Find The Best Gps Hunting Dog Tracking Collar

We have a 50 pound mix pit/Shepard/ Heinz dog that was a rescue from the city and loves to explore and run. We live in the woods with lots of acrege so he has plenty of room to roam. The problem is, he roams to far at times and is a bother to neighbors 2 miles away! We just dreaded the thought of installing underground fence but felt we had to other option. We came up with a plan to install an underground 1500' fence around our home and some of the woods and went ahead and bought the supplies on Amazon. The fence kit arrived but the late spring weather did not allow us to bury it rite away and I was dreading the thought of doing it in fear it would not work to our expectation. A friend of mine informed me of training collars the many hunters/trainers use and said his buddy had bought one of the Dogtra collars and was totally happy with the outcome. After a few hours of research I decided to go with the Dogtra Pathfinder and sent the underground stuff back to Amazon. The Dogtra collar was a much cheaper option than the path of the underground fence and installing it was going to be. Before the collar arrived, I watched several Youtube vids on using the product so when it arrived I had a good idea how to use it.

"Brock" was already familiar with wearing a training collar but the cheaper collar only worked in a close proximity so when he got out of sight in the woods and believe me he knows it. He is a very stubborn dog and has no fear of anything at all......except for electric! Even just a very tiny bit of juice gets his attention and he knows when the collar is on for sure. After setup of the new collar, downloading the app etc we let him outside to test drive it. I previously set up the geofence area around approx. 2 acre area with the lines close to the neighbors to the west and east and parallel to the road out front. We watched his live path as he roamed around and I must say the Google maps are amazing too. When he got close to the Geofence we had set up I got an alert on the phone and beeped him to retreat and he did. Brock respects the beep feature as he knows what will be coming after the beep if he still is wrong doing. The neighbors to the east have dogs he likes to go and play with and they are ok with that but we needed to keep him home. Last night he went out of the Geofence and went there.....NOW w e can see that and call him back in! At first I beeped him after calling him and he ignored the call, then I gave him a very mild tickle and BOOM he came back on a dead run! We continue to work with him every day and the training gets better all the time. The unit is just an awesome product and a great alternative to underground fence. The long range they advertise is up to 9 miles. I don't expect that but know the unit will perform well within a couple miles in our hilly woods terrain here. The app and collar work seamless with no issues found as of yet and would recommend searching out youtube vids to familiarize yourself with this product as I did.

If you're like me, you might be doubting whether this collar could possibly be worth $400, and does it work for all that? Well, my friends, I am here to tell you that it is worth. every. penny.

I have a German Shorthair Pointer and in addition to wanting to be able to find him when he's working, I wanted him to be able to wander my fields without direct supervision and have the peace of mind that he wasn't going onto roads or other people's property (the neighbors are miles away, but as anyone with a GSP knows, huge distances are no deterrent for these mischievous dudes :).

The battery life is great considering the complexity of this device, the range works exactly as advertised, and judging by my dog's rapid responses, the tones and shock deliveries really do work from *miles* away. I can also rest easy when out of range of cell service - everything works like a charm offline.

This collar has made it so Jaeger can exercise and wander to his heart's content, and I can be in my house and not stress about what he's up to. Just brilliant. My only regret is not getting the collar sooner!

A few notes -

1. the "dog statuses" can be a little oversensitive; that is, I have found about 20%-30% of the alerts for 'pointing' and 'treed' have been inaccurate while directly observing Jeager. This is not a big problem, as I've learned to look for "clusters" of status alerts to let me know whether he's truly located something.

2. As others have said, this is a sophisticated set-up but as long as you take the time to at least skim the manual, it's pretty easy to use. Don't be a moron like me and throw the manual aside at first because you resent getting snowed with papers every time you buy something.

3. Be aware that the "geo-fence" feature cannot automatically shock or play a tone when your dog exits; however, you get alerts letting you know the dog has left. This has been perfect for me. I recommend taking your dog for a walk around the perimeters of your geo-fence and using the tone to teach them where the new boundaries are. After that, I just keep my phone handy and get a push notification if he breaks the boundary (which almost never happens now!!).

Better than garmin at half the price and no subscription. Uses google maps and a cell phone.

I am extremely pleased with this dog collar. The battery life when the app *remains* open on a cell phone does drain a bit quickly but otherwise I see no disadvantages.

When I first got started with it, I thought I had to pair the collar, phone and receiver each time and I was very frustrated with it. However, I reviewed videos online and found that pairing only needed to occur once. I found that one simply needs to turn the receiver on then turn the collar on and let them sit for a few minutes to get things started each time.

