What’s on your checklist of important features when house hunting? From finding enough bedrooms to fit the family to scoring a home office or a renovated kitchen, there are always a few essential details. And you can’t forget about the furry family members!
If a dog is making the move, you might be on the lookout for a property with a fence. But unlike some of the other non-negotiables, the lack of a fence shouldn’t be a deal breaker. Even without a physical barrier in place, you can still make your new backyard a safe oasis for your pup with help from a GPS dog fence like SpotOn GPS Fence.
On average, you can expect it to cost more than $5,000 to install a 6-foot fence around an acre of land or upwards of $3,000 to put in a short fence. Meanwhile, the leading state-of-the-art GPS dog fences are less than half the cost, potentially saving you thousands. By opting for a less expensive GPS fence, you can put the money you saved elsewhere—like toward a more competitive offer or home updates.
Learn more about how GPS fences work—so you can confidently make an offer on a fenceless house that otherwise checks all the boxes.
What are the benefits of a GPS fence vs. a traditional fence?
Beyond the appealing prospect of saving money, there are several reasons why a GPS fence can be more practical than a physical one.
GPS fencing is much more cost-effective for large properties
Whether you are setting up a containment space around half an acre or 100 acres, the cost is the same with GPS fencing. The same certainly can’t be said for a traditional fence! With a virtual fence, there is the upfront cost of the collar and then an optional subscription fee—which still comes out to be much less than the average costs of building a fence.
Rather than fencing in a large area, some people opt to create a dog run or keep the dog on a tether. Which, of course, is much less fun and enriching for your dog than getting to run free and explore within bounds.
Some HOAs don’t allow fences
In some cases, building a fence simply isn’t an option. For example, some homeowners’ associations don’t allow fences that are truly effective at containment or have an outright ban on fences. Their goal is to help maintain aesthetics and property value, but the reality can be tricky for dog owners.
By creating an invisible boundary with a virtual fence, you can keep both your dog and your homeowners’ association happy.
With GPS fences, you can create more than one
Chances are good that your dog doesn’t just stay home all the time. With a GPS fence, you can take the safety of a fence along with you if you’re going on vacation or visiting at a friend’s house. With SpotOn GPS Fence, you can even create different boundaries at home, like a free-range daytime mode and a closer-to-home nighttime zone.
How a GPS fence makes moving easier for you and your pup
When you move, part of the excitement is getting to explore your new home. The same goes for your dog—and, with a GPS collar, they can safely discover your property. You can think of a GPS fence like a dynamic, invisible boundary that dogs can be quickly trained to stay within even if they are already used to a fence.
The technology inside the dog collar like SpotOn connects to satellites, which enables you to chart a boundary through areas of thick brush, along wavy lines, over water and more. Plus you can mark certain areas within the boundary as off-limits, which helps keep your dog out of danger while they still have the freedom to explore your property. To set it all up, you’ll draw rough boundary lines from your phone and then refine the limits by walking the property.
If you’re anticipating a move to a new home without a fence, you can even start training your dog with a GPS collar ahead of time. That way, you can quickly set up a new virtual containment area at your new property and then have peace of mind about your pup when you’re in the midst of moving chaos. You’re likely to be opening and closing doors as you move in boxes, or hanging out outside chatting with new neighbors during your first few days at home. With the peace of mind of a GPS collar, your dog can be part of the action from day one, safely greeting neighbors and getting the lay of the land. As for how the virtual fence will keep your pup safe and stress-free, that depends on the specific collar. With SpotOn, the system issues canine-friendly tones to alert and warn your dog as they approach the boundary. If your dog goes beyond your virtual fence, vibrations and static corrections are optional, and your dog will never be corrected for returning home.
There’s no doubt that you have many things weighing on your mind while searching for your new home. With the option of a secure, affordable GPS fence, you have one less thing to worry about. Before you know it, your next house can start to feel like a home—for you and your dog.
Realtor.com
