We have the Mojave here too aljones. You guys are close to my sisters work, Crystal City. Doing oil field work
I also had the vaccine for my dogs. And, we will take all the cold weather and snow you can send on the west coast. Happily we will be getting rain this weekend

Nice Huskies jbealer. Im heading to Silverton in a few weeks, there is a splitboard festivle going on the weekend of April 12th.

http://splitboard.com/talk/topic/4th-annual-silverton-splitfest/

Love Colorado!!

thank you for the link, that looks like so much fun!

jalepeno wrote:

Sorry to give a contrary opinion than Amy's.
My experience with e-fences dates from when I had problems with a dog that continually escaped from an electric fenced yard on my street when I was walking my dog. So I had lots of contact with the county's animal control officer. He said emphatically that electric fences don't work if the dog is determined enough. He said that he had picked up loose dogs with burn marks on their necks from going through electric fences. And he said that the worst thing about them was that often dogs get their adrenaline amped up high to bust out of their yard. When the adrenaline drops and the dog wants to go home, it can't get back through the barrier.

If you must leave the dog outside when you are gone, have you considered a kennel? It will cost you money and time to set up, but you will not have to worry about the dog escaping. They can be secured so you won't have to worry about the dog being stolen. Some requirements are a cement floor, six foot chain link fence, coyote rollers on top or covered. There is lots of info and pix on here about kennels.

Michael - the OP NEEDS opposing opinions so he can make a legitimate, informed decision.

What IS funny is that we got the invisible fence on the recommendation of the dog control officer from the animal control facility that we adopted Ami.  He strongly recommended it when hearing about our property (also, I think he had a real soft spot for Ami).  

One of our reasons for wanting a husky (at least, what I told my husband - I just plain wanted one, had one before, wanted another) was research Cornell did on crop protection dogs - Siberian Huskies turned out to be the best choice after several labs and retrievers flunked miserably.  These were dogs placed on produce farms and orchards, in pairs, contained with invisible fence, to ward of deer, woodchucks, etc.  Deer were destroying our property.

As for the "burns" - they most likely were pressure sores, either from the collars being too tight or leaving the collars on too long.  Or both. Ours do not wear the collars continuously, I check the fit for one finger under each contact, the contacts are placed in different spots and when they come inside during the day for more than a few minutes, the collars are removed.  They collars are removed at night.  The instructions are very specific about this.

Now...given that the OP wants to be away at work hours a day, I believe either crating indoors or a kennel as you describe is a much better option.  Ami and Archer stick to the boundary in part, I am sure, because we are here, they "check in" with us multiple times a day (the doggie doorbell), they are ecstatic when we come out for chores and always get some playtime along with our chores and they have several acres of lawn and woods, with rabbits, birds, voles etc.  They also come to the back door mid-afternoon, looking for their bones.  Ami often rings the bell, not to come in, but to get me to come out and play (I indulge him )

Without this constant contact and interesting grounds, I suspect a dog would most definitely be motivated to leave.  Also, Ami is a more submissive, compliant (well in some regards) husky.  I expected Archer the troublemaker to be more of a problem but he accommodated to the fence well, too.

Also, snakes...we don't have rattlesnacks, but Ami is fascinated by the myriad garter snakes we have, both here and on our walks!

I was being deferential because I respect your opinion and experience, Amy.

With the use you describe, I think an e-fence is completely viable.
What I don't think works is to leave dogs outside under control of an e-fence for hours with no human supervision.

jalepeno wrote:

What I don't think works is to leave dogs outside under control of an e-fence for hours with no human supervision.

Amen!

Weekend didnt go so good. Looked at a couple in the LA county animal shelter, they were both very aggresive acting, and with little kids around I could go that route. Then called up a rescue and was told No Husky can ever be left off leash. Period. Never. ( I have had four that were not runners ao I know thats not true)

Still looking

as far as a housing plan
Buy a 6x6x12 foot kennel for the backyard. When is raining or too hot the dog will have to be kept inside. ( No I wont crate for 9 hours)

Get an invisable fence for the days Im home but want the dog outside

I have some calls out, hoping to find the right dog.

Here is a link to Rescueme with california husky and husky mixes.  I do NOT know the validity of any of this (my son did locate his husky mix from this site last spring.

There is a pair of 1 yr old females in San Diego from a family relocating overseas (military, I believe)

http://husky.rescueme.org/California

PS: your housing plan sounds workable!