Best GPS Colllar?
- Thread starter JLStorm
- Start date
R Taft
Active member
I imagine they would be good, especially if they are stolen, which has always been my greatest fear, but they would have to be permanently attached for that..............
I suppose you mean on a collar in case they wander. But I always seem to have sticky dogs. Like my Annabelle now is always no further then six feet away, she prefers to be right at heel.Trips me up quite often. And all my other newfs were like that also. Tessa our Golden cross is never out of sight. Even when they are at play, they keep us in sight.When we go out to work we put our dogs in an enclosed run with attached kennel room or at night they are in the house. Or we always tend to be with our dogs. We are in, they are in and we are out they are out. I know some of my friends tell me my dogs are too dependant on me, but same token they often loose their dogs. we take our dogs everywhere they are allowed.They love walks along the river and just tag along. I have had dogs forever (my parents were dog mad) and newfs since 1980. Only lost a deaf and blind kelpie once for four hours. Someone had picked him up and left it for four hours till they rang the dog ranger. I had driven him mad with phone calls and he dropped the dog off straight away, to give himself some peace. It will be interesting to see if anyone is better informed on the GPS thing.
By law all dogs in Australia have to be microchipped and registered, which does help in ID and return of dogs
I suppose you mean on a collar in case they wander. But I always seem to have sticky dogs. Like my Annabelle now is always no further then six feet away, she prefers to be right at heel.Trips me up quite often. And all my other newfs were like that also. Tessa our Golden cross is never out of sight. Even when they are at play, they keep us in sight.When we go out to work we put our dogs in an enclosed run with attached kennel room or at night they are in the house. Or we always tend to be with our dogs. We are in, they are in and we are out they are out. I know some of my friends tell me my dogs are too dependant on me, but same token they often loose their dogs. we take our dogs everywhere they are allowed.They love walks along the river and just tag along. I have had dogs forever (my parents were dog mad) and newfs since 1980. Only lost a deaf and blind kelpie once for four hours. Someone had picked him up and left it for four hours till they rang the dog ranger. I had driven him mad with phone calls and he dropped the dog off straight away, to give himself some peace. It will be interesting to see if anyone is better informed on the GPS thing.
By law all dogs in Australia have to be microchipped and registered, which does help in ID and return of dogs
Peanut
New member
I got a cheaper model last fall from Mills Fleet Farm (maybe $60. or $80. not sure) for my ESS. Can't remember the brand but I really like it, very easy to use. I use it while bird hunting, she generally hunts close ... UNTILL... she smells ... THE BEAR BAIT STATIONS 
GunDogForum.Com has some posts about what brands/models people have liked and disliked.
GunDogForum.Com has some posts about what brands/models people have liked and disliked.
Brody the Newf
New member
I'd make sure you have a dog that likes a great adventure first. For all of Brody's faults, he isn't one to wander. If Brody gets out, he'll stand in the driveway looking very proud.
I didnt even think about a dog that didnt want to run...Ive never had one that would take the opportunity to run off and explore if they got out...they make dogs that dont do that??? :shocker:
Ive even raised weimaraners who are considered to be velcro dogs and they even love to run...hmm...maybe its me...do I smell lol?
Ive even raised weimaraners who are considered to be velcro dogs and they even love to run...hmm...maybe its me...do I smell lol?
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Brody the Newf
New member
Besides for a clueless yellow lab mix that I had as a teenager, all of my dogs have stayed put.
ardeagold
New member
We have some who will take off in an instant, and other who won't go out of our sight range. I think it depends on the dog.
All of them get better, much better, with training. But still, there are some I just don't trust off lead in the open for a second! LOL
I think the high quality GPS collars are available on most hunting dog sites, like Gundog Supply, Cabela's, Bass Pro, Gander Mountain, etc. Hunting dogs can range far and wide, so a GPS can be heaven-sent to a sporting dog owner!
