Standard Containment and Return-to-Paddock

1. Standard Containment

When an animal approaches a virtual fence boundary, it will receive an audio cue exactly at the drawn fence line—there is no offset or pre-warning zone.

Response to Audio Cue

• Once the animal reaches the virtual boundary, the neckband begins playing an audio tone.
• This tone lasts for up to 5 seconds.
• During this time, the animal has the opportunity to retreat. If it does, the tone stops and no further stimulus is delivered.

Failure to Respond

If the animal does not respond to the audio warning:

1. After 5 seconds, the audio tone stops.
2. The neckband delivers an aversive pulse.
3. If the animal still has not retreated to the inclusion zone then
4. A 1-second pause follows.
5. The audio tone resumes.
6. And this sequence (audio → pulse) will repeat up to three times.

If the animal still does not return to the inclusion zone after three audio-pulse pairs:

• The animal is deemed to have escaped.
• The neckband will cease all stimuli until the animal returns to the inclusion zone on its own.

Virtual Fence Activation Scenarios

Animal is in the Inclusion Zone at Activation

• The neckband begins actively monitoring proximity to the fence boundary.
• Audio cues will be delivered if the animal approaches the boundary.

Animal is in the Exclusion Zone at Activation

• The neckband remains inactive.
• The animal is allowed to re-enter the inclusion zone freely—no stimuli are delivered.
• Once the animal has returned, standard containment resumes.

2. Return-to-Paddock Feature

This feature helps guide animals that have escaped back into the virtual paddock.

Initial Recovery Period

• After three audio-pulse pairs, the animal is in the exclusion zone.
• The neckband waits 30 seconds before doing anything further.
• This pause allows the animal to calm down and regain composure.

Stimulus Conditions After Pause

• If the animal remains stationary, the neckband will remain inactive—indefinitely.
• If the animal starts walking towards the nearest virtual fence segment, no stimulus is delivered.
• If the animal walks further away from the fence:
• The neckband begins delivering audio cues and aversive pulses, repeating up to three pairs.
• If the animal changes direction back toward the fence, the stimulus immediately stops.

Note: The neckband determines direction based only on distance to the nearest virtual fence segment. It does not track heading or orientation. This effectively means that:

• The animal has 180 degrees of freedom to move back toward the fence.
• Movement in the opposite direction is discouraged.

Guided Return

This feature acts as a one-way mechanism to gently guide the animal back into the paddock and reunite it with the rest of the herd.

3. Limitations and Appropriate Use

Understanding how and when to use return-to-paddock is crucial to avoid animal confusion.

gure 1: Correct application of return-to-paddock feature.

Works even when several animals escape simultaneously - as they typically have context about where the rest of the herd is.

gure 2: Incorrect application of return-to-paddock feature.

In such a scenario:

• Animals moving away from the virtual paddock trigger audio cues.
• These audio tones are heard by other animals, potentially influencing group movement.
• This can result in some animals moving in the wrong direction, leading to confusion about the true boundary.

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.

4. Summary of Common Situations and Neckband Responses

V1.0, 11/25

Updated on: 20/11/2025