GPS Collars

Got the Petplan quarterly mag today and there's an advert in it for a collar with GPS on it! you can download an app for your smart/I phone so you can track your dog!

It'll cost you £169.99 for the collar and £9.99 a month for use of GPS for the pleasure a quite pricey but they could be a good idea for escape artist pooches or expensive breeds I think.
http://www.retrievatracking.com/

What do you think??

I've just been reading about that

I'd love to get one for Dexter but alas the cost is prohibitive at present. I'm hoping the price may come down at some point

I think a GPS is no replacement for not allowing the dog to roam in the first place. Best case scenario, you find your dog, worst case, it helps you track down your dog's body. Hopefully not amongst the rubble of a car accident alongside human fatalities. If you know your dog is an escape artist then secure the garden and/or don't leave it unattended - my garden looks a bit like a prison yard where I had to adapt the fence to keep Casper in, but it's just one of those things I had to do as he's my responsibility. As for expensive breeds, I imagine the thieves will soon cotton on and will be pleased to have a nice expensive GPS collar to sell on to an unsuspecting person as well as an expensive dog to sell/ransom!

Fair points, though my dog does not roam, yet I'd still love one of these collars

Call me an overprotective dog owner

I think they pander to the paranoid, over protective owner who thinks they are a substitute for training and foster a false sense of security without considering there are OTHER problems involved in straying dogs ie causing RTAs etc so it is not just the dog that is at risk.

Apparently you cannot remove (ha ha) the collar easily, but anyway, if it makes you feel good and you have that amount of disposable income to spare, why not?

I really dont think that irresponsible owners would even consider spending money on a GPS device , if they let them roam anyway they obviously dont care where they go, I think this a useful way to use technology where required, perhaps if you lived somewhere remote and there was a chance your dog may make a run for it one day by exception perhaps ?

Ah, guess that'll be me then




In fairness, we do have regular dog training and have had for months. And my dog is never, ever allowed to roam.

But several dogs have been stolen just in my local area, so yes, I am "paranoid".

In my book pretty much anything that would help me locate my dog IF we somehow got separated, is a good thing.

TBF I was not aiming my views at anyone in particular! This is my overall outlook on them; if I had invented them and sold them then my post would have been:

"I think they are vital tool in keeping our dogs safe and reuniting owners with their beloved"

But I am not (sadly) so it wasn't!

Its a pity the microchip cant have GPS tracking capability , now theres an idea and you saw it here first and I have the patent !

Wow!

If either of my dogs went missing i wouldnt have time to check the gps, i'd have to leg it to the nearest sheep field to remove them from there i'd imagine .

Luckily I'm responsible so don't need one, and the sheep are safe.