Opinions on GPS Dog Collars and Soft Kennels

[entropy]

Title pretty mulch says it. New pup. Previous collar 10+ years old. Looking for a newer one that has GPS technology since my days of worrying and chasing are over. Lion Country Supply was my go-to place and still in business. I’d like some opinions here first though.

Also looking for a soft sided kennel. We got one off Amazon, but he’s about ready to outsize that already. I like the idea of folding and lightweight for visiting the kids and hotels. We have a hard sided one for hunting and the truck.

Any and all opinions welcome.

Meet “Bueller”.

[Coyotesfan97]

Take a look at Gun Dog Supply too. They are one of my go tos for dog stuff.

Steve (the owner) seems to like Garmin aka Tri Tronics and Dogtra. I never used a GPS collar so I can’t really comment other than to say Dogtra e-collars always held up for me.

And all my kennels/crates are hard plastic and metal. I have the air crates that are used for shipping dogs in a plane. They’ve always held up but they are bulky. We had a couple folding metal Impact crates in our office that worked great for traveling/staying at training. That’s probably overkill for little Bueller though.

[Borderland]

Good boy Bueller.

I always used Tritronics and found them high quality. Most of the guys I hunted with also used them. That was awhile ago so don't know what the current trend is in E collars, especially the GPS collars.

This is a good forum if you want the opinions of a lot of opinionated bird hunters. They get into fights over just about everything related to dogs. I dropped out a long time ago when I stopped hunting. I had to put my WPG down last summer and don't have a dog presently.


https://uplandjournal.ipbhost.com/to...ournal-forums/

Nice looking pup.

[fatdog]

we had a Garmin Astro unit that was transmitter on the collar and a handheld color GPS unit with topo maps, etc, I am sure they make a newer version, but that worked very well, lasted about 7-8 years before the handheld part gave up the ghost and died, we could always see the dog, even in wooded areas for the most part

[idahojess]

I like Gun Dog Supply, too.
I bought a Garmin Astro GPS tracker from them in 2011 and it still works. After the original antenna wore out, I put a replacement longer antenna on the collar from Gun Dog Supply, and it works quite well.

My dog runs two collars when he is working, with the Garmin GPS tracker and a Tri-tronics e-collar.
Garmin bought Tri-tronics around 2012. I haven't used any of the combination stuff. It would be easier to have one controller, but I'm not sure whether I would get a combo system or not.

A lot of times my dog just wears an e-collar, if we're just out for a walk, mostly for the light that is on it. I could see keeping two different controllers and collars for that reason.

The Astro I have gobbles batteries; lithium rechargeable batteries work great.

My dog is old dude now, but it used to amaze me how many miles he would rack up wearing that GPS collar.

[CDH]

I can vouch for Tri-tronics and have several. Still have the original one I bought 10+ years ago and it still works fine. Newer ones seem to be just as hardy and I have several of these as well. Life around is here rough and so are the dogs so these collars get tested and have proven Tonka-tough. Also, the Garmin stuff seems to be really good, too. The houndsmen I run through the swamp with use them exclusively and they work very well. Of late my interest is peaked towards the satellite fence feature of some Garmin collars. My rudimentary understanding is you set the fence boundaries via gps map and poof you have your containment perimeter set. I'm looking forward to learning more about these.

Chris

[DJC]

Nice looking pup!

Garmin/Tri-Tronics has been great for me over the years. Used the TT Pro 550 on my previous dog, and I'm currently using the Garmin Alpha 100 GPS handheld and TT15 collar on current dog. The Alpha 100 has been used every day for the last 7 years and it's still going strong. Collar goes on him every time he's outside. They aren't cheap, but for the safety and peace of mind they provide, I think it's a bargain...

When my pup was prob 9 months old we encountered his first group of deer and he bolted. I didn't have the handheld on me so I couldn't stim him, but I was able to go back and grab the unit. Hopped on a snow machine and tracked him down 2.5 miles away. He would have likely perished had I not been able to track him.

I see they have an updated Alpha 200 model. For an add'l $100 it might be worth it- even if it's just for the larger screen.

Steve at Gun Dog Supply is my go-to for this stuff...

[entropy]

Thanks for all the input. I’ve spent some time poking around and seeing what the technology available is today.

I took a look at what I had been using on our last dog Max. It is a Garmin Delta. How old is it? I have no clue. It was his collar his whole life, so prolly about 13 years as I bought it post-puppy stage for him. It always worked regardless of temperature, conditions, etc. In fact, it still works now with really no issues...battery life still fine. I just can’t bring myself to use it anymore. Same with the whistles, leads and vests. Time to start new, the whistles are already hanging on the bar wall. Plus, the technology is there to keep the new pup safe.

Although Lion Country is still in business, GunDog Supply seems to have a much better in-stock selection. I’ve been looking at them since there seems to be a lot of positive review here. The Garmin units seem a bit high priced for the features...but they are Garmin. What did catch my eye is the Dogtra Pathfinder 2. I like the idea of having the ability to Bluetooth map info to iPhone/iPad/Apple Watch and having the ability to use any of these devices by simply linking them. The geo fence feature is something unheard of last time I needed a collar as well. GPS range shows at ~9 miles. I’m still looking for the training collar range. This might be worth a call and more research.

I’m looking forward to this. I guess we will see if raising 3 kids to adulthood has give me any skills I can transfer to Bueller. Lol. I’m not sure whether it’s him or me, but at this point he seems much more responsive to a biscuit and a scratch behind the ear that the other four that have blessed my life.

[entropy]

Called GDS this morning and spoke with Steve. Nice guy. He patiently answered all my questions and gave me some honest opinions. Like everything else, he commented on supply issues the closer we got to training season (now) and especially fall. Pulled the trigger on a Dogtra Pathfinder2. I liked the idea of being able to link numerous different devices for the GPS map function, and the geo fence ability as well. Bueller is still a puppy, but the fence and map functions are certainly passive and can be used now and will also get him accustomed to the collar. Keep you posted. Thanks again for the insights. If he stops for more than 6 seconds, I’ll try to get a pic or two and post over in Pets!.

He had another checkup yesterday. 26lbs. Basically doubled his weight in 3 weeks! 😳 He’s gonna be a big boy!