Tracking Dog Collars

[txdon]

I would recommend Findster Duo+, it is a GPS Pet Tracker that sends their location directly to your mobile... It is waterproof...and it has no monthly fees.

The only problem is battery life. when it is in tracking mode it's only good for 18 hours. If someone has one I would like to know if GPS can be turned off remotely and only turned on when needed. I really don't care about the activity monitor of the dog. I would like to go on vacation for a week and if my dog is missing when I return find her with the technology of the collar.

From Findster Duo:
"Here are some estimates regarding Guardian and Pet's battery life, depending on the mode you select:
GPS Tracking Mode: up to 18 hours of continuous tracking. Since Findster Duo+ is the only GPS pet tracker to allow true real-time GPS tracking, it produces more positional updates than every other GPS pet tracker available. Consequently, the battery of the modules will also drain faster than other devices, which produce less (and less accurate) location updates.
Please note that the battery life depends on several factors - for example, if you're in a very dense environment, the modules will face more obstacles to communicate with each other, draining their battery faster in the process.
Activity Tracking Mode: up to 7 days. This mode turns off the GPS, so you'll only be tracking your pet(s)' activity and not their location. It is ideal for when you have no need to track your pet(s)' whereabouts, as this mode consumes a lot less battery."

 

[oosik]

AND the paper printed it............makes you wonder who is really the ignorant party here. I guess I shouldn't complain - - newspapers no longer proofread any of their articles, do only limited fact checking and NEVER do spellcheck.

 

[oosik]

I don't want to sound like a grouch here BUT - - the Findster Duo + - is it some type of gaming system. I went to their site and three of the promoted features make me wonder - Badges, Interconnectivity & Leaderboards. I REALLY don't have time for these games - all I need to do is find my pet.

 

[txdon]

I don't want to sound like a grouch here BUT - - the Findster Duo + - is it some type of gaming system. I went to their site and three of the promoted features make me wonder - Badges, Interconnectivity & Leaderboards. I REALLY don't have time for these games - all I need to do is find my pet.

No, I feel the same way. It seems like they forgot about the cake and are selling the icing.

 

[txdon]

The POD 3 tracker has a blackfriday/cybermonday sale where they give free lifetime subscription - a $215 value. I took advantage of it and ordered it. The POD 3 just was released this month and uses 3G. I'll post a review in a few weeks after I give it a good test.
Pod GPS Tracker | Locate in real-time what matters most to you

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I use the Garmin Alpha GPS tracker on my hunting dogs, but that wouldn't work for you due to the battery life, but for years I ran the Quick Track system, I actually still use them on some of my dogs, the battery's in the collar are 16,000 hour battery's that you turn on by removing a magnet, they are really reliable and tough, I still have my original collars from the early 90's. Tracking range depends on terrain, I can usually average about 6 miles.

 

[JRobyn]

I pre-ordered the Findster. Would sure be nice if they would ship before Christmas, but I'm not expecting it until Jan/Feb.

 

[txdon]

I pre-ordered the Findster. Would sure be nice if they would ship before Christmas, but I'm not expecting it until Jan/Feb.

After you get it report back - we can compare.

 

[hosspuller]

The POD 3 tracker has a blackfriday/cybermonday sale where they give free lifetime subscription - a $215 value. I took advantage of it and ordered it. The POD 3 just was released this month and uses 3G. I'll post a review in a few weeks after I give it a good test.
Pod GPS Tracker | Locate in real-time what matters most to you

Thanks for the heads up ... I ordered the Pod. The lifetime subscription has a catch. If you don't use it for 60 days... " Pod Trackers reserves the right to terminate the lifetime subscription if Pod is unused for 60 consecutive days at which time a paid subscription will be required to maintain service."

