Fence Help – Pet Stop® Collars & Transmitters

How do I change the shock level on my receiver using the OT150, OT200, and Pcc200PRO transmitters?

Also note in this video, the wall-mounted transmitter shows the number “07”. Your transmitter may show a different number. Do NOT change yours to “07”. Keep it at the number that is written on the label next to my phone number by the transmitter. (Most transmitters that Pet DeFence installs show a number in the 08 – 12. Yours may be higher or lower. If you turn it below “08” the dog will walk out of the yard.)

NOTE: If your receiver collar makes 4 to 6 rapid “Beep” “Beep” “Beep” “Beep” “Beeps”  after you press the down button to program the collar, then the collar is already at the limit of what it can be programmed by you. Call your dealer for assistance.

Credits: The videos on how to change Pet Stop shock levels were created by Rich Weinssen, owner of Hiddenfence.com, Randolph, NJ. Rich is my mentor. He is the original developer of “LiteTouch” and “GentleSteps” Training.

How do I change the shock level on my Pet Stop® receiver using the OT300® transmitter?

Note: In this video, the wall-mounted transmitter shows the number “09”. Your transmitter may show a different number. Do NOT change yours to “09”. Keep it at the number that is written on the label next to my phone number by the transmitter. (Most transmitters that Pet DeFence installs show a number in the 08 – 12, but yours may be bigger or smaller. NOTE: If your receiver collar makes 4 to 6 rapid “Beep” “Beep” “Beep” “Beep” “Beeps”  after you press the down button to program the collar, then the collar is already at the limit of what it can be programmed by you. Call your dealer for assistance.

How do I test my collar to verify it is working?

First, let us assume the collar is properly functioning and you hear it beeping and you tested the shock firsthand. With that assumption, however, your dog is leaving the yard or testing the fence without regard to the beep or shock by going beyond the warning zone or exceeding the warning timeout delay. The things you need to consider are:

1. 1. Is the shock high enough for your dog to care? (see videos above)
   2. Are the points making proper and consistent contact and not obscured from making skin contact because of thick, long, and dense fur or hair even with a properly fitted collar, and of course that the collar is in fact properly fitted? Check this link: What is a properly fitted collar?
   3. Is the signal field at the wall-mounted transmitter turned to the number we wrote on the label on our card when we last adjusted your fence? If we wrote a number on the label, and the number on your wall-mounted transmitter is any lower, then your dog could walk out unaffected by the system.  If the number is higher, then the collar will be activating earlier than we originally planned.

The Tests

Test 1 – Close the strap so it is as though your dog is wearing it. Hold the back of the strap, with the receiver hanging at the bottom of the collar loop, at 6 o’clock, and the points pointing up to 12 o’clock. Now walk into the yard holding the collar in this position. Be sure you are stooping over so you are holding the collar at the same level above the ground as it is when your dog is walking in the yard. Please do NOT hold the collar up as high as your own ears and try to hear it beep. It will not work that high off the ground since the signal is not adjusted to activate the collar much above your dog’s neck level. As you approach the edge of the yard, you should hear the collar begin to “beep-beep-beep”. This result tells you:

1. 1. The receiver is working.
   2. The battery is good.
   3. The wall-mounted transmitter is working.
   4. The dog should be getting shocked if it goes too far

Test 2 – (Note: If you only have one receiver collar, skip the steps below and insert a NEW battery into your receiver (“+” side up). Please do not rely on the extra one that has been rolling around in your pencil drawer for the last few days or the last few years. Batteries will quickly and  completely discharge when in contact with other metallic and semi-metallic objects after just a few hours.)

1. 1. Try the battery from the working collar in the non-working collar, and try the battery from the non-working collar in the working collar. Does the problem switch to the other collar?
   2. If yes, the battery is bad.
   3. If no, try Test 3.

Test 3 – (Note: If your receiver appears to be dead, try this test. And, if you only have one receiver, skip the comparison aspects of this instruction.)

1. 1. Remove the battery caps and batteries from both collars.
   2. Shine a bright light into the bottom of the battery compartments.
   3. Observe the battery contact springs in the bottom of each battery compartment. Are they the same, or does the bad one appear to be mashed and off-centered (compared to the good one)? If they look exactly the same, your collar may be dead. If the bad one looks mashed and off-centered, proceed to step 4.
   4. Using a probing instrument (screwdriver, ballpoint pen, bobby pin, small pick tool, etc…) reach into the battery compartment, snag or jiggle the base of the spring to reposition it back to a more centered position. This takes only a very little amount of pressure. Don’t yank it out or damage it, just move it about at the base of the spring for about one second.
   5. If you observe that spring may have been repositioned from your probing and jiggling, you may have temporarily fixed your problem. Either way, proceed to the next step.
   6. Replace the battery (“+” side up) and test the receiver again as described in Test 1.
   7. If test 3 does not fix the problem, contact me for a replacement. If Test 3 fixes the problem, then keep an eye on the receiver into the future as the spring has displayed a propensity to become off-centered.  You should consider replacing the receiver.

