Is anyone else reminded of that episode of Star Trek: TNG, with that planet of amorous people that jog everywhere? The one where Wesley plays catch with the neighborhood kids, falls into someone’s garden, and is sentenced to death, because the amorous joggers don’t really understand proportionality? That’s what this post reminds me of, and it amuses me greatly to imagine this guy/gal watching this episode and shouting at the TV, “What’s the problem? He fell into the garden, of course he gets the chair! Why is Picard so worked up over this?”
Charging dog? Meet bottom of foot.
Hello accordion dog!
Which can then also trap the dogs outside the wire. Meaning they can’t even recall successfully - or that a shock from the wire may actually punish an attempted recall, leaving the most important obedience command broken. :mad:
Invisible fences are best combined with a physical barrier (fence) - the pair work together.
Not always a viable solution, as in cases of multiple dogs, or REALLY big dogs. My 90 to 110 pound shepherds would just keep coming, using the leverage of their bodies against your boot to blast you off your feet - unless maybe you’re superman. There’s a reason I have solid fences.
There are dogs whom have a “high consistency of behavior” - that is, once a behavior commences, they will follow it through depsite serious distraction, pain, or impediment*. This is actually a desierable condition in some breeds - typicaly breed you REALLY don’t want biting you. In those dogs, the warning (and shock) will be discounted once they’re fixated on something on the far side of teh barrier.
For those dogs, the electronic barrier is not a good idea - they can (and do) find themselves on the outside of the wire, unwilling (now that their obsession has been sated) to cross back in to ‘safe’ territory. This is one of the ways bad things can happen.
*not always a bad thing - I’ve had dogs that Would. Not. Stop. until they greeted me - Just greet - Not even jump up. Then they were off to do their own thing again.
Amorous joggers? How does that work?
Watch the episode. Here’s an HD version of the original promo. Watch related videos to see more of what the episode was like.
This one is probably the best: https://youtu.be/nkEu4dxP3U4?t=36s
Doesn’t Ronco make the Fuckoffbitch200? I think I remember the infomercial.[URL=“Straight Dope Message Board - Your direct line to thousands of the smartest, hippest people on the planet, plus a few total dipsticks.”]
Something like ten years ago, Wil Wheaton wrote some recaps of some first season episodes. It seems they’ve been deleted in some ill-advised cost-cutting move at AOL, but luckily, the Internet never forgets. Anyone who didn’t know what the frig I was talking about could be enlightened by reading that (hilarious) recap, and it’s twice as funny if you already saw it.
Just set it and forget it!
I remember that episode, and I appreciate the link!
Just the legs accordian. 
That’s hilarious! Thanks. But now I have to rewatch that episode. It’s been awhile.
That really was awesome. Did he recap all TNG episodes? Is there a directory somewhere? Because a podcast I listen to is doing a tour through several TNG highlights, and I would love to share the recaps of the specific episodes they are talking about.
He got halfway through season 1 before stopping for whatever reason. Here are the episodes I could find, I think this is all (in airdate order):
[ul]
[li]Encounter at Farpoint, part 1[/li][li]Encounter at Farpoint, part 2[/li][li]The Naked Now[/li][li]Code of Honor[/li][li]The Last Outpost[/li][li]Where No One Has Gone Before[/li][li]Lonely Among Us[/li][li]Justice (a.k.a. the one I was talking about)[/li][li]The Battle[/li][li]Hide and Q[/li][li]Haven[/li][li]The Big Goodbye[/li][li]Datalore[/li][li]Angel One[/li][/ul]
Oh man, I remember those reviews.
I think those might actually have been the genesis of his transformation from hated child-ruiner of TNG into a pretty successful figure of modern nerd culture.
It never crossed my mind that Wil Wheaton could have hated Wesley Crusher as much as the rest of us.
Are you kidding? The type-casting alone nearly turned him into a nerd-monk for the rest of his life. Who would’t hate that?
Wow, thank you so much! That was above and beyond the call of duty. I guess I will just link your post on Twitter, using it as an index, as the whole list would take a bazillion tweets.
A thousand times this ^.
Our first house was in a small town, and one of the families on our block had an invisible fence and a rambunctious Golden Retriever. We used to find him wandering the streets all the time because he would take the shock to chase a squirrel out of the yard but wouldn’t take it to go back in the yard. Worse than useless product for that dog.
I just heard this was a ZOMBIE thread so I had to om nom nom on some BRAINS!! 
Personally, invisible fences should not be used for restraint from others. I had a dog one time, a smart dog. I inherited her as part of new coupling of me and my wife
She was a good dog, trained on an electric fence. But, I remind you, she was smart. We also had this understanding… She really liked me, I really liked her, but there MUST be respect.
Her bone, that was hers. My steak, that was MINE.
Can I bark?.. NO!.. ok
I am gonna pee. Let me out… NO! Sleeping… Ok, here you go, enjoy refinishing your 100 year old oak floors… FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
You know, that kind of respect.
If she wanted something outside the invisible fence only a little, like a bird… meh, no big deal. She moved on.
If she really wanted something, she would crouch down, rev up (dog owners you know what I am saying here) and then dart and full-tilt boogy towards the line. As she passed the line she would jerk and yelp, but that stride, that magnificent stride, would not be denied.
She would keep going like an indomitable force and push through. Once relieved of the burden of the evil perimeter she always looked back at me…
…it was strange, sort of a Zen moment. She looked at me and I looked at her.
I swear she would gently nod, saying “ok human, understand now?”
I… I … I must admit. I nodded back every time as if to say “well done doge”.
She would then turn, move towards her target only stopping once to look back upon me as if to say “thank you for understanding”.
Don’t ever use an invisible fence.
I guess MMV, because my in-laws have an invisible fence and have used it for their past two dogs (at least). The dogs will run around and “chase” cars (parallel) and whatnot, but never ever go past the boundary.