As a pet owner, you’re probably considering buying a robotic mower for the lawn of your garden outdoors. You may have also heard that when your garden has an invisible dog fence, it can cause issues for the robotic mower.
Both the perimeter wire installed with a robotic mower and the invisible dog fence operate with the same type of signalling technology, which is why you can encounter issues when using these devices together.
In this short article – we will explain why robotic mowers can run into issues with dog fences, what happens when both boundaries are present together in a garden outdoors, and provide you with some handy workarounds to ensure your backyard is a safe garden space for your pets and your robotic mower.
Both your dog fence and robotic mower rely on perimeter wire
The installation of perimeter wire is key for your shiny new robotic mower to operate as it detects this signal and uses it to help it to navigate your lawn while it cuts grass.
The wire serves an effective boundary for the robot and prevents the mower from cutting some flowers in a flowerbed or gravel paths, and even guides it back to its station for charging.
The wire can be placed using stakes or even buried several inches underground since the wireless signal will still be detected by the mower.
How does a dog fence work?
Electric dog fences are promoted as an intelligent solution for keeping dogs and cats in the owner’s yard.
They are invisible fences created by burying an underground perimeter wire that emits a signal.
Your pet will wear a special collar that can receive this signal. This collar will warn the animal not to cross the boundary.
At first, your pet will receive a warning sound and if it continues in that direction a painful stimulus will be delivered to the pet in order to keep it from crossing the boundary.
Ideally, training should take place, so the pet does not need to be shocked; this is not only intended to keep the animal within the perimeter, the shock can have great distress and many health and behavioural issues for your pet.
Having a pet fence and a dog fence in the same garden can cause a whole host of problems
If you’re a pet owner with one of those dog fences and you’ve invited a robotic mower into your home, you’re probably creating a little chaos in your backyard.
Put simply – robotic mower perimeter fencing and pet fencing do not mix!
This is because both boundaries will likely use similar AM frequencies
Various types of canine containment systems and robotic lawn mower signals utilize a method of encoding their signal called Amplitude Modulation (AM), that is inaudible to humans.
When you have two like AM frequencies in the same yard, confusion will certainly ensue, as each wire continuously turns the other on and off.
Where the AM frequency hardens, the robotic mower will likely spin around in circles unsure if it is coming or going.
As for the dog containment system – Dog containment systems signal are weaker and have a higher local content in comparison to a lawn-wide robotic mower perimeter.
The strength of this competing frequency may disable a pet containment system altogether, resulting in freedom for your pooch.
Worse still proximity between the two wires can give your dog a hard time
Should the pet fence loop wire be distanced from the robotic mower loop wire, there can be coupling between the two loop wires.
This could illicit a strong enough signal or shock of equal to that on the pet fence loop wire to an unsuspecting pet when they blindly enter your yard.
The clash between pet fences and robot mower wire affects all the leading brands
This causes a lot of brands of robotic lawn mowers to have these problems with invisible dog fences and means that finding a combination that works is often a trial, error scenario.
Many manufacturers offer testing the mower or a professional installation through a dealership so you can see if the robot mower system will work with your invisible dog fence.
Some robot mower wires and dog fences use the FM frequency to avoid interference
Modern robotic lawnmowers and pet fencing systems now operate using frequency modulation (FM) signalling.
FM signalling will not be disrupted by an AM signal or vice versa as long both signals are present.
So one solution, if you having difficulty use your dog fence, is to replace it with the FM version.
Additionally, the continuous FM signal of a modern brand dog fence will also work alongside the FM perimeter wire signal of a robot lawnmower with FM signalling.
Other quick fixes for perimeter wire and dog fence problems
Trying to resolve interference from costly technology such as your wireless pet containment systems is likely to require significant time, cost and experimentation.
If you are not able to pursue this approach, worry not, there are some more basic options to have your mower operate without interference and manage your pet in the yard.
Here are some ideas.
1. Switch off the dog fence
If you’ve been using the dog fence for a long time, you may be able to turn it off while still keeping your dog contained.
After all, the dog fence is a deterrent and not a solid barrier. If you have properly trained your dog, he will automatically avoid crossing over the invisible line.
Keep in mind: Different dogs may hear the pet fence signal and can tell when it is off, so you should monitor for any more adventurous four legged friends!
2. Only switch on the pet fence when the pet is in the garden
If you utilize them one at a time, these two technologies can work well together.
Simply schedule your mower for when your pet is away from home, and take your mower out of action as soon as they have access to enjoy your freshly mowed yard.
Rounding Up
While you are searching for a robotic mower , it’s important to keep in mind the compatibility of these two technologies so that you can check the frequencies of their perimeter wire (if the robotic mower uses it) prior to making a purchase.
FM technology is slowly replacing AM technology, so you should be able to dependably run a pet fence and robot mower at the same time without issue.