DOGWATCH OF GREATER PGH

Prompt. Quality work. Great with our dogs.

unknown

unknown

I could never be happier with the service and professionalism of this project. Snoopy and Dudley are so happy to be able to run around the yard. The price was a fraction of what it would have cost to put up a regular fence.

Dogwatch of Greater Pittsburgh offered a pleasant & hassle-free customer experience.  They began by providing a quick and thorough estimate and were willing and able to answer any questions.  Installation was scheduled and a trained technician showed up at the door on time.  At first, the lines in our yard where the wire had been installed were visibile but faded over a short time.  The main box that delivers a signal needs to be installed on an exterior wall, preferably in a basement or garage; ours is mounted in the garage.  They are even able to cut across driveways and patch over top of the wire with a silicon-based formula.  From there, you have the option to schedule training within a few days or wait a few months.  In our case, we had the fence installed in November but waited until the Spring season to train when our puppy was 6 months old.  Jack, the owner, came out to our house to conduct the training, which only took about an hour.  He provided flags to mark the perimeter and instructed us to remove the flags a few at a time over the course of 2 weeks.  I was amazed to see that it did not take nearly that long for our dog to recognize the boundary though, as by Day 2, she would go within 10 feet of the flags and continues to maintain that discipline.  At one point, she chewed the collar one night while it was off and sitting on the counter.  The receiver was fine, but the collar had been ruined.  Dogwatch replaced the collar for free with no questions asked.  I would absolutely recommend Dogwatch of Greater Pittsburgh.

Everything was great; employees were professional and courteous.  We have been very pleased with the fence system for our dog as well.

We had a great experience with DogWatch of Western Pa.  They were easy to wok with, prompt, knowledgeable, and accommodating.  I wanted to ensure that my dog could not enter my driveway, and they came up with a solution for this easily (even though it required more work for them) while a competitor I received an estimate from simply tried to talk me out of configuring the system this way.  The system works wonderfully.  I followed the training program exactly as it was described to me and my dog has never left my property and is very happy to have free run of our yard.  I highly recommend this pet containment system and company.

Good

unknown

After reading other reviews on Dogwatch, Jack and his team seemed like a no-brainer.  You don't get raving fans by screwing up. 

I called and set up an appointment with Jack...who showed up a few days later right on time.  He has been doing this a long time...explained the process, how it works, what his company provides, a layout of the fence and the estimate.  We set up the appointment that day for December 4th.

Randy showed up and installed the fence that morning...Jack showed up that afternoon to train two of our dogs...an easy process.  One of our dogs is a rescued Chihuahua...so for anyone wondering if this works for small dogs...it certainly does.

Almost 3 weeks later and I have no idea how we lived without this fence.  As others have written...opening the door and letting the dogs have run of the yard is awesome.  I, along with my husband, had untied both dogs on several occasions...in snow, sleet and rain!  Now it's simply open the door...and let them have fun!

Bella and Zorro couldn't be happier...we opted not to have our 3rd dog trained since he is old, blind, and quite frankly moves pretty slow.  But surprisingly...he pretty much just hangs out where the others are...(I think they told him not to cross the flags!)

If you are considering having this done...I would certainly recommend it...you won't regret it...and why not use Dogwatch...they really are awesome!

We've had it for 14 years. There was a wire we broke and we had to get it repaired and he found it and fixed it. It works. We live on the main road so it's very dangerous for our dogs and it keeps our dogs in. We've had no other issues.

I have only made an initial contact with DogWatch.  They are coming to my home to discuss their system and what I'll need for my dog.  I will update this review as things move forward.

We had an R&F outer fence installed with inner and outer loops. This company is nothing short of excellent. I spoke with Liz, and she was really helpful. We had to wait through the winter for the ground to thaw, and when they came out to install, the machine that they use was not working. They ended up putting in a temporary fence for us, which was awesome. As soon as they got their machine fixed, AJ and Randy came out to install the entire thing. Jack, the owner, was very personable. He went over everything with us making sure that we got exactly what we needed. He worked with our dog to help train him on how the fence worked. He even called us back a week later to see how everything was working out, and offered to come back to help train the dogs additionally if needed.

The sales representative was very thorough, informative and professional. This same person is also the one who trained the dog on the fence and showed us how to use the system. She was very good with the dog and patient with us. She did not leave until she was sure both the dog and the owners knew how to use the system. She followed up with a phone call a week later to make sure we were satisfied. The entire experience with Dog Watch was very pleasant. It has been three months since the installation and we, and the dog, are satisfied in every way. I would highly recommend Dog Watch to anybody who wants the peace of mind of knowing that their dog is secure within its yard.

