Average Price: $299 – $359
Pros: rechargeable collar with two batteries, boundary challenge alert, consistent boundaries
Cons: poor battery life, max two dogs, questionable collar quality
Best Uses: larger properties without significant obstacles and a max of two dogs
Overview
The Havahart Radial Shape Wireless Fence is a WiFi based fence with fairly decent boundary stability for a wireless fence, a large capacity, and rechargeable collar batteries. The system can only handle a max of two dogs at a time and the quality of the rather large collars has been questioned over the years although recent redesigns seem to have improved them a bit.
Hands-On Review
Average Sized, Non-Waterproof Collar
The collars on the Havahart system are not our favorites. They are large and clunky like all wireless fence collars and they are not waterproof. The battery is user replaceable and the cap for the battery compartment had been a constant source of complaints about this system. But, Havahart has recently redesigned the battery compartment to deal with the battery cap issues. In our opinion, the collar is suitable for dogs over 20 lbs. Havahart does offer a ‘small dog’ collar, but it’s the exact same receiver just on a smaller strap, so that’s really only good for dogs 15 lbs. and up. For smaller dogs, your only option is the Stay + Play or a wired fence. In addition, the collar antenna is integrated into the collar strap, while this may account for the improved responsiveness, it also means that you can’t swap out the collar strap, making differentiating between two collars a pain.
Two User-Replaceable, Rechargeable Batteries
Like the Perimeter WiFi system, the Havahart also includes two rechargeable collar batteries. Unlike the Perimeter system, the charging battery is not used as backup power for the transmitter. And, unlike the PetSafe Stay + Play, the Havahart collars blast through batteries, you’ll need to recharge them weekly.
Maximum of 2 Dogs With Individual Correction
The Havahart Radial Shape, like the Perimeter WiFi, can only handle two collars simultaneously, so if you have more than two dogs, this isn’t the system for you. The collars are capable of 5 correction levels that range from medium-low to high and are set at the transmitter level.
400 ft. Radius (3-Acre Capacity) Is Overstated
Although the manufacturers claim a 400 ft. radius, the more realistic figure is 200 ft. After that you start to lose reliability and you start getting a lot of boundary wobble. If you had a property with direct line of site in all directions for 400 ft. you might be able to reliably use the system at those distances.
Decent Boundary Variance & Correction Timing
The Havahart does a pretty good job with the boundary stability and correction timing for a wireless fence. Never as good or consistent as an in-ground fence, the Havahart at least minimizes the boundary wobble to an acceptable level within the 200 ft. radius limits.
Issues With Obstacles
This WiFi fence, like the Perimeter WiFi, has issues with obstacles, metal, and downward slopes where line of sight is lost. It does outperform the Perimeter WiFi in terms of reliability but it is not without issues. If you have any large obstacles that prevent a line of sight aside from the walls of your house, you’ll probably have an issue.
Boundary Challenge Alert
A neat inclusion that you won’t find on any wired fence is the boundary challenge alert. This transmitter-based alarm sounds when your dog challenges the boundary so you can go out and investigate if needed. While we definitely don’t see this as a necessary feature, it can be especially useful during the late stages of training and early stages of post-training fence use.
Value
The Havahart Radial Shape fence can be purchased for as little as $299. The same price as the PetSafe Stay + Play Wireless Fence. Good value for the money.
Conclusion
The Havahart is an OK wireless fence option. We always prefer in-ground fences for their reliability and steady boundaries, but if you have to go wireless this is one to consider. Since this fence and the Stay + Play are the same price, we tend to prefer the Stay + Play for it’s smaller, waterproof collars and long battery life.