All of them get better, much better, with training. But still, there are some I just don't trust off lead in the open for a second! LOL
I think the high quality GPS collars are available on most hunting dog sites, like Gundog Supply, Cabela's, Bass Pro, Gander Mountain, etc. Hunting dogs can range far and wide, so a GPS can be heaven-sent to a sporting dog owner!
GPS collars have some drawbacks as far as finding runaway, lost or stolen pets. They are primarily made for hunters to keep track of their dogs while working which means the hunter is in close proximity to the dog and constantly monitoring. And I assume a hunting dog has some extensive training unlike the pets which tend to stray.
Battery life is poor (a few days) on most of them. That means you would have to check/change the battery almost daily just to be certain it won't die when you need it most.
You must be near a phone or computer to get an alert. So if you're somewhere with your cell phone off, or you don't check your email often, you're out of luck. And if you're far away when you get the call, you probably won't get home in time. If your unit doesn't come with a handheld receiver, then someone has to stay near the phone or computer if a cell phone isn't available (or it's battery is dead).
Some are bulky and can get hung up on brush or fences making them a danger to the dog.
The collar must be on the dog. If removed or if it comes off it won't help you. You may as well assume a thief is going to remove the collar and ditch it.
Most GPS collars have a specific range of only a few miles (depending on terrain) so may not be helpful if your dog running fast, or roaming around in hilly country, or is stolen.
Dogs rarely stand still and it takes a while (depending on the model) to update the screen display on the handheld receiver. So what you see is not very accurate. And by the time you get to that location, the dog will be somewhere else. If the dog enters a building (like when some kind soul takes your dog in), the GPS won't work.
It's not abnormal for GPS to be "off" by several meters in some locations, so you don't always get a precise location making a moving target hard to spot especially in the dark.
They give a false sense of security.
Be sure to ask a lot of questions before throwing away your money.
Frankly, I think you're better off supervising the dog whenever it's outside.
My son works for Garmin and gets to test their products. Neither of us was impressed with their collar for pet use. Great for hunters though.
Battery life is poor (a few days) on most of them. That means you would have to check/change the battery almost daily just to be certain it won't die when you need it most.
You must be near a phone or computer to get an alert. So if you're somewhere with your cell phone off, or you don't check your email often, you're out of luck. And if you're far away when you get the call, you probably won't get home in time. If your unit doesn't come with a handheld receiver, then someone has to stay near the phone or computer if a cell phone isn't available (or it's battery is dead).
Some are bulky and can get hung up on brush or fences making them a danger to the dog.
The collar must be on the dog. If removed or if it comes off it won't help you. You may as well assume a thief is going to remove the collar and ditch it.
Most GPS collars have a specific range of only a few miles (depending on terrain) so may not be helpful if your dog running fast, or roaming around in hilly country, or is stolen.
Dogs rarely stand still and it takes a while (depending on the model) to update the screen display on the handheld receiver. So what you see is not very accurate. And by the time you get to that location, the dog will be somewhere else. If the dog enters a building (like when some kind soul takes your dog in), the GPS won't work.
It's not abnormal for GPS to be "off" by several meters in some locations, so you don't always get a precise location making a moving target hard to spot especially in the dark.
They give a false sense of security.
Be sure to ask a lot of questions before throwing away your money.
Frankly, I think you're better off supervising the dog whenever it's outside.
My son works for Garmin and gets to test their products. Neither of us was impressed with their collar for pet use. Great for hunters though.
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R Taft
Active member
Yes there are dogs that won't run off. I am not sure as to wether we have been lucky or because we do so much training, training and more training. And maybe because I am always around them and always watching the new ones. We also have stockworking dogs and you can not afford to have those run off and start rounding up other peoples stock. They would get shot!!! And they are very well trained, they are worth two men. We are in a rural area, with lots of working properties. Another reason it is good to have newfs, everyone knows who they are and we have no lookalike bears here. Newfs are not very common here. A German Shepard dog would get shot on site if it ran around without it's owner. Sadly they have a bad reputation (I adore the breed) due to bad ownership/ management. It seems a good idea for hunters to use them. This has been interesting, I never even knew they(GPS for dogs) existed.