As former local business owner myself, I try to always do business as close to home as I can to support those who've supported me for years.  I first met Jack (owner) about 6 months prior to purchasing the fence system at a local gas station.  I found him to be a very easy to talk to person and he took 5 minutes of his Sunday afternoon telling me a little about it when I approached his company truck to ask for a business card after seeing it pull in as I finished pumping gas.
This past May I contacted Dogwatch via their website and requested more information be sent to me by email.  Within hours I had a response with the information I had requested, and when I had a chance I called to schedule an appointment for an estimate for the following week.  Jack came to our house, met our dogs, showed me the components that make up the recommended system (both in brochure and a handheld collar) for our two dogs, drew a quick map of the fence for us both to remember what we discussed  in coverage, and then wrote up the estimate while here.  While it's not appropriate to list prices or competitors here, I'll simply say I was pleasantly surprised by the cost quoted for our almost 2 acre yard for two dogs.  A year before our purchase we learned some friends nearby had used another well known "not visible" fence company and it was probably the closest apples to apples comparison I'll ever come across.  We both had a little over an acre to fence in, two dogs, etc. and they paid roughly $800 more for what I consider an inferior product.  
While the price was a pleasant surprise knowing what my friends had paid, I wasn't shopping for the cheapest, I merely wanted the best for my pets and my peace of mind.  With an engineering background, I feel that DogWatch's system is ahead of the competition from a technical point of view after researching them all in great detail.  Features like the built in battery backup system not included with the others saved me the expense of purchasing an $140 standalone battery backup for the system since we lose power here often during the storm season.  Finally, the lifespan of the batteries in the collar is what I expect this day and age, a year per battery I believe, but equally important is that I can buy the batteries at a home improvement or camera store - after I use the free replacements that came for the first swap as part of my system.  The price compared to a DIY kit I'd found online was comparable and to be honest I wouldn't be saving myself doing it myself once I'd rented the machine to run the cable, the extra cable for a yard my size, etc. and of course the training which is as important as the technology behind the system in my opinion.  
Within a few days of the estimate I called to schedule the installation of our new hidden fence.  Our installation was scheduled roughly a week later which I thought was pretty efficient given that I assumed I was not the only pet owner looking to get a fence installed given it was the start of nice weather in our region.  The person I spoke with explained the installation process which ended in a training session for both myself and the dogs.
On the day of installation two great guys showed up to begin the installation process.  I'm a average DIY'er and contemplated buying a DIY fence mainly because I'm not a big fan of folks I've never met taking a drill to my house.  However, they walked me through the installation which was based off the drawing made during the estimate.  One guy was going to be scoring my blacktop driveway for the wire to pass and the other would be tackling the routing of the base unit which is located inside my garage.  Each walked me through their plan for where everything would go, made sure I didn't have any questions, and I let them get to work. Because my business involves working on people's houses and whatnot, I know all too well how distracting a customer who wants to talk while I work can be, so satisfied with everything they showed me I told them where I'd be on the property if they needed me and let them have at it.  Their installation was flawless.  Everything is neat, organized, and done right the first time.  Honestly, I'm probably a little too much of a perfectionist I could not find a single thing that I felt could have been done better.  The scoring across my blacktop where the cable went before being back filled with caulk is laser straight.  The system passage into the garage is perfect.  Job well done!  
Jack arrived as his team was nearly complete with the installation.  He did a final walk through inspection, verified I was satisfied with their work, then we said goodbye to his crew.  The dogs were soon fitted with collars and Jack began training both myself and the dogs.   We spent the next 30-45 minutes teaching the dogs how to recognize the boundaries and then he showed me how to continue the training with the provided schedule once his first session was over.  Overall, the installation could not have gone better.  Everyone was punctual, professional, and the work speaks for itself.  Perhaps it was the businessman in me, but seeing how Jack treated his staff told me I'd gone with the right company for this job, he showed them with great respect which isn't always the case with any type of home contractor.  His appreciation of them is likely why they were so professional and took such great pride and care in their work.
Now on our own, my wife and I continued the training following the instructions provided.  This was where I got nervous... we're not the best dog trainers which is why our pups have a few issues we need to work on which I'll likely contact Jack about in the future if for nothing else a recommendation of what to do after seeing how good he is with dogs.  We had one dog race through the boundary once during our training when a guest arrived during a training session one afternoon, but this wasn't halfway through the training process.  After that incident occurred I had a question and called Monday morning for advise.  Within two hours of speaking to a woman at the main office, Jack called to give me advice which was the confidence booster I needed after knowing my training would be why the fence failed if it ever did.  I'm happy to say that 8 months later, our dogs have never broken the perimeter of our fence during the remainder of the training or after it was completed.  I personally could not be any happier both as a dog owner and as a customer.  
If dogs could talk... they'd tell you the rest of this story about how they love the new fence system.  Our dogs had been on runs for the first few years we've had them.  Despite it being a very long run with very long leads, I don't know that I could ever go back to not letting my furry family members have as much freedom as possible while keeping them SAFE which is very important to me when making the decision to go to this type of containment.    
While I think my refrigerator cost slightly less than my hidden fence, the fence system is the BEST thing I've purchased for our house.  If 10 years from now it stops working, it'll get fixed as fast as a broken furnace in winter.  I work out of a home office most of the time and my workday has become much nicer because of the fence.  What used to be 12 trips a day to untangle this one from a tree and that one from a post near the shed, has been replaced with me going out to play with them when I need a break from work because they don't want back in the house if it's warm outside and the sun is out.  Instead of being wrapped around a tree 5 times a day,my dogs spend their days basking in the sun, playing in the snow, and always keeping the "intruders" (wildlife / neighbors cats) off our lawn!  Speaking of wildlife, I worried that that would be the reason the dogs would get past the fence but

