How to Troubleshoot a Radio Fence

Test the battery on the radio receiver worn on the dog's collar. Take the collar off the dog and walk to the boundary wire with the small test light that most radio receiver companies supply for this purpose. If no test light was supplied, listen for the warning beep as you approach the boundary wire. Be careful not to touch the tines that give off an electric impulse as you perform this test. If the light does not come on or no warning beep is sounded, replace the battery and retest the collar. If the new battery does not resolve the problem, proceed to Step 2.

Test that the fence transmitter box is working properly. Turn it off. Detach the two outside boundary wires and attach a new five- or six-foot-long wire to both terminals. Turn on the transmitter box. If it continues to alarm, it needs to be replaced. If there is no longer an alarm, the problem is almost certainly a break in the boundary wire. Remove the short test wire and reattach the original two outside wires to the transmitter.

Look for something obvious that may have caused a break in the boundary line. For example, someone has been digging near the wire, or gopher holes are found near the wire. Check any junctions, such as where the wire enters or leaves the house or garage, to see if you can find the break there. If a break is found, go to Step 6. If not, proceed to Step 4.

Locate the break hidden underground if no obvious break was found earlier. Short of digging up the fence, which no one wants to do, the most practical method is to use a handy device called a wire break locator. Most rental supply companies provide professional quality wire break locators for 2-hours or longer, and many pet supply companies sell much less powerful versions. They have two main parts: a base unit and a hand-held, wireless radio unit. Specific instructions on how to use them differ depending on the type chosen, but the basic technique is the same.

Attach the base unit of the wire break locator to exposed fence boundary wire. Turn on the hand-held portion of the wire break locator. Stand over the fence wire and listen for a beep or hum. Turn the sound level down as low as you can to keep the unit "sensitive." It must be sensitive for you to know when you find the break. Walk with the hand-held unit over the wire. The sound will continue until you reach the break. At that point, the sound will stop. Dig down. You should find a break in the wire at that point.

Expose the broken wire and strip away about ½ inch of the plastic covering from each end. Twist the strands of bare wire together. If the strands don't reach, add more wire between them. Cap twisted strands with an outdoor wire nut to protect the bare wire from the elements. Recover the wire with dirt.

Turn on the transmitter box to see if the fence is now working. If it doesn't work, another break may be the reason. Repeat Step 5 and Step 6.