Return to Paddock Feature

The eShepherd system has some different modes of operation and it is important to understand how these different modes work to contain and manage your animals.

Lets start with some definitions to ensure we understand the terminology that we will use.

• White lines are physical fences.
• Orange lines are active virtual fences.
• The area defined by the physical fences and virtual fences is the Inclusion Zone.
• The area outside of the virtual fence is the Exclusion Zone.

Before we explain the return-to-paddock feature, lets recap the 'standard' containment method.

Standard Containment

When an animal approaches the virtual fence boundary, it will receive an audio cue at the virtual fence boundary. To be clear, the audio tone will start exactly at the drawn virtual fence line - there is no offset or 'audio zone'.

Now that the neckband has "crossed the threshold" and audio stimulus has started, the audio tone warning will continue for up to 5 seconds - and during this time, the animal can respond by pulling back away from that line. If the animal does retreat, the audio tone will stop short and nothing further will happen.

But lets assume now that the animal does not respond to the audio warning. After 5 seconds, the audio tone stops and the neckband will deliver the aversive pulse. Note that the animal did not have to walk any further across the virtual fence line into the 'exclusion zone'. Typically the aversive pulse will cause the animal to retreat, but for the purpose of explaining the behaviour, lets assume that the animal is standing completely still. Now that one pulse has been delivered, there is a one second pause before the audio tone begins again. Assuming no movement from the animal, again this same behaviour will repeat - 5 seconds of audio and then another pulse. This happens for a maximum of 3 audio - pulse pairs. After that - the animal is deemed to have escaped and the neckband will not do anything further until the animal has returned to the inclusion zone on its own accord.

Another important aspect to understand is the behaviour of the neckband when the virtual fence is turned on. The animal might be in the inclusion zone or in the exclusion zone when the activation occurs. Lets understand the behaviour in each scenario.

Virtual fence is activated when animal is in the Inclusion Zone: In this scenario, the Neckband is actively monitoring its location to the nearest virtual fence segment and will start delivering audio cues at the boundary.

Virtual fence is activated when the animal is in the Exclusion Zone: in this scenario, the Neckband will not do anything UNTIL the animal has walked inside the virtual fence boundary on its own accord. The animal is free to walk into the virtual fence - no stimulus is delivered as it enters the inclusion zone. However, once the animal has entered the inclusion zone, the Neckband will start enforcing that virtual fence boundary.

Return to paddock

Now that we understand the standard containment method, lets describe the return-to-paddock feature.

We will begin by describing a scenario where a single animal has 'escaped' or broken through the virtual fence and is now in the exclusion zone.

So the 'standard containment' method has been applied, the animal has endured the 3 audio-pulse pairs and is now in the exclusion zone.

With the return-to-paddock feature enabled, the animal will now get a break for 30 seconds. This is to allow an animal that might be confused or agitated to settle down and regain its composure.

After 30 seconds, the Neckband will monitor the movement of the animal.

• If the animal is standing still, the neckband will not do anything. Indefinitely. The animal could just stand there for as long as it likes. However, this is unlikely given typical animal behaviour.
• If the animal is walking back towards the nearest virtual fence segment, then again, the Neckband will not do anything. It is okay for the animal to be walking back towards and into the virtual fence. Nothing will happen in this scenario.
• However, if the animal attempts to walk further away from the nearest virtual fence segment, the Neckband will start delivering audio tones and pulses to deter the animal from walking further away. The same 3 audio-pulse pairs will be used to deter the animal from walking in the wrong direction. Should the animal change direction at any time, the stimulus will cease and it can walk towards the virtual fence undisturbed. But if it choses to turn around again, it will be discouraged with further stimulus.

Note that the Neckband is just calculating the distance to the nearest virtual fence segment - it is not measuring the heading that the animal is travelling in. This effectively means that there are 180 degrees that the animal is free to move towards, but the opposite direction is discouraged.

So this feature acts like a one-way mechanism to slowly bring the animal back into the paddock and return it to the rest of the mob / herd.

Note that the total number of audio-pulse pairs is still limited. The limit is set by your eShepherd representative and is determined in conjunction with the customer according to the breed and behaviour of your animals.

Limitations

It is very important to understand the appropriate use cases and limitations of the return-to-paddock feature. Inappropriate application can cause confusion for your animals.

As the name implies, this feature is designed to return an animal back to the virtual paddock, and is very effective in doing just that. Even when a number of animals break out at the same time, the return-to-paddock feature will guide them back back over a period of time. This subset of animals from the herd will have some context of where they should go to re-join the rest of the herd.

In the scenario depicted above, any animal moving away from the Virtual Paddock would trigger audio tones. These audio tones are usually heard by other nearby animals in the group also, and this may cause them to move. Some might move in the correct direction, others in the wrong direction - triggering more audio tones. This can lead to some confusion in the herd as to where the virtual fence boundary is.

For the correct way to use eShepherd to move your animals around your property, please refer to the guide here: How to move animals using eShepherd

Updated on: 06/08/2025