The concern is quite understandable. As a matter of fact, when I heard of invisible, electronic fences for animals at first I thought: "How horrible!" When, in actuality, electronic dog fences are quite safe and very humane means of containing your animal or animals and of avoiding potential unpleasant incidents. When you love your pet, however obnoxious, excitable, or playful, you want to protect him or her from harm such as moving vehicles, or frightened children. Preventing any kind of incident on either end will keep you, your dog or dogs, as well as everyone else happy.
One must remember that unlike humans, virtually all animals have a natural protective layer outside their skin (fur, hide, or feathers, to be precise) that will act as natural insulators against electricity. When a human being makes skin contact with an electrical device such as this, it can take as little as 100 volts to shock him or her. However, when 100 volts hits an animal, the animal feels little if anything at all. You must, of course, be sure to use enough voltage - but realize that more voltage does not necessarily mean more discomfort. What using more voltage can mean, however, is a much higher electricity bill for you - in addition to being a general waste of energy.
You would be surprised how little damage is causes by what may sound or seem like a high amount of electrical voltage. For example: have you ever been "shocked" by touching something or someone and conducting between you a reaction from static electricity? Such sudden sparks transmit ten thousand to thirty thousand volts of electricity easily. So how does a little buzz like that keep an animal in the yard? The precision and technology of an electrical fencing system will jolt the animal in such a way that the muscles will painfully contract - similar to a muscle cramp. In all actuality, that is exactly what it is . . . an electrically induced muscle cramp. Although not serious enough to cause any real damage to an animal, or, for that matter, to cause too much pain, the jolt of electricity is repulsive enough to an animal to keep him or her safely in the yard.
