How to Find a Break in an Invisible Dog Fence

A growing number of dog parents are trusting electric pet containment systems over traditional fences to protect their beloved four-legged friend. As great as electric dog fences are, it isn’t uncommon for a wire break to occur over their lifetime.

Besides the incessant beeping and flashing of the transmitter box, your dog’s electronic collar will also stop reacting to the fence wire in case of a break in an invisible dog fence. Once you know your fence is broken, it’s time to start searching for the break so you can fix it quickly and your pup can go back to playing safely outdoors again.

This guide will give you all the pointers on how to find a break in an invisible dog fence.

How to Find a Break in an Invisible Dog Fence

Visual Inspection

Many things can cause a break in the fence wire, including rodents, weed whackers, edgers, and lawn aerators. The first way to search for a break in your wire is to physically walk around your perimeter, searching for signs of any of these situations. Another place to check for wire breaks is where your wire connectors and splices are present. Many times, the fence wire inadvertently gets pulled apart in these areas.

The transmitter is the ideal place to start your visual inspection. Start inspecting the wire from the exit point through the wall, door, or window. It is crucial to pay attention to the areas where the twisted wire leaves your home as it is more susceptible to damage. Search for possible areas of disturbance by closely scanning the ground where the twisted wire is placed. Also, remember to pay extra attention to areas, such as the pathway, driveway, or sidewalk, where there is heavy foot traffic.

Use a Wire Break Locator Kit

A wire break locator kit is another effective way to locate a break in your fence wire. This kit comes with a mini transmitter and an AM radio that works well for electronic containment systems with less than 500 feet of fence wire. Also, this system is usually only effective if the wire breaks are clean; partial or decaying breaks are often hard to find.

To use a wire break locator kit, you will have to unplug your dog fence transmitter and connect the locator to the twisted wire. You will then have to ground the sending unit by connecting the enclosed wire to an electrical outlet’s center screw. Then plug in the sending unit to turn on both lights on the transmitter. Lastly, turn on the AM radio and adjust the dial to a channel without a radio station.

Follow the twisted wire towards the main fence loop while holding the radio. You will hear a combination of two sounds as you follow the wire. If there’s a break in the wire, the sound will switch from two sounds to one.

How to Fix a Break in an Invisible Dog Fence

Simply strip off half an inch of insulation on each side of the wire break and use a waterproof wire nut or a splice capsule to rejoin the two ends of the wire together.

Wrapping Up

If you find a break in your invisible dog fence, you don’t need to change the entire fence wire. Instead, you can repair the break and save yourself a lot of money and hassle. We hope that the methods listed above can help you find the break in your invisible dog fence system so you can quickly fix it up again.