Test 4 – With the battery and battery cap in place, hold the receiver in the palm of your hand like you would if you were gripping an egg. Shake it hard, like you would a can of spray paint. A normal working collar will have a slight rattle from inside the receiver. However, a large evident shifting or clunking inside could indicate your collar is broken and no longer properly working.

Note: Sometimes the beep is too soft for you to hear. This does not indicate that your collar is not working, only that you do not hear it. Chances are, your dog hears it just fine. (We have several deaf dog customers.)

Note: We get calls that the collar is not working because the dog is not crying or whimpering when he gets too near the fence. This is not fool-proof evidence that the fence is not working. Test it yourself.

Note: Whether you hear your receiver collar beeping or not, please consider testing it on your own fingers. You may wish to turn down the shock to level 2 before you test it on yourself. If level 2 doesn’t affect you, try a higher level.  (See video above.) Touch both points on the collar while it is ticking or beeping, or otherwise at the dog’s neck level while obviously standing in the shock zone. If you do not feel a shock, then there may be a problem with the receiver collar. Make sure you touch both points on the receiver at the same time when you hear the collar beeping. It will tell you definitively that the fence is or is not working. It is a good thing if when you test your collar at the signal field and it makes an incessant “Beep-Beep-Beep” sound. However, just because the collar makes noise, it does not mean that the shock is turned up high enough to get the attention of your dog. Therefore, you may need to change the shock level OR tighten the collar or shorten the neck hair or adjust where the collar is worn to a higher and tighter position on the neck or ALL THE ABOVE. What is a properly fitted collar?

Pet Stop® Battery Help: Click for Pet Stop Battery Info

How Do I Change the Size of the Signal Field?

If you change that number by pressing the “UP” or “DOWN” buttons on the wall-mounted transmitter, then you are changing the 5 ft signal field. By pressing the “DOWN” button, you are shortening the signal field. A lower number is a smaller signal, meaning your dog gets more yard and less signal. Whereas, pressing the “UP” has the reverse effect. Too much signal could manage to shock your dog in the house and other unexpected places in the yard.

Whatever number we left the transmitter set at when we were training was the safest distance to train your dog with at that time, and that would have been at about five feet of fence signal. In some cases, we may have set it lower (small properties with small dogs), while in other cases (Large properties with lots of room) we may have set it higher.

Decreasing the signal field may be risky for a large breed dog that could manage to raise his head high enough to elevate the receiver above the signal. The dog could then walk out of the yard without a penalty.  It could also be so little signal that a running dog of any size could dash through without enough signal to get a long enough shock for it to care. This sets up an unsafe cycle of your dog leaving the yard at will.

Warning: If your dog runs out, it will NOT run back in. Once they are out, they are out. However, you know your pet best and whether it behaves well enough that you can trust it to stay in your yard. Therefore,  if you wish to change the distance, then change the number.

There are no lights lit on my Pet Stop wall-mounted transmitter. What’s wrong?

Note: There are no ON/OFF switches on any of the Pet Stop wall-mounted transmitters

Try the following:

1. 1. Is the transmitter plugged into the outlet?
   2. Is the other end of the power cord plugged in and well seated into the receptor plug of the transmitter?
   3. Is the outlet working? Please don’t assume that it is. Bring another small electrical appliance and plug it into the same outlet. If you find the other appliances do not work, then consider getting an extension cord and plug it in somewhere else and then re-test your wall-mounted transmitter. If it now works, then certainly your outlet was to blame.
   4. If you skip the extension cord step, you can go straight to looking for the GFCI that tripped and cut off the electricity to the transmitter. Note: the outlet that we are plugged into may have a built-in GFCI plug. Check it first. It could also be part of a series of outlets wired into a GFCI that is located on the other side of the garage, or on the other side of the house. Look around. Maybe it is in the garage or on the front porch, at the workbench, on the back porch, in the basement by the breaker box, or in the bathrooms, laundry room, kitchen, storage room, or anywhere else you can think of.  Note:  GFCI’s do not last forever, so you may find the one that is at fault, but it may not reset. If that is the case, replace your GFCI and try again.
   5. Note: After a power supply is plugged in for an hour or so, it warms up to over 99 degrees. Press your palm against it. Is it warmer than the air and other objects around it? (This can be an inconclusive test inside a hot garage.) However, if you can tell that it is warmer than the transmitter itself and other objects and air around it, then the power supply seems to be operating normally. If this is the case, then double-check that it is also plugged well into the wall-mounted transmitter.  If it is cold, then your outlet is not working, or the power supply may have failed. Hot or Cold? Cold = bad outlet or bad power supply. Hot = good outlet and probably good power supply and your problem probably at the transmitter.

Note: If you open the Pet Stop transmitter you will discover there are no fuses on the circuit board. However, you may discover in touching the board that it is hot or cold. If there are no lights lit, we would assume the heat sinks would be cold. If the lights are lit, the heat sinks on the board would be hot.