Manufacturers, distributors and sellers of electronic fences might be liable for some dog bite injuries

The advertising for many electronic pet containment systems refers to the "safety" of the product. One company bragged that their product would "create safe zones for meter readers, mail carriers." The implication is that people will be safe. In fact, people and animals will be safe only from dogs that pay attention to the electronic fence, not from dogs that don't. And people who wander into the dog's territory will not be safe at all.

If an electronic containment system is advertised in a way that misleads a dog owner, it would be possible to hold the manufacturer, distributor and sellers liable for injuries that resulted from the misleading information. The legal basis for the claim would be the doctrine of product liability.