wire, cover with dirt, and train our puppy. They were a lot of help, and it gave them ownership of the project too.
It really is easy enough for an 8 year old to assist!
Training our Puppy with PetSafe In-Ground Fence
The PetSafe program comes with complete instructions on how to train your dog with the in-ground fence system. It is recommended that you train multiple times daily, introducing your dog to the boundary flag areas. The system has 5 adjustable levels of static correction, you can even train with a audible tone-only mode. Cali didn’t respond to the tone-only beep on Day One. I honestly thought the in-ground fence wouldn’t work.
On Day Two, we put her collar on level one and everything changed! She responded the the static correction and beep, wanting to get as far away from the flags as possible. We continued the training multiple times daily, showing her that she can get near the flags, but not to the flags.
With YardMax, your dog can get right up to the flags/boundary without a static correction OR you can set it to give your dog a correction 10 feet way, like traditional in-ground fences. We chose right at the boundary, to give her the most amount of yard to run and play in.
After just 3 days of training, Cali stays in the yard! I can hardly believe it! She doesn’t run next door and jump up on our neighbor any more. She doesn’t run into the woods after deer. She doesn’t go near the deadly road. We are cautious and still keep an eye on her as she is still in training mode but I can let her outside while making dinner while she runs and plays.
The PetSafe In-Ground Fence has made us a happy family. Our puppy can play safely outside, getting more exercise than ever. We have the confidence that she won’t run out of the yard and get lost, or worst.
Don’t wait until it is too late
My family suffered a heartbreak like no other when our puppy Roxy ran out into the street and was hit by a car. She was the best puppy in the world, we thought she was trained but she couldn’t resist running free to the other side of the road one day…
It was a needless tragedy that could have been prevented if we had fence. We thought in ground fences were too expensive, how I wish we had known about the DIY option to install an in ground dog fence with PetSafe last year…
Purchase a PetSafe Fence
A PetSafe In-Ground Fence is thousands of dollars cheaper than a traditional fence and hundreds of dollars cheaper than having a company come out and install it for you. Find the best one for your yard and dog size/behavior.
PetSafe also offers Wireless Pet Containment System™ Products with no installation, simply plug and go for portable pet boundaries. This is idea for smaller yards or as a travel option.
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