DogWatch Review: The Best Underground Hidden Fence To Protect Your Pups?

As any dog owner knows, safety is the number one priority, and yet your pups will do everything in their power to put themselves in dangerous situations. Dogs are not like cats in the sense that they can’t wander off and spend hours away from home before returning as though nothing had happened. You tend to want to keep your dog contained within your home’s boundaries – and then you take them for walks and let them off their leash with supervision. 

The big issue here is that your dog will always try to get out of your garden, usually because they’ve seen something that distracts them and they want to explore. They’ll either try to dig under the fence to crawl out or find a way to jump over it. Dogs are surprisingly smart when it comes to finding ways around your containment system, but that’s where the topic of today’s post comes in: DogWatch. It’s marketed as this cool and innovative way of keeping your dog contained, but how does it work – and does it actually work as intended? After spending a few weeks using the product, here’s my review.

DogWatch Explained – A “Hidden Fence” For Your Yard

Essentially, DogWatch is a containment system for your dog that involves three core components: 

• A narrow wire that’s buried beneath your lawn, underneath your boundary area.

• A transmitter that you can install in your home or garage, which broadcasts an FM radio signal from the buried wire.

• A special collar that your dog wears, which picks up the FM signal and provides an alert if the dog gets close to the buried wire. 

They call this the best underground hidden fence because it effectively stops your dog from escaping your yard. When they get close to the FM signal, their collar will vibrate and make a warning sound that tells the dog they’re doing something wrong. If they get close enough to the point that they’re almost out of your yard, the collar sends a mild stimulation that basically tells them, “Hang on buddy, you can’t go there.” 

Does It Actually Work?

Yes – surprisingly well! 

I’ll admit to being skeptical when I first read about DogWatch and saw how it worked because I wondered how a dog would know what all the alerts and stimulations meant. Wouldn’t they just carry on and break through the invisible barrier if they wanted to? 

It turns out that, yes, that would probably happen if you installed the system and left it at that. But what’s really interesting is that DogWatch provides you with a training system and guides you through some essential training steps after installation. What this does is it helps you teach your dog what the alerts and stimulations mean, so they understand that they’re reaching an area they’re not allowed to be in. They’ll even provide personalized training depending on your pet’s personality, which is a nice touch. 

The end result is a system that works remarkably well and does a great job of keeping your dog contained without you needing to install any serious security fences. We already have a simple boundary fence in our yard, but I imagine this system would work without a fence anyway. Also, the longer you have this system, the better it gets. Your dog quickly understands what’s happening and is less likely to get too close to your boundaries anymore.

Key Features You’ll Like

When I first discovered DogWatch, I assumed it was like any GPS collar out there, and it just sent a signal to let you know where your dog was so you could tell them off if they were getting too close to your fence. So, it impressed me when I looked a bit deeper at the features and found that this system uses an FM SafeLink wire for its signals. This differs from the AM signals most other products use – and it also ensures that you don’t need to recharge the transmitter, allowing it to stay on all the time. 

The battery collar also lasts for two years, which is great news, and it’s nice to know that you’re buying a product from a locally owned business that’s been doing this since 1990. The in-person training is also just a massive positive that so many similar products don’t have. For me, it’s what takes this from a meh product to one that’s genuinely effective and will help you keep your dog safe by preventing them from running outside your garden or digging under the fence. 

Things You Might Not Like

To be honest, in terms of how the product works, there’s nothing to dislike as it does what it says. The main concern for some is that you have to buy extra collars for as many dogs/pets as you have. The cheapest collar on their website costs $300, so those of you with two or three dogs might be a bit put off. 

Also, if you’re worried about the “stimulation” your dog receives when it gets too close to the wire, this is effectively the same as getting a minor static shock. It’s designed to alert the dog without causing them harm – but it’s a sensation they’re not going to want to repeat over and over. The fact that the DogWatch products are veterinary-approved tells you that they are safe for your pet to wear, so that’s not an issue. 

Is This The Best Underground Hidden Fence For Dogs?

After spending a lot of time with DogWatch and seeing how it works, there’s genuinely not that many products that offer the same thing as well as it does. If you’re looking for the best underground hidden fence for dogs that keeps your pet safe, then this is the one for you. Yes, it requires a bit of a training period, but the fact that the company actually helps you with this is a massive plus point that has to be highlighted again. I think the best part about this product is that it a) actually works, and b) works on the premise of training your dog to adapt its behavior. After a couple of weeks, you’ll find that your dog barely sets the signal off because it simply learns boundaries and won’t attempt to escape your yard again!