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paulz
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2026 11:13am
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After 10 years my dog has decided to hit the road twice. Both times neighbors called me to come get him. Bad food, just getting old, beats me. So Im thinking about a fence around the cabin or an electronic collar buried wire dealy. Anyone been down this road?
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philpom
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2026 11:24am
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We tried the invisible fence thing before, it was a disaster. Maybe they are best for a young puppy so it can be trained but it was a waste of time for our well seasoned dogs. Standard electric fence wire works well or just a good fence but what a pain!
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2026 01:06pm
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Cant beat a long leash
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paulz
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2026 01:22pm
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Thanks guys. Yeah thats what Im thinking, the last thing I need is another electronic gizmo.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2026 04:12pm
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And at this age and disfunction I aint building any more fences or trenching......
A man has to know his limitations!
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paulz
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2026 08:38pm - Edited by: paulz
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I asked his vet today, same answer, don't bother with that collar sensor alarm gizmo. So I found an old hunk of fencing in my pile, put it across the driveway. There are 100 other ways he could sneak out, but all with steep hillside. This is very likely the way he goes.
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paulz
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2026 12:24pm
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This morning I watched as he went out and walked the fence. Then he disappeared behind the cabin. I went out, walked around the cabin, nothing. Came back, there he was on the other side of the fence! Don't know how he did it, its like Niagara falls back there. At least he didn't head down the driveway. Little f……
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2026 03:50pm - Edited by: gcrank1
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At this point he is smarter than you.....lol, now you gotta get smarter than him.
As a long time dog guy, and having had the Very Independent Husky and Sheba Inu, when you next catch him outside the fence (ya, give him another try, get him, no conversation (ie, the silent treatment, he Will sense your disapproval) put on leash immediately and up to the cabin. Switch to the the long leash outside and leave him out there a good long bit.
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philpom
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# Posted: 18 Jul 2026 05:28pm
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I did see some proximity dog collars on Amazon, no wires to bury, they operate on GPS. Some of them have options other than shock like sound or vibrate. Prices range from $90 -$700. Or, build more fence.
We had a couple of Dobermans ( passed of old age now ) that loved going up to the cabin. They were pretty good about staying around, we call them velcro dogs because often they are do close they are leaning on us but towards the end of the day Mr. Boy would coerce his sister Belle to go run the forest. We have 40 acres do plenty of room but I'm pretty sure they would go further than that. Surprised they never got shot honestly. One night Belle came back without her brother and we began to worry. I yelled for him, shot my gun, honked the truck horn etc but nothing. I repeated this every hour through the evening. At about 2am I was out on the deck checking when I heard noise out by the stairs. I went down and there he was, collapsed, too tired to get up the 4 stairs. I helped him up, gave him a good inspection and brought him in. He was ok but completely exhausted, couldn't stand. He slept all night and just layer in the sun out in the yard for the rest of the week.
We are up on a ridge and it's deep and steep down either side, you have to basically climb down to the bottom. Theory is he got down and could get back up, scrambled and fought to get up until exhaustion. Eventually he made it. In hindsight, the horn, starting the truck, etc might have made him want to urgently come home but he was trapped. All ended well but that was the end of their forest exploration. For awhile there I thought I had lost my beloved dog.
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DRP
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# Posted: 18 Jul 2026 08:14pm
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We travelled the country building back in the day. Our Black and Tan went along. He had apparently failed hunter training and they dropped him off. He was only gunshy as a pup by by the end any loud noises spooked him. We were on a job in WI the 4th of July around Y2K. He took off and we walked that neighborhood till late. He was tired but under the motorhome the next morning. Later on storms spooked him. I kept the old power wagon because it was his truck. I got home one evening after a storm and he was gone. I drove the old truck up and down roads and finally about 5 miles from home he was by the road on my return trip, lame but ok. He was a good one. I think we could leave the current dog out, he did have wanderlust as a pup and neighbors from further and further away called several times. We used the training collar and handheld unit for walks for a long time and occassionally use it still, if he wants to go out at night I'll usually put it on. Shocks blow his mind, the beep is plenty for him.