I still ordered it . Getting the app to work on my IPhone SE was a bit of a struggle. Might be me or might be the app. After rebooting the phone, it works now. Accuracy is good. As Pod says, it's close enough to call the dog. Likely not close enough to find the Pod in tall grass. Battery life at max interval is about 3-4 days per charge. The unit uses Wi-Fi signal or a cell signal to track. Battery life is increased with the Wi-Fi.. Means outside the house, the battery discharges faster. With two batteries, easy enough to change. The charger runs on a USB. I see a potential issue waiting to happen since the cord is only a couple of inches. Can we say Cord failure ??

The attachment lanyards are not to my standard. I used four small zip ties to attach it to a 3/4 inch wide nylon web collar.

 

[txdon]

I got the tracker and it would only track 9% of the time due to poor cell reception. It was advertised as using AT&T but actually had a t- mobile sim in it. T-mobile does not work out here. After spending about two hours on the phone with the tech he finally told me they got a deal on the t-mobile so they could run the special - it is good for those with good reception with t-mobile but not good for me. The tech told me to send it back for a refund. The 9% of the time it worked was excellent. The map showed every tree and dirt trail and the accuracy was good. It showed where I was and where my dog was in relation to me. He said they will be coming out with an At&t sim in January. I might try again if they have the lifetime free connection again.

If you use the adventure setting it tracks very closely but uses the battery very fast. I couldn't track enough to determine battery length but after 7 hours of rebooting and some adventure tracking the battery was down 50%.

I used the velcro lanyard to attached it to the collar.

 

[hosspuller]

Here's the POD attached to collar with zip ties.

 

[JRobyn]

No word on availability of the Findster Duo+. I sent them a message and asked about any possibility of pre-Christmas ship...... crickets.

 

[JRobyn]

FINALLY received our new Findster Duo+ about 3-4 weeks ago and have been trying to get them (got 2) to work right. We mostly need/use the "history" tracking mode. This is supposed to send a map back to their application on your cell phone. In short, it works for a few minutes and/or about 100 yards and then just quits. Findster "tech support" is a joke. "They'll look into it and get back to us", followed by nothing for a week and then, "I don't see any record of where you reported a problem". Going back. Wife is very disappointed. The cell-signal-based ones would never work here as coverage is too sparse.

 

[txdon]

Hosspuller How is the POD holding up? Are you satisfied with the tracking?

 

[oosik]

Another thing to consider regarding collars of any kind. Out here where I'm at, there is a world of old barbed wire. Most of it old enough that its buried but some is on the surface. Twice I've had a dog of mine get tangled in the old barbed wire because of a collar they had on. I have a collar for my current dog and I put it on if we are going to town - ID & rabies tag. Otherwise, he is collar-less out here. Tangled and restrained by old barbed wire and where I can not readily find him - too easy a target for our local coyotes.

 

[GonGonzalez]

txdon,

We have been using Whistle brand for 3-4 years. They are a good company to work with. We have a Jack Russel that formally as a pup, was an off the leash guy. But he had a hard fall and the vet said to he him inactive for a month. When the time was up, he became very independent!. He would come in when HE wanted to.

So we got the Whistle tracker. It's very good. We always know where he is. It doesn't bring him in, but at least we know where to look. We are at the end of a 1 mile private road so normally roaming is fine. But as night falls, he is Coyote bait for sure. Our trick to get him in is to head to the mail box, 1 mile up the road. He loves to watch for squires from the dash. Then we drive in to the garage and close the door.

The apps works good 99% of the time. I don't think you get 5 days of active tracking but We have a routine where we charge it in the evening when we set up the coffee machine before bed.

6 Best Pet GPS Trackers and 5 Other Locators for Dogs, Cats

I also use Whistle. There are many pet trackers using Bluetooth on the market, but Bluetooth has a very limited range and is not suitable for tracking pets moving in a large range. Whistle's accuracy is usually within 10 to 15 feet, and the app displays a shaded circle around the pet's estimated position. When the pet is within the specified Wi-Fi location range, Whistle will switch from GPS to Wi-Fi, which can save power and battery time.