What’s A Virtual Fence – And Which One’s Best For Pets?

Gone are the days of having to rely on physical fences to keep your animals safe. Virtual fences come with so many benefits over traditional fencing, you’ll ask yourself why you never used one before. So, how does virtual fencing work? And what are the advantages? Plus what’s the best virtual fence for dogs and cats? Let’s get into it!

What is a virtual fence?

A virtual fence is a non-physical, digital fence that allows you to contain or fence in animals in the real world. A relatively new technology, virtual fencing enables pet parents and ranchers alike to control their animals without the use of physical fences¹. In other words, it’s a pretty sweet option if your dog has a habit of jumping over – or digging under – your existing outdoor dog fence.

Virtual fences are commonly used in the agricultural industry for mapping and containing grazing dairy cattle and other herding livestock. However, GPS trackers with virtual fences for pet parents are also becoming increasingly common, as they provide a safe, reliable way to make sure your dog or cat stays in the yard and out of harm’s way.

How does a virtual fence work?

Virtual fences for animals work in a few simple steps, making them easier to install and customize than traditional fences.

1. First, you attach a GPS tracker to the animal’s collar. It detects the animal’s location anywhere in the world using GPS satellites.
2. Then, you draw a virtual fence on a map in the virtual fencing software or app.
3. The GPS device communicates with the app to determine where the fence boundaries are and when the animal has crossed it.
4. Depending on the type of virtual fence, the system will either alert you that the animal has crossed the fence or emit a sound or electric pulse to train the animal to stay in the fenced area.

For example, here’s how easy it is to set up a (100% shock-free) Virtual Fence in the Tractive GPS iOS app:

Try it out in Tractive Demo Mode

How are virtual fences for livestock different than virtual fences for pets?

With typical virtual fencing for cattle, an audio tone is emitted from the device on the cow as it approaches the fence’s boundary. If the animal goes beyond the perimeter, an electric pulse is released; training the cattle to stay within the fenced area. This is also how typical invisible or wireless dog fences work.

But animal rights advocates have called invisible fences that use electric shock dangerous and unethical.

Thankfully, nowadays popular pet trackers like Tractive GPS offer a 100% safe, shock-free virtual fence designed specifically for the pets we love – and would never want to hurt. No electric pulse or shock administered – instead a notification is sent to the pet parents phone when the dog or cat leaves the virtual fence.

5 benefits of virtual fencing

Virtual fences offer many benefits over traditional ground-based fencing.

1. Flexible fence boundaries

Now once you’ve set up a physical fence, it’s not as easy to customize it as you’d please. (Or, well, it’d mean another expensive trip to the contractors where you might spend more time discussing your property perimeters over set up.)

And besides, not all backyards or property perimeters work so well for a physical fence. (Especially if you’re near a wooded area or have some complex HOA requirements to meet.)

Since virtual fences are digital, you can easily draw the fence in nearly any shape or size you choose!

For example, here’s what a custom-shaped Virtual Fence looks like in the Tractive GPS app:

2. Portable

Speaking of flexibility, there is no limit to where the GPS tracking collar can track or where a digital perimeter can be set up, so you can move it around as you like. Plus, with Tractive’s Virtual Fence for instance, you can place the fence nearly anywhere in the world – and reposition it anytime as needed.

3. Remote control

Another great advantage of virtual fencing is their remote control capabilities. You can set up, manage and monitor the virtual fence and the animal(s) inside from anywhere, anytime on a smartphone, tablet or computer. So you can stay on top of your pet’s location, even while on vacation. Or for agricultural purposes, move a herd with just the swipe of your finger.

4. Quick, easy set-up

While it depends on the size of your property and how elaborate a job you’d like, the average physical fence may take anywhere between 1-3 days for setup.² Besides, your contractors might take longer – even weeks – between installing posts, setting up rails or exits, or any other bits and bobs. (Meaning a longer, more cumbersome, significantly more expensive process.)

For a Virtual Fence? No time-consuming, professional installation required. You can set up your virtual fence in under 5 minutes – and by anyone. Just set up your tracker, add (and edit) your fence, and you’re ready to go.

5. Low cost

In the long run, most virtual fencing systems are cheaper to maintain than physical fences. The Tractive GPS for example is less than $100 + a monthly fee that’s less than your Netflix subscription.

(Compared to the $3000 or so you’ll have to pay on average for a physical fence – and ongoing fees for maintenance and upkeep.)

Why the subscription? Well, it’s because of this monthly fee that your tracker:

• Connects to mobile networks around the world, helping you track your dog or cat across an unlimited range
• Helps you track your pets in real-time by connecting to satellites around our planet

So you can track your dog or cat anywhere, anytime – with just a glance at your phone. (And once they’ve wandered back into cellular range.)

6. More features than fencing

A traditional fence offers you only that: a fence or physical barrier. But the technology that goes into virtual fencing systems for animals provides you with so much more. For instance – the trackers that the animals wear don’t just monitor their location. They also track activity, sleep and more. Trackers like Tractive GPS (and others used in both the pet and agriculture industry) can even provide health alerts to make you aware of abnormalities in your animal’s behavior. So you can stay on top of their wellbeing and proactively provide care.

What’s the best virtual fence for dogs and cats?

No matter what you end up picking, we’d always recommend putting your pet’s health and safety first. Compromising their wellbeing and trust in you is never worth it.

Many virtual fences use containment tactics like electrostatic shocks to scare pets into staying inside the fenced area. But without any physical fence boundary, this can be a cruel way to teach your dog or cat to stay inside the (invisible) lines.

So if you’ve found your dog digging a hole beneath your fence for the hundredth time, consider investing in a safe, shock-free virtual fence and GPS pet tracking collar.

At less than $100 plus a monthly fee less than your Netflix subscription, you can track your pet and set up virtual fences anywhere in the world – 100% shock free.

Always know where your pets are

Follow every step in real-time with unlimited range. Get alerts if they wander too far. Keep them happy & healthy with Wellness Monitoring. And let others – like walkers or sitters – keep an eye on your pet too.

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