Average Price: $179 – $259
Pros: small & lightweight collar with rubber contact points, made in USA, dual-frequency for low interference
Cons: 5-acre capacity, non-rechargeable, proprietary battery
Best Uses: neighboring dog fence, sensitive skin
Overview
The Perimeter Technologies electric dog fences have a few unique features that set them apart from other DIY dog fence systems. Designed and developed by some of the same people who created the original Invisible Fence® system, the Perimeter Technologies fence is a strong all-around fence system with some stand-out technological features and a small receiver collar with the specialized rubber-tipped Comfort Contacts™. The out of the box fence kit also includes 18-gauge wire, a step up from the cheap 20-gauge wire that most manufacturers include. The Perimeter Technologies dog fences are the only electric dog fences to be made in the USA.
Hands-On Review
Comfort Contact™ Points
Perimeter Technologies was the first dog fence system to introduce non-metal contact points to their DIY dog fence kits. While completely safe, the metal receiver collar contact points can cause irritation for dogs with sensitive skin or those who wear the collar for longer stretches of time. Perimeter’s unique metal-infused rubber contact points are gentler and more comfortable on the dog’s skin.
Dual-Frequency For Low Interference
One common problem we run into when installing electric dog fences is neighboring electric dog fences. Electric dog fence perimeter wires will interfere with each other’s signals if they run too closely together. Generally, dog fence wires need to be separated by about 4-10 ft. to avoid interference. Interference is bad for two reasons. First, it can cause your dog’s receiver to activate when it shouldn’t. Second, it can cause dead spots in your perimeter where your dog can run right through without a warning or correction.
The distance apart the wires need to be is related to the field range setting on the boundary. So if both fences were set to 4’ range, you’d need at least 4 ft. between the two wires to ensure the signals don’t overlap. Depending on your yard space, having to leave that amount of space can really eat into the available space your dog has to use.
The Perimeter Technologies Deluxe Ultra dog fence uses a special dual-frequency transmitter allowing you to select the frequency you’d like the system to operate on. This handy feature makes the Perimeter fences essentially immune to interference.
Small, Lightweight Receiver Collar
The Perimeter Technologies receiver collar is compact and lightweight. It’s comfortable for dogs as little as 8 lbs. and safe for dogs down to 5 lbs. (although we find it too big for the smallest dogs). The receiver weighs just 1.1 oz. and sits on an adjustable nylon band with a quick release, plastic, buckle. The receiver is made of durable polycarbonate and is virtually indestructible. There are no external buttons or controls so the collar is also waterproof and submersible. If you have a really tiny dog you’ll want to look to the dedicated PetSafe Elite Little Dog System.
Smart Features? Check!
Perimeter Technologies has placed a lot of emphasis on a handful of technologically advanced, engineering innovations designed to improve the performance of the fence system. The patented Temp Check™ feature ensures a stable correction field width regardless of changes in external temperature. Cold weather can decrease the signal projection out from the wire, whereas warm weather can increase it. This means that the boundary line could diminish or double depending on the weather. Perimeter combats that with a self regulating, internal circuitry that keeps the correction field stable despite external temperature changes.
Wire Check™ is the second advanced feature built into all Perimeter Technologies fences. The Wire Check™ is an automatic wire input/output monitoring system that allows the fence to continue to perform even with damage to the wire. This is limited in it’s capacity… no fence can continue to work with a completely severed wire. Most systems experience dead spots or diminished boundary at the site of wire damage. Perimeter’s technology allows the boundary width to remain constant even when there is damage to the wire.
The third innovative feature is the Battery Check™. This handy feature monitors the battery output every two hours, requiring three consecutive low battery triggers to alert you to a true low collar battery. Since battery output fluctuates over time depending on conditions many fence receiver collars with a traditional low battery indicator light will give false positives since the battery only needs to dip below a certain level once to trigger the warning light. This feature is designed to limit battery changes as much as possible by only alerting you to a true low battery.
Replaceable Lithium-Ion Batteries
Although we generally prefer rechargeable batteries, we understand the logic behind Perimeter’s choice to use replaceable batteries. The logic is based on performance. Rechargeable batteries tend to have inconsistent performance over the battery lifespan. As the rechargeable cell ages, the performance diminishes. Replaceable batteries don’t have this issue. And provided you keep spares on hand at all times, you always have the ability to replace the battery and immediately use the collar. Unlike a rechargeable collar which requires more time to charge up if you forgot. The batteries are not cheap but they do have a decent lifespan of 4-6 months depending on usage and how often your dog challenges the perimeter.
Five Programmable, Progressive Correction Level Settings
The Perimeter Deluxe Ultra dog fence offers 5 programming options for each collar you’re using on the system. You can have as many dogs as you want using the system simultaneously provided you buy a collar for each. Using the custom programming you can match the correction intensity to each of your dog’s temperament and size. The 5th option is progressive correction. Progressive correction means that the collar automatically begins at the lowest level and progressively increases proportionate to the dog’s distance from the perimeter wire and speed at which the dog is travelling. This effectively prevents run-through by automatically and quickly adjusting the correction strength to keep your dog safely inside the perimeter. The collar does not have a tone-only mode but does come with non-conductive contact point covers that are used during the training phase.
Anti-Linger Warning Feature
The anti-linger feature was developed to deter the dog from sitting in the warning zone, resulting in battery drain. Some dogs are actually smart enough to figure out that they can drain the battery by sitting in the warning zone and then when the warning beep finally stops, they know they can walk right through the boundary line. To avoid this, Perimeter’s collar uses a super low-level stimulation 1-second after the warning tone to encourage the dog to move back into the safe zone and out of the warning zone, preventing battery drain.
Perimeter Technologies Deluxe Ultra Installation Supplies
The Perimeter Deluxe Ultra fence actually includes 500’ of 18-gauge wire rather than 500’ of 20-gauge wire like most dog fences have. While this is an added benefit, the 18-gauge wire is only slightly more durable than the standard 20-gauge wire. We still think that your best bet is to upgrade the wire to a 14-gauge polyethylene-coated wire. This protects your investment against future hassles and poor performance.
Includes External Surge Protection
The Perimeter Deluxe does come with an external surge protector to keep your fence transmitter and house safe from electrical surges originating on both the power main and from lightning strikes.
Low Capacity
One downfall of the Perimeter fence is it’s capacity. The transmitter is only capable of powering enough wire to fence a 5-acre space. If you have a property smaller than this – no problem! If you have a larger property you’ll want to look at the YardMax or SportDog fence systems
Value
This system offers good value for money. The system is reasonably priced considering the features it offers. The only issue value-wise is the on-going cost of the proprietary disposable batteries.
Conclusion
The Perimeter Technologies Deluxe Ultra is a stand up system offering excellent reliability, and nice small collar, and some useful techy features. This is fence is a must-have if you are dealing with a neighboring fence because Perimeter fences are the only brand that does not have a interference issue.