Wildlife tuned to see in the dark unless they fly wilk usually just stand there as they can’t see a damn thing. What gets them moving as mentioned is noise, that triggers a response to move on as it replicates danger coming towards them. I’m constantly scari f off kangeroos off my lawn & noise or throwing an object near them scares them off.
I like the one on the right, with the narrower beam. however, since my harebrained idea might not work, I want to purchase from a place I can easily return, Amazon... and the only place I found the L21A was AliExpress, too long shipping time, and no easy returns...
purchased one, did not install it yet, the intention is to put it on angled arms (not sure if that's the correct terminology, but the arms on which you would normally put barbed wire on) on top of the fence
to complete the circuit, the critter will need to also touch the electric ground, so my plan is to make the entire existing fence "ground" and insulate the hot wire from the arms/fence.
we got this for safety, on the other hand, in over 20 years, never seen a coyote climb into our side, though skunks and opossums obviously made it... so far miss little monster was able to defeat these with only minor battle scars on her nose/cheeks
but this will not make her stop barking at critters outside the fence...
the dog should be restrained within a fenced area, so it cannot hunt skunks
you are required by law to report a skunk encounter:
https://www.vcas.us/wildlife/ Rabies Prevention If your dog, has an encounter with skunks, you must immediately report that interaction to Ventura County Animal Services (805) 388-4341, and your veterinarian as these animals can harbor the deadly rabies virus.
Flashlights are fun, but I think there are some other interventions you should consider as well…
1. Do not let the dog run free at night, no matter how demanding she is. Killing wildlife is a serious problem, and your dog now knows it is fun, and that you are a pushover.
2. Take an obedience class with your dog. So you learn ways NOT to give in to the dog demanding to go skunk hunting at night.
3. Another dog management tool to consider, is Crate Training.
Also, beware annoyed neighbors that might get fed up with the nightly concerts and toss some poisoned meat into your yard.
I second the suggestion to keep Li’l Monster inside the house at night no matter what. Otherwise whatever happens to LM is on you.
(Didn’t know about the skunk/rabies thing, that’s another good reason to keep LM inside.)
Ever try to out-stubborn a cat? I did, and dogs are pushovers in comparison. Rescue #2 was an outdoors cat all the way, got raked but good on his shoulder, enough to “cut into the musculature” and a puncture-wound in his cheek that blew up like a balloon. So off to the vet, stitches out the wazoo, Penrose drain in his cheek, Cone Of Shame around his head, etc., and still the little devil was clawing at the door trying to get out. Had to dope him up with ACE that made him wobbly like he was drunk, and still he was clawing at the door. Wasn’t working, and when he saw me opening the door by the knob, he climbed up on the platform next to the door and tried clawing at the doorknob! Smart cat, but determined to get out.
I just had to stick with it. A semi-feral cat that Just Wants Out, another male cat indoors that wasn’t exactly making him feel welcome, but I just stuck with it, and, yeah, months later, they’re playing with each other, chasing each other around (usually waking me up with the ruckus when I’m sleeping), and both are pretty happy indoors.
So if I could do that with a cat, you can sure do that with a dog.