An Emergency Vet Explains The Dangers Of Invisible Fences

What Are Some Ramifications Of Using An Invisible Fence?

A neat yard line that no one can see sounds perfect—until a rabbit bolts, a car appears, and your dog decides instinct matters more than a mild zap. We dig into the real risks of invisible fences with Dr. Mike LoSasso, Chief of Staff at Frisco Emergency Pet Care, and break down why motivation, timing, and behavior make convenience a fragile safety plan.

We walk through how high-drive moments overpower electric boundaries and why the “correction” often hits after a dog has already crossed. Mike shares what he sees in the ER: hit-by-car injuries, dog-on-dog bites when larger dogs enter unfenced front yards, and the heartbreaking cases of lost pets who can’t or won’t cross the line to get home. We talk candidly about the behavior fallout from pain-based tools—confusion, reactivity, and stress—and how positive, clear training builds safer defaults under distraction.

You’ll hear practical steps to reduce escapes, from maintaining physical fences and securing gates to removing launch points for athletic climbers. We cover leash law common sense, front-door management during busy holidays, and the seasonal spike in losses around July 4th and Halloween. Most importantly, we highlight microchip best practices: register the chip, keep your contact info current, and verify details before high-risk dates so a good Samaritan can actually reach you.

If you want a safer, saner containment plan, this conversation offers a clear path: layer defenses, supervise yard time, train reliable recall, and treat tech as a supplement—not your only line of defense. Subscribe for more expert veterinary insights, share this with a fellow pet parent, and leave a review to help others find the show.

To learn more about Frisco Emergency Pet Care visit:
https://www.FriscoEmergencyPetCare.com
Frisco Emergency Pet Care 
11201 Preston Road 
Frisco, Texas 75033 
469-287-6767 

Transcript

Welcome And Episode Focus

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Welcome to the Frisco Emergency Pet Care Podcast, your trusted source for expert insight into emergency veterinary medicine. Hosted by Dr. Mike Lasasso, Chief of Staff at Frisco Emergency Pet Care, this podcast brings you essential information to help protect the health and safety of your dogs and cats. Serving North Dallas with 24-7 emergency and critical care, the team at Frisco Emergency Pet Care is here when every second counts. Now, let's begin.

The Promise And Flaws Of Invisible Fences

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Visible fences seem convenient, but the hidden risk can affect safety, behavior, and long-term well-being. Welcome everyone. I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer in the studio with Dr. Mike Lasasso, Chief of Staff at Frisco Emergency Pet Care. Dr. Lasasso, it's always a pleasure to speak with you. Thanks for joining us.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

Oh, thank you, Julie. It's always great to be with you.

SPEAKER_00 1:00

So we're very interested in this topic because it's used so frequently. What are some ramifications of using an invisible fence for your pet?

SPEAKER_02 1:09

Well, I mean, invisible fences, they do sound like a great idea, right? So you have this uh this wire around the perimeter of your house that is that is installed, and your dog gets a mild shock when they get too close to that, and and theoretically that stops them from crossing that border, and this is an invisible way to contain your pet without having to put up a physical fence, and that makes fantastic sense. And and these companies have been, I think, pretty successful in doing that, and it and it does make some sense, but what people also need to realize is that it's not a perfect system. So dogs generally have a higher motivation to leave your yard than they do to return to it.

Motivation, Thresholds, And Breakthroughs

SPEAKER_02 2:00

So by that I mean that you've got to, if you're relying on this invisible fence in your front yard or your backyard, however you you're set up, and your dog experiences a we'll say this, uh a highly motivating event, such as a rabbit runs across the runs right across, because of course rabbit doesn't care about fence. So rabbit runs across, dog gets motivated and is chasing the rabbit, and yeah, feels the little twinge from the fence, but he's by the time he feels the twinge, he's already crossed the fence because he's moving, and now he's he's chasing this rabbit or he's running through traffic or whatever he's doing. The motivation to get back to your house is a hey, I'd like to go home. Yes, that is motivating, but it's not as highly motivating as pet owners might like to think. And it's also not motivating at speed. Now, sometimes it could be if you were out there calling your dog and he's running to get back to you, then yeah, he'll cross that barrier, he'll feel the twinge, but again, he's already over the threshold when that hits. He's already moving, he's not gonna stop, and so he'll cross right back over that invisible fence. But we do find sometimes that the dogs will leave their yards and then they can't get home because they're not coming at a high speed, and so the invisible fence keeps them out just effectively as it as it keeps them in. So that's that's why I'm not a particularly big proponent of that

Behavior Risks With Pain-Based Tools

SPEAKER_02 3:34

system.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

Have you noticed any behavioral changes in dogs that rely on or the petitions?

SPEAKER_02 3:44

No, I have not seen any studies, and I don't physically interact with enough dogs that I know have an invisible fence since I'm in emergency practice. I don't deal with with my clients that often and talk about those kinds of things. Whenever we talk about training with adverse consequences, so I would have to include invisible fence in this. If you're gonna get an electric shock as you get near that, it's kind of like using the shock collars, right? When you train with pain, you definitely have the potential to see uh a little bit more aggression, dogs that are a little bit harder to handle because of well, because they chronically get zapped, right? And they may or may not understand what the reasoning is. Now, I don't know how strong the zap is with an invisible fence. Um, but I would be concerned that there's a potential there at least.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

And going back to your emergency practice, what are some of the injuries that you've seen from dogs that have broke through

Common Emergencies After Escapes

SPEAKER_00 4:49

the boundary?