I have two dogs, a border collie/collie and an Irish wolfhound mix. When Jack did the initial training, the collie caught on quickly and is doing fine.
The Irish wolfhound was spooked by the vibration and (1 month later) is afraid to go outside. When dragged out, he sits in the middle of the yard. Granted, he is a baby, but he also gets spooked when I use the code word "careful" with the collie. To the point that he runs back to the door and sratches to get in.
I've called Dog Watch to inquire how to handle the irish wolfhound. The first voie mail I left went unanswered. I called again and spoke with Liz, very helpful and she set up an appt. For Jack to return to help with the Irish wolfhound. Jack did not show up for the appointment. At this point, I will give it one more try.

Jack came out to meet with us before the fence was installed to explain the features of the Dog Watch fence system, explain the process and to do an initial walk thru on where the fence would be installed and to give us the quote for the price.  Once we made the decision to follow through, they called us to schedule the installation date and the window of time.  They were running a little late on the day of the installation, but they called me to let me know they would be a little later and when they planned to arrive.  Once they arrived I walked with them as they placed the flags to layout how the underground wire would be installed and to agree with where the control panel would go in the garage and where the wire would be grounded.  We were able to make some minor adjustments and the installation went smoothly.  The two installers were great to work with.  After the installation was complete Jack came out for the training and took time to make sure each collar was properly fitted for the two dogs.  We were given clear directions to follow through on training the dogs after the initial training session and on how to adjust the receiver collars.
I made in error in where I told them to install part of the fence.  I contacted them on the phone and they came out very promptly to change a portion of the fence and the charge for the work was very reasonable.  They were very responsive.  Everyone I spoke to on the phone or dealt with in person was great!

We are pleased with the product, customer service and professionalism.  They were competitive and so far we haven't had any trouble.  Our price was more than expected because of the complicated yard we have, and the need to keep our Yellow Lab out of the mulch and flowers/shrubbery. They were able to accommodate our needs.

The installers were very nice and did the job well.  They had to return once, but they did so without question.

Dogwatch's customer service was terrific.  It was like working with someone that I had known for years, and they good a job with the installation.

The training process went really well and Jack and Gracie made a great team! I did have to call back a couple months later because she outgrew her collar. Dogwatch sent me a larger one free of charge which I thought was great!

My overall experience with them was very good.  I was very pleased.  I would recommend them to a neighbor or others.  I would use this company again in the future.

They have done a good job. They are great. They came out knew his stuff, he was extremely professional and answered every question we had. The job went smoothly. I can't even tell they had to dig to bury the cable.

Fantastic job. Did everything as they described, thorough, prompt and just a great job. Loving the outcome. Was an obvious dog lover.

Randy arrived on time on the appointed day. He was friendly and professional. He and I walked the property to decide upon the best configuration for the fence. Jack the owner arrived soon after and the pair worked efficiently to get the fence installed. Jack spent over two hours with Smokey and I teaching him to avoid the ring of white flags that had been placed around the "safe area". He was very patient with Smokey who is still pretty rambunctious even when he was nipping at his shoes. By the time Jack left (shoes and pants were still intact!), Smokey understood what the fence was and what the flags meant. In the few days since we have had it, Smokey has not gotten shocked again. Let me reassure you...I was hesitant about using a shock to train my dog but Jack started at the lowest level and after approximately 6 shocks (which feel about the same as putting your tongue to a 9-volt battery) Smokey totally got it! He really understood what Jack was teaching him. He will go close enough that the warning beep sounds but immediately backs away. I am very impressed. Jack is very skilled and maybe Smokey is even smarter than I thought he was! I heartily recommend this company not only for the value but their professionalism and caring toward animals and their owners. It is so nice to be able to have Smokey outside more and not worry about him running away or being hit by a car.