THE GPS COLLAR FOR DOG

THE GPS COLLAR FOR DOG

Zoom on GPS collars for dogs: what are their advantages and disadvantages? How to be sure to choose the right E Collar?

Today, the accessories made available to hunters are more and more efficient, and more and more practical, especially in terms of connectivity. And among them are the GPS collars for hunting dogs, which can sometimes turn out to be essential depending on the character of the faithful companion. But it also finds its usefulness when you have a runaway dog!

What is a GPS collar?

As its name suggests, the GPS collar is a collar equipped with a geolocation sensor. At first, its use was mainly thought for hunting dogs, whose masters can sometimes lose track of them. But today, this device has become more popular for all dogs in general.

Perfect for hunting...

Hunting dog handlers are very popular with tracking collars. As their animal has to travel over large, sometimes dense spaces, the use of such a device can be of great help. If the dog gets lost, injured or unable to reach you, the tracker will then allow you to find its position in order to find it.

Be careful though, the use of a GPS collar while hunting is regulated. You are only allowed to use this device to stalk your dog during a shooting hunt, to ensure his safety.

…But also outside

If your pet tends to run away, or likes to let off steam pushing it to get away from you, the GPS collar will find its usefulness. You will therefore no longer have to be afraid when your dog leaves your sight, you will only have to take out your phone to find out where he is.

How it works ?

This solution is ideal if you want to know, when you want, the position of your dog, in a discreet and efficient way. The collar has a box containing a GPS tracker, the element that makes geolocation possible and precise.

The GPS chip present in the box constantly transmits data on the location of your dog to a device, in real time. Obviously, this device is equipped with a battery, the charge level is therefore to be monitored.

The GPS collar can be connected to a Handheld or directly by an application on the phone.

The different types of devices

There are different types of collars, cellular network connected and those with radio waves.

The connected E Collars

This is the most attractive device. As its name suggests, this collar is connected to a telephone network. As long as there is a network in the area where you are, the GPS will send you the location of your animal. Some models have a very interesting feature, that of capturing the network of different operators, with the use of a multi-operator M2M SIM card. This reduces the risk of losing the signal from the GPS chip. However, this type of device can only be used with a subscription or a package to a GSM network.

The E Collars with radio waves

This device finds its usefulness in areas where the network is weak or non-existent. It works with VHF (very high frequency wave). Be careful though, the range of this type of collar does not go beyond 120 km in an open area, with an autonomy of 20 hours on average.

Think about what you need

From one GPS collar to another, the specifics can change and influence performance: price, weight, accuracy, range, autonomy...

Generally, the higher the price, the more features the collar will have, such as multi-collar tracking if you have multiple dogs. You have to be careful about this point because not all collars are optimized for hunting.

Moreover, in terms of price, models without subscription are more expensive than models with subscription (annual or monthly), but you can find your way around in the long term. It all depends on your budget and how you are going to use it.

As for the weight, it is important that your dog does not feel too constrained by what is around his neck, in order to still allow him full freedom of movement. However, the bigger a dog, the better it will be able to support slightly heavier loads. Robustness and solidity will impact this weight, but these are important elements to take into account, as well as durability, waterproofing and reliability.

Autonomy level, if you remember to recharge your collar before each hunting trip or outing, this is not a problem.

Where to get it?

There are a multitude of GPS collars. 

For hunting, many models exist, it is then up to you to choose the one that suits you best, according to your needs. You can already see a wide range of GPS collars on the market , TR Dog Houndmate 100/R50 is one of the best Tracking and Training E Collars for the Hunting Dogs.