Today I mistakenly went out with my dogs when the receiver had an orange light. I thought no problem. Unfortunately the walk went very long as my english setter loves to explore. The battery died and I lost connection deep in the woods. After trying to find her at her last location, I went home quickly and recharged the receiver for 30 minutes getting me to about 10% battery charge. I then went right back to where I was with her and found her immediately. An immense stress reliever.

The best price found on Amazon with this quality. Gps very accurate, water proof, and long battery life! Finally we can let our hound roam free and we are worry free, because we can always figure out where he is. Expandable to 21 dogs, all you need to do is to buy extra collars.

I absolutely love this! I’m on my second German Shorthair Pointer, and they love to run—far. I’ve resisted shocking them into submission (GSPs have been around since the 19th century so it should be possible to train them without a shock collar), but the occasional slip when he gets on a game trail has led to some scary moments. After a 3-hour excursion I decided it was time to keep track of my boy more closely. I was going to get a Garmen but they’re significantly more expensive, and the reviews indicated that the Pathfinder is just as good. I’ve used it several times and it’s amazing.

KEEP IT SIMPLE.

SUBSCRIPTION PLAN? YES YOU NEED TO PURCHASE A SUBSCRIPTION PLAN (AFFORDABLE & EASY TO DO - THEY GIVE YOU 3 OPTIONS - MONTHLY, YERLY OR 2 YEARS SUBSCRIPTION PLANS)

ABOUT THE GPS TRACKER: LOOKS HEAVY BUT IT ISN'T HEAVY & SO LIGHT, IT'S JUST BULKY (SEE IMAGES) & BONUS IT'S WATERPROOF!

ABOUT THE APP: EASY APP TO USE, LET'S YOU KNOW WHEN HE/SHE LEAVES THE "SAFE ZONE" WHICH IS THE GREEN AREA (FOR MY CASE - SEE IMAGES) PLEASE KNOW YOU CANNOT TRACK YOUR PET WHEN HE/SHE IS WITHIN THE GREEN ZONE, YOU'VE MARKED THAT AREA AS A "SAFE SPACE" ACCORDING TO THE APP THEREFORE THE APP ASSUMES HE/SHE IS SAFE SO YOU CANNOT TRACK THEM THEN.

TRACKING: ONCE YOUR PET STEPS OUT OF THE SAFE ZONE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TRACK HIM/HER (SEE IMAGES)

FACT: ALSO PROVIDES YOU WITH INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR PETS HEALTH, HOW MANY CALORIES THEY BURNED, HOW MANY MILES THEY TRAVELED, THE TIME THEY SPEND RESTING OR PLAYING ETC.

ABOUT THE WHISTLE I PURCHASED: I PURCHASED THE "WHISTLE 3 GO EXPLORE" I LOVE THE FACT THAT THIS ONE HAS AN LED LIGHT THAT I CAN TURN ON THROUGH MY APP (AND YES IT WORKS) THATS HELPFUL WHEN TRYING TO FIND YOUR PET AT NIGHT AND ALSO SAFER FOR YOUR PET AT NIGHT & LONGER LASTING BATTERY LIFE.

ABOUT BATTERY LIFE: I LOVE THE BATTERY LIFE ON THIS WHISTLE BECAUSE IT IS GREAT! DOES LAST UP TO 20 DAYS WITHOUT CHARGING.

OVERALL: IF YOU FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS AND DO EVERYTHING RIGHT, YES THIS PRODUCT IS WORTH ITS PRICE AND TOTALLY GIVES ME AN EASE OF MIND WHEN HE'S OUT THERE.

HOPE THIS HELPS.

I love having a device that tracks Comet's activity and has a built in light for safer evening walks! The peace of mind that this product provided is amazing.

Like all technology, this device relies on cell phone coverage and wifi, so make sure you have good wifi coverage at home and set up a proper safe area.

The ability to add multiple owners to the account is awesome since we leave Comet with Grandma and Grandpa when we go on vacation. Being able to see how he's doing is very reassuring.

I'm very excited for the new health tracking features such as diet and exercise recommendations, scratch detection, and more robust activity tracking (the badges are cool!!).

This is absolutely the best GPS product for my dogs I have used so far! I live in the country where WiFi is poor, but my whistle works great! I am amazed at the battery life. Before I had to recharge the devices every three days, with this whistle the battery drops less than 5% a day! Amazing. I love watching my dogs reach the goals I’ve set for them as well as seeing how many miles they have run each day and where they go in our yard ( we live on an acreage). Best thing by far is being alerted when they get out of our yard able to track them. Very accurate GPS. We will always own a Whistle.