SPEAKER_02 4:49

Oh, I mean, that there's so many things that happen. You know, the big one that we see is the dog that is out in the front yard and is chasing a squirrel, is going after the dog across the way. Being hit by a car is certainly one. The other thing, especially if you've got a smaller dog, and we see this happening to people that are with their dogs, is if you're walking a relatively smaller dog or you've got a smaller dog in your front yard that is confined to its front yard by this fence, realize that the big dog across the street is not confined by said fence. And there's nothing, there's no fence for that bigger dog. And I I see, I think I actually see as many what we call grab by dog or dog fight wounds as I do hit by cars. And I know Frisco's a pretty, pretty suburban area, and we don't see nearly as many hit by cars in this area as we did when I started practice, you know, in the in the 1900s. Um a lot more hit-by-cards back then. But yeah, there definitely are are the dangers, the getting into the dog fights, the um the hit-by-cars, the just getting out and getting lost. Once they're separated from their um from their home, what what happens and and we don't know.

Microchips, Data Gaps, And Holidays

SPEAKER_02 6:09

You know, that's when we hope that they are microchipped, and we hope that not only that they're microchipped, but that your personal information is linked to that microchip. Of all the microchips that are returned to a shelter, only about 30% of them actually have owner information associated with the chip. The other 70% of them, they may as well not be microchipped. That's a super frustrating waste of time, money, and effort. And it leads to dogs or cats that can't be reunited very easily because somebody failed to make a phone call, right? Or fill out a form online, or they moved and forgot they moved, or they changed their phone number and didn't think to the microchip company. So that's why there's a big push right before the 4th of July every year for everybody to update their, you know, go check your microchip company, make sure your information is up to date. Since July 4th is the single largest loose dog holiday, followed fairly closely by Halloween. Fireworks, they get scared, they go over the fence, they go, you know, it's here in here in North Texas, it's um traditionally pretty windy with uh maybe with a thunderstorm. So gates blow down, blow open. Uh, not necessarily on the 4th of July. That's that's a whole summer kind of thing. Uh but yeah, because of the fireworks, dogs can feel those mortars and they really, really don't like them most of the time. And on the fourth uh and on uh on Halloween, of course, everybody's constantly opening their front door multiple times, and having a having a dog squirt out right in front of the teenager that's opening the door for the trick-or-treaters happens all the time.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Yeah, that's a good point. And you also mentioned uh, you know, another possum point is that uh the dogs are so vulnerable because the the pet owners are relying on this invisible fence for them not to leave, but like you said, a big dog could come in where I'm at, coyotes could come in in the in their the in the microchipping point that you brought up to the information not being up to date associated with the owner. Do you think that's I mean, you're a pet parent, obviously to a long-term one, as well as uh you know, a veterinarian. Do you think that maybe just the owners could start to rely too

Overreliance, Leash Laws, And Accountability

SPEAKER_00 8:24

much on that idea of the invisible fence? And you know, just like anything else in life, maybe they neglect other things that need to be also taken care of?

SPEAKER_02 8:31

It it might give a false sense of security, to be sure. Um, you know, and you and you may think, oh, my dog's never getting out. Well, right. That we have the same mentality with people that take their dogs off leash. We have a leash law here for a reason, and people are always upset at the other party who's walking their dog, and their dog who wasn't on the leash either got hit by a car or ended up attacking the other dog. Uh it's interesting that that um you know everybody wants everybody else held accountable for what they do. Um it's an unfortunate statement on where we are, I think. But yeah, I think it does definitely relying on any one form of confinement, especially one that's kind of tenuous, like these invisible fences, I think can can definitely lead to some challenges.

SPEAKER_00 9:24

And would you say the safest route, a fence or a rope?

Safer Containment And Fence Limits

SPEAKER_02 9:29

I mean, it I definitely would not keep a dog on a chain or a line of any kind. I think that uh a fence works generally pretty well, but it's got to be in in good shape. You know, the gate's got to be secure, it has to be tall enough that your dog's not gonna go over it. I have personally dealt with a little miniature poodle that could easily jump over an eight-foot fence. So um, and I've seen, of course, we've all seen the YouTube videos of the of the beagles that get in the you know the corner of the yard where you've got two 90-degree fences, and they'll just climb up the corner. So sometimes they can be pretty motivated, um, especially smarter dogs, water collies, huskies, the sled dogs tend to be pretty good at figuring out a way to defeat a fence. So it's not foolproof to be sure. My pit bull is built like a fire plug, and she is in no danger of going over any fence, even if she was motivated. Um and we keep our fence, you know, in in good repair. Doesn't keep the rabbits out, but it's not gonna let her out.

SPEAKER_00 10:34

Yeah, that's true. There's so many videos of those dogs, and they look like like they're they're spider dog. They can just crawl up a fence and jump out. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 10:43

Yeah, when they don't jump, jump right over it, you know. So it's it's definitely a danger.

Closing And Clinic Information

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Okay. Well, um, Dr. Lasasso, thanks for shedding light on this topic. We really appreciate your insight. It's always helpful.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

Absolutely. Yes, ma'am. Thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Thank you for listening to the Frisco Emergency Pet Care Podcast. To learn more, visit FriscoPetER.com. Call 469-287-6767. Or stop by 11201 Preston Road, Frisco, Texas, 75033. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Frisco Emergency Pet Care is always here when your pet needs us most. Until next time, take care of your pets, and they'll take care of you.