PetSafe Pawz Away Mini Indoor/Outdoor Wireless Pet Barrier, Electric Training System for Dogs & Cats

Our dogs had gotten into the habit of laying across the back edge of our sofa. It was their favorite place to be, but when we purchased a new sofa, we knew we had to try to break that habit. We already had an invisible fence system, so both dogs are familiar with shock collars and what the warning beeps mean. While this is a different system, we were optimistic that it would work for our dogs. I purchased two of the Pawz Away collars with the mini discs, the thought being that we would put one disk on the floor on either end of the sofa. I was concerned about the battery life, having read several reviews where people said they didn't last, but I figured I'd give it a try and could always return them if it didn't work out. I'm happy to say that it not only worked out, but it worked out even better than I had hoped. That said, there were a few things that we learned as we went along.Firstly, the collar. As I mentioned, we already use an invisible fence so our dogs already have a collar with a transmitter. I really didn't want a second collar with another transmitter, so we ended up cutting two holes in each new collar, and moving the invisible fence transmitter onto the new collars. So now we have two transmitters on each collar.Secondly, batteries. We haven't had a problem with the batteries. We've had them almost a month now, and they are still going strong. I leave the discs powered on all the time (because frankly, I was having trouble remembering to turn them on and off each morning and night) but I do turn the collars off every night when I take them off the dogs. I just keep the key nearby and it takes about 2 seconds to turn each one off. No big deal. I turn it back on again in the morning when I put the collars back on. Mind you, our dogs sleep in kennels each night, so if yours don't you might not be able to do this. So far, I haven't had to replace any of the batteries. I also suspect that each dog's temperament probably has a lot to do with battery life. Both of our dogs tend to be overly cautious. It only takes one shock and you'd be hard pressed to get them to go near the area again. So while I'm a little disappointed that our dogs still won't go near the couch (I'd love for them to sit nearby when *I'm* on the couch) I'm hoping that will come with time. If your dog is less timid, they may run the batteries out sooner with repeated tries at the spot you're trying to keep them out of.Thirdly, disk placement. I originally placed the disk on the floor under the sofa. I turned the dial all the way down because I didn't want the dogs getting shocked when walking behind the sofa, just on top of it. Well, this *sort of* worked. I found that they were still able to get up on the couch, and then sometimes it would shock them and sometimes it wouldn't. What actually ended up working better was putting the disc under the bottom seat cushion. At first I was worried that doing so would mean I couldn't sit on the sofa without accidentally pushing the buttons and adjusting the range, but that's not the case at all. No matter how many times we've sat on the couch, the range hasn't changed. Our sofa is leather and has thick cushions, so your experience might be different, depending on what material your sofa is made from and how thick your cushions are. And finally, since the dogs haven't tried to get back on the sofa in weeks, I went ahead and moved one of the discs to another problem area: a chair on our back porch that the dogs used to climb up on to look through the kitchen window. Cute, but not so cute when their paws are muddy! I put the disk under the cushion and I did see one of our dogs try it ONCE. She hasn't tried it since then. I haven't seen the other dog try, but that doesn't mean she didn't.A few last thoughts on an already overly long review...I think our success in using this system is due in large part to the fact that, as I've mentioned, we already have an invisible fence. If you have one, you know that there is a lot of training involved in getting your dog to learn what the beep means, and how far they can go without getting shocked. You wouldn't just set it up and turn the dog loose to figure it out on their own. I think the same is true with this system. There is probably a learning curve, so be patient with your pet if they aren't used to it. Also, while the system works PERFECTLY for what we purchased it for, I read some reviews from people who were disappointed that it wasn't keeping their pets from going through a door threshold, for example, or a dog door. I don't think this is the product for that. It's great if your'e trying to keep your pet from setting up camp in a particular spot (like the sofa) but if you're trying to stop them from *moving through* an area, I think it would only be an exercise in futility. Especially if they move quickly. By the time the shock triggers, they've probably already moved through the area you want them to stay out of. How confusing for the pet! And lastly, I read a lot of reviews from people who had trouble with the cap falling apart after replacing the batteries. Since I haven't had to replace the batteries yet, I'll come back and update my review if I have the same problem.

I bought two of these hoping I could use them to teach my dogs a few places I'd like them to avoid (my rose bush that they trample or trying to prevent my giant schnauzer from sampling food on the table since he is at the perfect height to do just that). I have a wireless fence system by petsafe that I use for both of them so I had high hopes that this would work just as well. I assumed it would give them a surprising shock and they would back off in surprise like they did with the fencing system that worked so wonderfully... Well obviously it did NOT work like that. I removed all other collars and shut off my other fence system. I followed all directions and I could see the collar was working but whatever shock it puts off must be a joke!! My dog was sniffing and touching the white disc so he was definitely close enough to it and he wasn't bothered AT ALL!!! Over and over again, it wasn't doing anything. I even raised it up on a pole to be closer to his collar level...I tried flipping it side ways, all different ways. Nothing worked. Now let me be clear. The collar was "working". It's not that it wasn't working, it just must be the most pathetic shock ever. My dogs are not stubborn either, they are very sensitive to the petsafe wireless fence system I use. With those collars set on the lowest shock level possible they will run and squeal if they accidentally go out of their bounds. They learned VERY quickly with that and I was so hoping this system would be just as effective in but it's not. I read some bad reviews but I also read some good. I thought because my dogs were sensitive to even mild shocks that this would work for me...it didn't and I totally wasted $90 (I bought 2). I wouldn't even give it away because it simply does not work.

I bought this for my cat who is an escape artist, I wanted him to not bolt out the door. The tricky thing with this product is that it can’t really be used for entry ways. Unless you want to step on the transmitter when walking out the door, you can’t use it for doorways because the radius is effective through the walls, so my cat wouldn’t be able to walk near the wall next to the transmitter. It doesn’t cover the whole wall or anything, but in order for the radius to be effective without putting the transmitter directly in the path, it needs to be placed next to the door, which requires the radius to increase, meaning my cat cannot be by the wall within a certain distance of the transmitter, I hope that made sense. The battery life is super good. I think that this can be a big safety issue for those who don’t realize this hazard, my cats feeding station is next to our garage door, so they could’ve been corrected for eating, which would be a big issue. I’d love to see a cord that can be placed under a mat or something so that it isn’t in the way, but isn’t a whole invisible fence for just an entryway. I think that the radius isn’t always exact too, sometimes it goes off a few inches earlier or later, which can be annoying when I want it to correct in time for his bolt out the door. I’d reccomend using a harness to teach your cat doorway rules so they can learn about the stim, my cat doesn’t like it but he’s too orange to understand what it means. The collar is also super uncomfortable for him to wear all day, and I can’t just put it on him at certain points of the day. If you want to stop your cat from going near an area, this seems like a great product, but I wish more people mentioned that it is not practical to use for doorways. I think it’s about time for an upgrade to this technology, it should be easier to use and more practical.