Love it!! Well made, durable, serviceable and works great. Customer support is unsurpassed

Loved it! Works good to add to our collection!

I have had this unit for five days now and have had ample opportunity to test it. I bought it because I hike with my dog very often, and in Oregon that means we are hiking in the forest. My dog will not run off but no matter how much orange I put on him he is easy to lose sight of and I don't want to call out to him if there is no need to do so. I must admit that having read the negative reviews I approached my purchase with a bit of fear and loathing, but because I have had a terrific experience with my SportDOG 425 I took the plunge. My observations:

1) The unit is very easy to set up. For me the most difficult part was threading the lanyard on to the handheld. The downloadable instructions are easy to find and easy to follow. For context, I am a 67 year old technical laughingstock and I had no trouble following the setup guide. It took me about 45 minutes because I am slow, but all you have to do is read the instructions and you'll be fine.

2) I first tested the unit on my German Shorthaired Pointer on a beach on the Oregon coast; as you would expect it worked flawlessly in that environment. Next I went for a couple of hours on a trail in a heavily forested area. Again, flawless. I was really afraid that the heavy tree canopy and the ravines would prohibit the unit from receiving a signal but not so; it worked great!

3) The handheld is easy enough to use. I played with it for about an hour prior to using it with the dog for the first time and once I got the hang of it I could navigate around it pretty easily. Think of it as being about the same as learning to navigate around a new phone; you just have to use it for a bit. Like your phone it can be a little hard to see in the bright sunlight.

The handheld is relatively large and at 10.6 oz. (yes, I weighed it) for me is a little too heavy to wear around my neck. If I were using it while carrying a shotgun I think a belt clip or holster be more comfortable and useful than a lanyard. I am going to try a carabineer next time out to see how that works.

4) I did not need the help of SportDOG's customer service department to set this up, but I have contacted them on two other occasions for questions about my 425 and found them to be available, knowledgeable, and sincerely willing to help. My only comment is that they don't have a real overnight shipping option at any price. It's next business day after a day of processing so if you order a part on Thursday morning you won't get it until Monday so be prepared for that.

5) It's fun to tell little kids who ask about the antenna that your dog is actually a robot that you can control with a remote.

If you need a GPS tracker for your dog I don't think you will go wrong with this unit.

Watched a group of hunters manage 8 pups and 5 people and asked them how they did so. One of them introduced me to this product.
I have a wolf hybrid and a coydog that require a deep woods hike of 5 plus miles every day. Keeping track of them just became possible. Glad it works up to 10 miles.

Follow up. Purchased a second unit. Thought I had issues with it but Virginia at PetMoods reminded me of the tremendous tunable nature of the gps portion. I was able to improve performance of both units in 10 minutes. Customer service is above and beyond!!! Thank you.

I am very thankful for this unit. I have been using it for about six months when I walk and train my German Shorthair Pointer. The only problems I've really had were operator error, such as I forgot to plug it in and get a full charge before going out with my dog.
Last year I lost a dog hunting and it was a pretty sad couple of months. I'm still not quite over it. Don't know what happened to her. I had to buy a new dog, and I determined that I would not lose another dog. I researched what I could for tracking collars.
I like this one because it has the display on the hand controller and doesn't require you to add yet another app to your phone, or carry your phone with you hunting. I usually do, but I like to save battery where I can on my phone for emergencies and following my dog on the phone screen does not save battery. This is convenient. I think you can tether it to your phone also, but not sure. It also downloads to your computer if you like. I'm not much for that. I also like the charging system it comes with, it is easy to use, though you do have to make sure it vibrates when you plug it in. It gives you eight hours charge which is generally enough even for the longest day's chukar hunting. Though it would be nice if there was someway you could preserve that charge. Even an auxiliary battery would be beneficial.
It will tell you when your dog is on point. Well, in my experience that isn't entirely true, it merely tells you where your dog is and says that it is on point 200 yards in front or to the right of you etc. It says your dog is on point even while you see your dog running in front of you. I turned that feature off. Rather, worthless. If my dog was sitting still for a minute before the controller determined it was on point, that might be nice. But truth is I just want to be able to track my dog and know where he is if he gets over a ridge before I do.
So far I have used this collar effectively to train my dog for a number of things including finding shed antlers.
I found the training guide CD that came with the system to be very helpful and especially the tip to always do something fun with the dog right after you put it on so they associate it with fun rather than work or discipline.

Great quality works as it should.

