servant claims.

Government Dog Warden Leonard (Shinah) Simons has highlighted problems and incidents associated with electronic fencing, also known as invisible fencing, in the Department of Agriculture & Fisheries' monthly bulletin.

Wardens have received reports of dogs in pain and with burns to the neck because of short circuits, he said.

"There have been occasions that dogs have gone through (the fencing), but not nearly as much as from badly maintained equipment or weak batteries. The major concern is that it doesn't keep other dogs out,'' Mr. Simons said.

He pointed out that passers-by and delivery people were put at risk by the system..

They might not know that there is a dog or how it is restrained and could run into trouble while being chased.

Mr. Simons added that in such cases the dog owners would be held responsible before the law.

Rudi Zimmerer, co-owner of Invisible Fencing, defended his product which he called "reinforcement for learned behaviour''.

The fencing is a relatively simple system of a wire perimeter that emits a radio signal and a collar equipped with a battery operated receiver.

As a dog approaches the buried perimeter, it is given a warning signal. If that is ignored the dog will get a shock from the collar which will quickly condition the dog not to approach the edges of its owner's property.

The training of dogs -- and cats -- with Invisible Fencing, can last more than a week with positive and negative reinforcement used to respect the boundary.

That training programme, according to Mr. Zimmerer, separates Invisible Fencing from off-the-shelf products.

"The collar will give a feeling like static electricity, only stronger, and is not the shock described by Mr. Simons,'' Mr. Zimmerer said.

"In fact I'd say that 85 percent of the injuries are from lack of hygiene rather than any electrical shocks.'' He added: "There are big misconceptions about the product; the dog is more like being on a chain than behind a fence.'' Erica Blee, of Dog Watch Bermuda, said older systems did not shut off, which often made dogs agitated if something went wrong.

"With most dogs, they only require the audible warning to come to a complete halt five to ten feet away,'' Mrs. Blee said.

Mrs. Blee and Mr. Zimmerer both said a good maintenance programme avoided the problems seen by dog wardens.