Know what you own.
The electric dog fence system, component by component.
Nothing here is a black box, and there are no mystery fees. This page covers every component of your underground dog fence, what each one does, and which settings you can adjust yourself. We install DogWatch® systems as an authorized dealer, so this is the equipment described throughout.
Component by component
Eleven dog fence components worth understanding.
You’re buying a system you’ll live with for years, so every piece of it should make sense to you.
Boundary wire
A continuous buried loop that defines the exact shape of your dog’s territory: around the perimeter, across driveways, and around exclusion zones like pools and gardens. The wire is not electrified; it carries a low-power radio signal from the transmitter. If it ever gets cut, we can locate the break and repair it.
Transmitter
The wall-mounted control box that runs the system, usually in a garage or utility space. It energizes the loop, sets the boundary width, and sounds an alarm if the wire ever breaks.
Surge protection
We install it with every transmitter to guard against lightning and power surges. Virginia thunderstorms are exactly why a buried loop of wire needs it.
Dog fence receiver collar
The only part your dog wears. It listens for the wire’s signal and responds as your dog approaches the boundary. We fit it to your dog before any training starts.
Warning tone
The first thing the collar does, and the cue your dog actually learns. Training builds one association: tone means turn back. For a trained dog, the tone does nearly all the work.
Adjustable correction levels
If a dog continues past the tone, the collar delivers a static correction. It is brief and adjustable, meant to startle rather than to hurt, and the warning tone your dog learns first always comes before it. We set it to the lowest level your dog responds to, and we show you how to adjust it, so the setting can change as your dog’s training matures. Read the safety discussion in full.
Battery-powered dog fence collar
The receiver runs on a battery, so there is no nightly routine to keep up with and nothing to forget to plug in. A battery lasts about 2 years, which makes changing it an every-other-year errand.
The equipment we install
We’re an authorized DogWatch dealer, so the transmitter and receiver in your yard are DogWatch hardware. DogWatch is a brand, not a franchise: its dealers are locally owned, and this one answers its own phone.
Waterproofing
Built for dogs who live outside the tidy parts of the yard, through rain, mud, and creek days. DogWatch describes its outdoor hidden-fence receiver collars as waterproof, including while a dog swims.
Owner-adjustable controls
Some adjustments (boundary width at the transmitter, for one) are ones we teach you to make yourself, without paying for a service call. You’ll know which knobs are yours.
Multi-dog profiles on one boundary wire
One buried boundary can serve the whole pack. Each dog wears their own receiver, set for that dog: a cautious senior and a bold adolescent don’t need the same configuration, and they don’t get it. Adding a dog later means a compatible receiver and per-dog training, not a second system.
Serviceable, not disposable
If your in-ground dog fence breaks, it’s fixable.
Nothing in this system is a sealed mystery. We locate wire breaks with specialized equipment and splice them with waterproof connectors, and we can diagnose a transmitter or test a receiver. The transmitter even tells you when something is wrong. That beeping is a wire-break alarm, not a countdown to replacement.
We repair the systems we install, and we diagnose and repair many systems other companies installed, too.
A break in the loop gets located, exposed, and spliced. It is not a reason to rebury the yard.
The ownership math
A pet containment system with no required subscription.
A dog containment system can turn into a monthly bill: monitoring plans and required service contracts. Our installed underground systems don’t work that way. You buy the system once, starting at $1,399, and ownership stays cheap after that.
- No required subscription or monitoring plan for our installed underground systems.
- The collar runs on a battery, so there is nothing to dock or plug in at night.
- Owner-adjustable settings mean fewer paid service calls for routine tweaks.
- Routine ownership costs come down to household electricity for the transmitter and a collar battery about every 2 years.
- The equipment carries DogWatch’s warranty; we warrant our installation for 30 days. The warranty page breaks it down.
- When something does need a professional, you get the repair price before work begins.
Ownership questions
What owners ask about the electric dog fence.
Are there recurring fees?
No subscription is required for our installed underground systems. Ongoing costs come down to a collar battery about every two years, plus any service you choose to request.
Do you offer financing?
Yes. Financing is available through Joist, and your terms and conditions depend on your credit. You’ll see the actual rate, term, and payment in writing from Joist before you commit.
How much does an underground dog fence cost?
Complete professional installations start at $1,399. The final price depends on your property size, the boundary layout, driveway or hardscape crossings, and how many dogs need receivers. You'll get a clear number before any work begins. Use the 2-minute estimate to get started.
What is included in installation?
Boundary design for your specific property, professionally buried wire, the transmitter with surge protection, a receiver collar, training flags, and your dog’s first training session with you there. You keep all the training materials, and the one-year dog containment guarantee covers free training help for a year after installation. We walk you through the system before we leave.
What warranty is included?
Two: DogWatch warrants the equipment, and we warrant our installation for 30 days. The full written terms, which components are covered, the exclusions, and what happens on a home sale, are still being finalized.
For the mechanism itself, start with how the system works or compare options on the comparison pages.
Own a system you actually understand.
Ask anything about components, settings, or ownership costs. You'll get plain answers from the person responsible for your system.