Color works great

Love my Pathfinder unit. I use it on my coonhounds. Wonder how I ever managed without it!!!

Does what it is supposed to do and very easy to use. The app is straight forward and simple. Wasnt sure i would like using a cell phone to control a gps/e-collar, but after some research, i found that you can use an old phone with no service. I have an old galaxy s4 that hasnt been in service for awhile. I have it on wifi at home to download maps. Then, in the field, all you need is bluetooth and the phone simply acts as a controller/handheld gps. No service required. Since i always have my working cell phone with me, i can use it as a backup if my old s4 would die.

Spent alot of time debating between this unit and the garmin alpha 100. After getting a chance to test an alpha, i am really glad i went with the pathfinder. With 2 collars i am still $150+ less than the cost of the alpha with 1 collar. Add how easy the pathfinder is to operate and you get a really great value for your money. The alpha 100 is a really good piece, but cost and ease of use is why i went with the pathfinder.

I am using this for mountain cur squirrel dogs. I went with the mini as the full size collars are pretty big and would be too much for the young dogs i have. Even when full grown i think the full size would be kind of big for my female as she will probably be about a 30lbs dog. My male is alot bigger than the female and should be 40lbs+. I think he will be fine with the larger collar when he fills out. I know the range of the mini is half of the full size, but i dont need the extra range so losing range for smaller lighter collars is fine with me. I know someone using the big collars on curs and feist without issue so either will work with smaller dogs.

Regardless if you buy a pathfinder or pathfinder mini, all the collars are compatible. I have 2 minis and 1 full size collar synced to my receiver.

I bought this for my 30lb Brittany Spaniel. It fits her well.

When you're using this in a small space, you will quickly notice that it is not very accurate. When testing this in my yard, it would often say my dog was on the other side of the property even when she was standing right next to me. But, whatever, I decided, it was accurate enough to curb any anxiety over losing her when we visited my family's 200 acre property. Her recall is very good, but I just wanted extra assurance... And then my dog stayed within eyesight of me 90% of the time we were there, never leaving the unfenced yard unless I did first. Go figure!
But it was extremely helpful once we went hiking in the woods - she went out of my eyesight a grand total of twice, but one of those times she went through thick brush I couldn't follow her through, where the mountain was too steep for me to go around the more clear areas... and she didn't come back when I called. On my phone, I could see her running one way and stopping. When I called again, she would run a different direction, until I called again. She was going on circles, and seemed to not know how to get back to me! The GPS location, while again not wholely accurate, was good enough for me to circle around and get to an area above her where she could see me, and she immediately ran up to me when she did.
(It's been suggested to me that she could be partially deaf in one ear, so she's not able to tell well what direction a sound is coming from. I would not have realized this without the GPS collar!)

I have not used the corrective vibrations/tones/shock, so cannot speak to the accuracy of them.

I'm very happy to have bought this product, even though I will get very little use out of it until the couple times a year I do manage to have a long weekend to go somewhere she can be off leash and unfenced.

My husband runs this on out treeing feist for squirrel hunting and our English dog for raccoon hunting and it works great for both.

I am on a second tracker of this type, my dog had drowned the first one in a lake. The device specs do not promise a protection against submersion, so it was the dog's fault :-). I've opened the new one and covered PCB with silicone sealant and dielectric grease, we will see if it fares any better.
I am using SpeedTalk SIM for $5/month. The device started responding to SMS command immediately, but for some reason would not appear in browser or android application. I've struggled with it for a bit and then left it alone and the problem got fixed by itself after several hours.
I subtract one star for the complicated setup and lack of water protection, but added it back because the seller was very helpful.

Compré cuatro y los traje a mi país Uruguay. Le coloqué una tarjeta SIM de este país y al principio no funcionaba y encendía con una luz amarilla. Me contacté con el vendedor vía whatsapp y me atendieron desde el primer momento,me acompañaron en la búsqueda del problema con mucha amabilidad y llegamos a darnos cuenta que teníamos que configurar la apn de la compañía telefónica que estoy usando. Estoy muy agradecida por la atención y por el producto que por el momento funciona perfectamente.

The product is excellent I live in a field in Argentina and have 5 dogs, I can finally be quiet if I don’t see them. Even if you follow the instructions it’s no easy to get it work properly. At the beginning the Gps App and SMS send me differents and wrong locations, and shows itself inactive all the time. If you have problems with the set up, contact the email maize@cnhanguang.cn, She was really helpfull, and solve my problem in a short time. Now I can see my 5 dogs at the same time, and the GPS is precise enough.