GPS dog collars

[Anonymous]

Talk to me about GPS dog collars, please.

It seems that most of them are made to alert when the dog leaves the yard. That isn’t really our problem, we don’t leave our dog in the yard. She has gotten away from us a couple of times while out with us on a walk or out for a potty and she runs off and we have to go and find her. She ran off this morning, early, in the dark, and I was scared out of my mind that we wouldn’t be able to find her. She chases off after foxes. So we would need real time tracking on the device.

I have seen a bit about the Fi collar online. Has anyone tried it? Has anyone tried any of the alternatives?

[Anonymous]

Your best real time tracking is probably going to be one of the trackers intended for hunting dogs. You won't need the shock feature that a lot of these include, so select one that does not include it. They are bulky and expensive and require a separate receiver unit to be carried with you. Something like the fi which tracks via your phone will be a lot less expensive and smaller, but may suffer from connectivity issues and delays. We went with the absolute cheapest option in the end which was to just put an air tag on the dogs collar. Our dog doesn't really go far, so it is good enough for us.

[Anonymous]

Please keep her on a leash if her recall is that bad.

I had an Fi collar. Worked great for about six months but then wouldn't hold a charge. That was several years ago.

I have an air tag on my dog's collar now. It won't help in the woods, but it provides some backup in a more urban area like our neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please keep her on a leash if her recall is that bad.

I had an Fi collar. Worked great for about six months but then wouldn't hold a charge. That was several years ago.

I have an air tag on my dog's collar now. It won't help in the woods, but it provides some backup in a more urban area like our neighborhood.

She is always on a leash. She pulled out of my husband's grip when he leaned down to pick up after her. And her recall isn't "that bad" -- it's normally quite good; she is a highly trained dog with multiple trick dog titles. We hesitated to call loudly to her as it was 6am and she had run into our elderly neighbor's back yard and we didn't realize she would keep running and didn't want to wake/scare the old lady. She had seen a fox and so she did keep running.

Our neighborhood abuts Wolf Trap, so we are "in the woods" and today she got far enough away that an air tag wouldn't have worked until we came close to lucking upon her.

[Anonymous]

Apple AirTag (they make collar holders) should work for your needs. In lost mode it lets you track your dog as long as they aren’t going into deep woods. In a neighborhood, it’s near to real time

[Anonymous]

Air tag on dog collar. Make sure to check the battery. We keep one on our dog. Found the owner quickly of another dog as you can scan it and not so quickly found another as we had to change the battery. Mean little dog so it was hard to get the collar off but dog liked my dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please keep her on a leash if her recall is that bad.

I had an Fi collar. Worked great for about six months but then wouldn't hold a charge. That was several years ago.

I have an air tag on my dog's collar now. It won't help in the woods, but it provides some backup in a more urban area like our neighborhood.

She is always on a leash. She pulled out of my husband's grip when he leaned down to pick up after her. And her recall isn't "that bad" -- it's normally quite good; she is a highly trained dog with multiple trick dog titles. We hesitated to call loudly to her as it was 6am and she had run into our elderly neighbor's back yard and we didn't realize she would keep running and didn't want to wake/scare the old lady. She had seen a fox and so she did keep running.

Our neighborhood abuts Wolf Trap, so we are "in the woods" and today she got far enough away that an air tag wouldn't have worked until we came close to lucking upon her.

Use a clip to a belt loop or there are straps around your waste or shoulder so no slips

[Anonymous]

We bought the Halo and a monthly subscription is required to use all features. It's HUGE and we were never able to train the dog to use as an invisible fence.

Get an air tag.

[Anonymous]

Op, you should collar or harness your dog, buy a ground stake specifically made to hold the power of a dog. And then get a long coated steel dog line to tether your dog. Your welcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please keep her on a leash if her recall is that bad.

I had an Fi collar. Worked great for about six months but then wouldn't hold a charge. That was several years ago.

I have an air tag on my dog's collar now. It won't help in the woods, but it provides some backup in a more urban area like our neighborhood.

She is always on a leash. She pulled out of my husband's grip when he leaned down to pick up after her. And her recall isn't "that bad" -- it's normally quite good; she is a highly trained dog with multiple trick dog titles. We hesitated to call loudly to her as it was 6am and she had run into our elderly neighbor's back yard and we didn't realize she would keep running and didn't want to wake/scare the old lady. She had seen a fox and so she did keep running.

Our neighborhood abuts Wolf Trap, so we are "in the woods" and today she got far enough away that an air tag wouldn't have worked until we came close to lucking upon her.

Respectfully, clearly your dog needs more training when it comes to dashing away and not listening during “high arousal” events. She seems to be very impulsive when it comes to chasing what she wants, you need to work with a trainer on this specific issue. Doesn’t matter that she’s been trained for other things. Her slipping away despite being leashed up is not good. Also make sure the tools you’re using (harness or collar) fit correctly and she can’t slip away. Also, whomever walks her has to have a firm grip when they hold the leash. You could also get a fence or upgrade it if you can. And if you tried everything and nothing is working, it’s worth considering to go do balanced training with a trainer who can help you and your dog learn about E-collars and E-fences. I don’t think it’s for every dog, but for some it’s necessary. Just do your research and try everything else before doing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please keep her on a leash if her recall is that bad.

I had an Fi collar. Worked great for about six months but then wouldn't hold a charge. That was several years ago.

I have an air tag on my dog's collar now. It won't help in the woods, but it provides some backup in a more urban area like our neighborhood.

She is always on a leash. She pulled out of my husband's grip when he leaned down to pick up after her. And her recall isn't "that bad" -- it's normally quite good; she is a highly trained dog with multiple trick dog titles. We hesitated to call loudly to her as it was 6am and she had run into our elderly neighbor's back yard and we didn't realize she would keep running and didn't want to wake/scare the old lady. She had seen a fox and so she did keep running.

Our neighborhood abuts Wolf Trap, so we are "in the woods" and today she got far enough away that an air tag wouldn't have worked until we came close to lucking upon her.

BS. If your dog is "highly trained" tell it to sit when you clean up after it. Leashes should be around your wrist/arm and in your off hand. If your dog pulled away from a grown man, either it's ridiculously strong and poorly trained, or something about your handling skills is badly off. Step on the leash. Use a prong collar so that any sudden bolting is immediately curtailed.

This is a training issue. Planning for how to get your dog back after it escapes again is the wrong approach. You need to stay in control of your dog, not plan for continued instances of losing control.

[Anonymous]

We have one from Tractiv (got it on Amazon). The monthly subscription is something like $13. It's already saved us once when our puppy slipped out of her harness on a walk and bolted off on a series of trails near our house. Would recommend it.

[Anonymous]

I have a Tractiv as well. Cheap, but works well. It definitely saved us when my foster turned out to be an escape artist.

[Anonymous]

I have a Whistle and, while I love the activity/patterns of daily life tracking, it failed to notify me the two times (~ a year apart) my dog chased something out of the open gate and out of the yard. One of these times I felt she was outside rather long and used the Whistle app "Find my pet" to confirm she was in the yard. It said she was still in the yard when I received a message from the neighbor that she was trying to get in their house.