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philpom
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# Posted: 19 Jul 2026 01:42am
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We love Doberman pinchers, best family dog on earth. Mr Boy was a black and tan, Belle was a red and rust. Before them we had Gretchen, a red and rust. Gretchen was alive long enough to meet Mr. Boy but not Belle. Gretchen was the kind of dog that caused people to stop their car on the road to see her and pet her. She was friendly and also a ferocious protector. Dobbies don't need training, just love. Hate to get mushy but I adore that breed. More in our future for sure.
Amazing dogs for sure.
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paulz
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# Posted: 6 Aug 2026 04:57pm
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Still trying to outsmart the dog. I found this in my box of junk, who knows when or why I got it. Anyway instead of the fence i tried it, works great.
It runs on 3 C batteries, but had a plug in 6v jack. So Im thinking, Ill just run a USB cord from the cabin. Works marginslly, with a short cord or keeping the sender unit a few feet away it works, but not where I need it.
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paulz
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# Posted: 7 Aug 2026 10:57am
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Always something. I had run wire into the cabin with the buzzer, couldn't hear it go off with the door shut. Last night, 2am door shut dog inside, it jolts me out of bed. Grabbed a flashlight, it was a raccoon mucking around!
Ive now put a switch on the buzzer so I can turn it off at night.
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DRP
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# Posted: 7 Aug 2026 06:58pm
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I learned a lot about our deer herd's size and timing when we had a couple set up 
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paulz
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# Posted: 21 Aug 2026 06:07pm
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Still using the electric dinger to alert me when the dog heads down the driveway. Couple things: it takes 3 C batteries. No idea how long they last, and having several 18650 Lithiums around I thought why not swap one in. Works perfectly. Other thing is I just bought two more cheapo volt meters, since whenever I need one its somewhere else. Not Flukes by any means but good enough for this kind of stuff.
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paulz
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# Posted: 23 Aug 2026 10:35am
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The 18650 Li battery quit powering Buddy’s alarm yesterday. Hmm. 3 C alkaline are 4.5 volts, the 18650 is only 3 and change, not enough I guess. Good news is AA batteries are the same length as Cs and I have those green rechargeables so I popped those in.
No idea how long its supposed to run normally but gives me something to do, cabin is so perfect and maintenance free otherwise lol.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 23 Aug 2026 12:52pm - Edited by: gcrank1
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Ime the NiMH bats are only about 1.2, not 1.5, but the 1.2 band is wider for usage.
I bought some 'jackets' in D (Amazon) that take up to 3 AA's in parallel so I can use 1 to 3 in each to bulk up my run time. Idk what they have in C size because I was looking for D.
Along that line I saw LED bulbs to replace the old flashlight bulbs so with my D's I could run my old 'classic, lol' flashlights efficiently again.
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paulz
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# Posted: 23 Aug 2026 01:34pm - Edited by: paulz
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My AAs are not Li, they are Nimh, Nickel metal whatever, but they only say 1.2 also. Hmm, well its working.. i also have those triple cassette D adapters in my fluid pump.
At my house garage the fluorescent bulbs in my tool box overhead light went out. At Ace they dont sell them anymore, they have drop in LEDs. I bought two, not working so far.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 23 Aug 2026 07:01pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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Quoting: paulz At my house garage the fluorescent bulbs in my tool box overhead light went out.
The long tube and ballast type of flourescent? If so...
1) some led replacements require the ballast be removed and the fixture rewired. Ballast Bypass, type B
2) if the led replacements are meant to operate as a drop in with no need to remove the old ballast it could be that the ballast is no good. You would need to replace the ballast then. Plug N Play type A
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 23 Aug 2026 11:41pm
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after decades of messing around I tore out the old fluorescent fixtures and went with the on sale LED tube lights complete, waayyy lighter and brighter. They were cheap too at our Menards.
NO regrets
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paulz
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2026 08:59am
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I still have fluorescents in both the cabin shop and house garage. Messing around with automotive stuff has taken a back seat since my coma 5 years ago, taking care of the wife and cabin takes most of my ability. The light I mentioned is just a two foot twin light thing above the tool box, ill have a good look at it today when we go back to the house.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2026 02:20pm
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Back at the house, I noticed one end of the housing socket was broken. Straightened out the connector, started right up.
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