I travel with my GSD Service dog all over. I am going Turkey Hunting and staying in a real nice lodge where I go every year. The Lodge is in a very Wooded rural area. This year I will be bringing my dog since he is now trained and working well. Even though the dog will be in the crate in my room while I am out, I fear the worst...like he might get lost somehow in the middle of nowhere.

Is there a GPS collar I can buy that will help me locate him should something like this happen? One with exceptional range?

I won't begrudge a $30K dog a $300 collar, if you know what I mean.

I appreciate the help.

Can't think of the name of it, but there is kind of a pet locator that is on the market. Kind of like a LOJAC. Maybe someone can think of the name. Don't know the cost but it didn't see all that outrageous if I remember correctly.

DFrost

http://www.pettracker.com/pet-gps

Reviews are VERY mixed.

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Tracking-Bundle-Wireless-Transmitter/dp/B003SVQSSG/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt

Consistently good reviews and have a proven track record. The price includes a GPS unit.

I would definitely go with well known brands. Garmin transmitters work great from what I've heard from family that hunt in hilly areas.

I looked at a few cellular based designs (Tagg and Pocketfinder being the two most popular) and decided on a Pocketfinder, which I've had now for about 7 months.

Here's my thoughts on it and some reasons I chose it over the Tagg.

Both of these devices use cellular communication to report the trackers location and are designed to fit on a collar. Tagg works on Verizon's network and PocketFinder uses AT&Ts network. I have good coverage from both in the areas I frequent so network wasn't a concern to me but may be for you.

Pocketfinder is a small plastic puck, about the size of two oreo cookies stacked on top of each other. It is completely sealed and very durable. I would leave it on a dog that's swimming and wouldn't be too concerned if I accidentally threw it 30 yards or so on pavement... it seems pretty bulletproof. It comes with a black nylon pouch that attaches to the collar and holds the device.

Tagg is a bit slimmer but wider so it doesn't stick out as far from the collar but does extend along the length of the collar due to a set of wing shaped rubber antenna. It uses some sort of plastic do-hickey that attaches to the collar and then the device clips onto it. I've not examined it closely but have read numerous reports of dogs losing the device when it popped off the base or when another dog decided to give the device a bit of a chew. This was my primary reason for deciding against the Tagg system.

Both have the ability to track via web site and via mobile app for Android and iOS. I've only used the Pocketfinder site/app and have been happy with it. Currently I've got it configured to alert me via text message if my dog leaves my home and when she returns home. I am also alerted when she begins travelling more than 25mph (she's in a car I'd assume). It can be configured with multiple areas so you could set up an alert if they arrived/left daycare or a trainer and can set the areas to be large or small diameters. You can also configure how often the device reports its location. The frequency directly affects battery life.

The way I've got frequency configured, the device checks in every 5 minutes. When it checks in it reports the current location and determines whether I've altered it's reporting frequency. This way, if I set it to realtime location reporting it will switch to this mode within 5 minutes. I can also alter it to check in less often but I don't see a reason.

I get about 1 full day of use with this setting. When I put my cell phone on it's charger at night, I put the pocketfinder on it's dock as well.

I think Tagg had some neat features that tied in to it's charger/base station. I didn't get to play with that but believe it reports to the base station directly when it's in range and switches over to cellular when it gets out of range.

Pricing was similar, with initial cost being about $150 and a monthly cost (to cover the cellular service) of about $10-15. Tagg did seem like a better deal for multiple devices since they let you add another for $5 and Pocketfinder didn't have any quantity discount pricing.


These devices vary a bit from the Garmin style stuff. I believe a lot of those systems are a collar device that reports back directly to a handset (a bit like an e-collar since it has two parts). Those don't seem to have any recurring costs but I'd suspect the range is limited since they're not relaying off of cell towers.

When I had to travel and left my dog with a sitter, it really gave me a good piece of mind to be able to look and see where she was. It is also comforting to know that, if she were to wander or get snatched up somehow, I could see where she's been and where she's going. (it does keep a historic record of where the tracker has gone)

I'm sure I've left some unanswered questions regarding the solution I'm using so if you've got any questions, ask away

Bryan

Here's a pic of the device on Valentina's collar. She's probably about 75lbs in this pic.

http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2985051/Photo%20Oct%2013%2C%206%2043%2022%20PM.jpg

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Here's a screen shot of how the app looks on my phone; I'm at work and represented by the blue dot. She's marked with her photo.

http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2985051/Photo%20Apr%2023%2C%2011%2026%2046%20AM.png

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Here's a closeup of her location. She's indoors and the mark is about 25 feet or so off of her actual location. Like most GPS based technologies, it doesn't locate well indoors. (I've never seen issues with dense woods, etc though)

http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2985051/Photo%20Apr%2023%2C%2011%2033%2053%20AM.png

Wow Bryan, thanks so much for your thorough review! I lost two dogs while camping for three months and if I had had a tracking collar of some sort I would have been able to find them within hours instead of assuming they were dead because it was the middle of winter. The price seems reasonable. Maybe I'll give one of these brands a try if I ever get the time to do some serious backwoods camping again.

I bought mine when Valentina ran off one day hiking. She had been on leash and was trying out a brand new pack when I asked her to hop up on a park bench while I rested. She didn't account for the pack when she jumped up and went flopping over onto the ground which spooked her and she took off running. I found the pieces of the pack a quarter of a mile down the trail and found her just standing there, looking terrified, another half mile or so later. I'm very glad she stopped (the pack catching on trees, etc must have really made it that much scarier) and that she stayed on the trail. Recognizing how badly this could have worked out lead me to make the purchase.

Bryan can you cancel the service for times when you don't need it? For the most part I don't need a tracker collar unless I'm going camping or on a long hike.

I use the Garmin Astro every day. It works great and I love it for peace of mind.

I live in an area where cell-phone reception is often spotty to non-existent. The Garmin Astro communicates directly to the collars-satellites so cell service isn't necessary.

I especially like that I am able to upload detailed topographic maps to the GPS receiver so I can use the GPS for navigation in general.

Garmin recently came out with the "Garmin Alpha" which includes e-collar and GPS tracking. A nice two in one feature.

I paid $500 for the GPS-collar bundle. Each additional GPS collar for the dogs was $200 each (gun-dog supply sells them and is a nice company). It was worth it to me and the system has held up to over 2,000 miles of running in extreme terrain and all weather conditions. Highly recommended and no monthly/yearly fee.