Dog Fence Troubleshooting

Each time you put the receiver collar on your pet, check that it fits properly, and the contact posts make firm contact with your pet’s skin. If necessary, shave an area under your dog’s neck about the size of a deck of playing cards, and use longer contact posts.

• Stand your dog up on all four feet.
• Pull the receiver collar so it is as high on the neck as it will go, almost like you are going to pull it up over the ears and off the head.  Stop behind the ears. (Leave it there for about 10 seconds. If it slips down, it is too loose.)
• Orient the receiver under the chin of your dog. (Note: the collar will move later to other positions on your dog’s neck. This is normal and expected. If it fits under the chin, it will fit everywhere.)
• While keeping your dog standing on all four feet, press the head and neck down so that the top of the head and neck are level with the shoulders of your standing dog (imagine your dog posing like a hunting dog on point, or even with his nose to the ground, like a hound). It is absolutely critical that you position your dog as described above. Do NOT test the fit while your dog is sitting on its rear. Remember, your dog leaves the yard on all four feet with the head pointed out, or nose to the ground, not scooting out on their bottom!
• Slip your fingernail between the skin of your dog’s neck and the tip of the spring contact point. You should have to compress the spring contact point just a tiny bit in order to slip your fingernail between the tip of the spring contact point and your pet’s skin for a proper fit.  Note: If you have static contact points, the same instructions apply, but there is no spring tip to compress. You must still ensure proper contact through this process by verifying that you can only squeeze your fingernail between the static point and the skin while firm contact is observed on both sides of your fingernail.  (PetSafe Pro receivers can be retrofitted to spring contacts if you wish.)
• If your collar is looser than described, remove the collar, shorten the length, and repeat the process starting at step 1 until the collar is properly fitted.
• Once the collar is properly fitted, put your dog on a leash and walk into the fence to reintroduce it to the sensation. You will do this to show your dog that the fence is working again. This allows your dog to get a correction under a controlled situation, eliminating the chance that it will think the fence is still not working causing it to mistakenly wander into it. This should prevent additional “run-throughs”.

If the dog has no reaction, move on to test the collar.

Let’s find out if the collar is activating properly. Take the collar into the yard. Close the strap so it is as though your dog is wearing it. Hold the back of the strap, with the receiver hanging at the bottom of the collar loop below your knees. Now walk into the yard holding the collar in this position, stooping over so you are holding the collar at the same level above the ground, as it is when your dog is walking in the yard. Please do NOT hold the collar up as high as your own ears and try to hear it beep. It will not work since the signal is not adjusted to activate the collar much above your dog’s neck level. As you approach the edge of the yard, you should hear the collar begin to “beep” or “tick”. This result will tell you:

• The receiver is working.
• The batteries are good.
• The wall-mounted transmitter is working.
• The dog should be getting a correction if it goes too far.

NOTE: YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HEAR the beep as it is intended to be heard better by dogs than humans. If you hear nothing, please consider testing the sensation on your fingertips. Touch both points on the collar while walking through the boundary, holding it below your knees. If you do not feel a sensation, then there may be a problem with the receiver collar. If you do feel a sensation AND the collar is fitted properly, we most likely need to adjust the intensity level of the sensation.

It’s time to change the battery or charge the collar. The light will stop flashing when the battery is dead. Change it immediately when you first observe the flashing light on your receiver. Also, before you go on vacation, please make sure your battery is not dead. It may also be a good idea to check the battery when you come home from vacation or if you have not been using the collar on your dog for a while. Maybe it flashed the low battery alert while you were out of town, or while it was lying hidden in the drawer. If you do not test, and your battery is dead, your dog will figure it out.

The red low battery indicator light, located on the top of the receiver, will flash every couple of seconds for up to 1 week. Use a quarter (DO NOT USE A SCREWDRIVER) to unscrew the silver battery cap, remove the old battery, wait 5 minutes, then insert the new one positive (+) side out. Waiting 5 minutes will reset the light only. All other settings will remain the same. Reminder: This is a special battery. Using the wrong battery may cause the receiver to malfunction, crack, or void your warranty.

CLICK HERE to watch a YouTube video on how to change your Hidden Pet Fence collar battery

CLICK HERE to watch a YouTube video on how to change your Invisible Fence® brand collar battery

1. Place the receiver into the charging cradle. Make sure to press down so that the two contacts(prongs) and the side contacts are touching.
2. Once the receiver is in the cradle properly it will make a beeping sound with red and green lights flashing on and off back and forth on the charging cradle for about 30 seconds. This is the diagnostic process that is testing the receiver.
3. After it has completed the diagnostic test (beeping and flashing red and green on the charging cradle), the cradle should then display a flashing green light. This means that the receiver is charging.
4. Once the flashing green light on the charging cradle turns to solid green it means that the receiver is fully charged. This process takes about 3 hours.
5. Once it is fully charged (solid green light is on the charging cradle) take it out of the charging cradle. It will flash a white light and you are ready to place it on your dog.

***If once you put the receiver into the charging cradle and it does the diagnostic test and red light flashes it means that the receiver had no battery to pass the diagnostic test. Leave in the charging cradle until it flashes green. Then take the receiver out and put it back in to allow it to pass the diagnostic test.

***If after following all of these steps and you have a solid red light on the charging cradle, the white light on the receiver stays on, won’t shut off you will need to call the office for assistance.

This is an indication that there is something wrong. The light should either be off, indicating the battery is good and the collar is operating normally, or off, indicating the battery is dead (see other section on testing the battery), or flashing to indicate a low battery situation.

If the red light is steady “ON”, the collar probably still beeps and shocks, but the battery is being consumed faster than normal. You can test the collar to see if it is working, but you probably cannot adjust the shock level. This scenario cannot be remedied beyond attempting to remove the battery for a few minutes. After the light goes out, put the batteries back. This is akin to rebooting a computer. If the situation continues after trying this a few times, for the sake of your dog’s safety, you should call to arrange a replacement.

Your fence is not working. Please call us or click here to schedule a service call.

The computer box has no power. Your fence is not working. Please do the following before you call:

• Check if someone unplugged the fence. Plug it back in.
• Check the black power line that goes from the outlet to the wall-mounted Transmitter. Press it firmly back into the receptacle of the wall-mounted Transmitter.
• Reset the breaker.
• Turn the power strip back on.
• Reset the GFI (or GFCI). (Note: A GFI is an electrical plug that stops the flow of electricity when it detects a possible “short” or dangerous current condition. Most garage outlets are attached to one. The GFI that controls your outlet may be in the garage, bathroom, basement, laundry room, kitchen, guest bathroom, front porch, deck, etc. To reset a GFI, you must press the “Reset” button. Check all of your GFI outlets before you call.)
• Plug an extension cord into a known working outlet, then plug the fence power supply into the extension cord. If your fence works then your outlet is not working. If it does not work, try a different outlet or a different extension cord.
• Plug a blow dryer or other portable appliance into the same outlet that the computer box is plugged into. If the appliance works then your outlet is good and you should call us.