Pet Locator Device

[Guest Jane88547]

Long time reader, first time poster....

 

My boy Dillon is a runner! He got out last year three times, at night and he is black. I have been looking at the different gps trackers but not sure what would be the best one. Anyone have any suggestions???

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Petsafe GPS tracker. This tracker uses gps, but if under cover, it switches to cell phone technology to triangulate position.

 

But...

 

In stead of that, I would work on strong recall- try a sports whistle. What you need to do is cut a few hot dogs into small pieces. Then with two people and two sports whistles, stand arm lenghts apart with your hound near. Blow the whistle, when he looks, give a hot dog treat. Take a few steps apart, repeat. Then alternate between the two people increasing the distance over and over again until you can stand at least a football field apart. Of course for this training you need to find a very large, empty area (for this training to be effective, keep the distractions to a minimum). My wife and I have done this with both of our hounds and they will run through a gaggle of people and dogs at a dog park to run to the person blowing the whistle. They even broke chase from a rabbit at the dog park to come to the whistle, so it is possible. Above all, fix the problem with him getting loose in the first place. How did he get loose 3 times?

[Guest IrskasMom]

"Above all, fix the problem with him getting loose in the first place. How did he get loose 3 times? "

ditto on that .Three times is way to much.

[Guest sheila]

a GPS isn't going to help if your dog runs into traffic or other dangerous situations. My first thought would be to invest my time and money into preventing the escapes in the first place. I understand that escapes happen, I've had 3 of them myself, in the past 10 yrs. Three escapes in a single yr is a lot.

[macoduck]

How long will the battery charge on the GPS last? What if you forgot to recharge it and then he escapes again? Otherwise, ditto what Sheila and Irskas Mom said.

[Guest Energy11]

I'd have more faith in a chip and a tag collar, myself.

[RobinM]

"Above all, fix the problem with him getting loose in the first place. How did he get loose 3 times? "

ditto on that .Three times is way to much.

 

 

Welcome, but OMG- I am so glad your sweet baby is still here and not killed by a car.

 

Please, don't allow your dog to get off leash. You can prevent it by being really diligent.

 

You have been very lucky - please don't play russian roulette with your dogs life. Are there any other options?

 

While a GPS tracker might tell you where he is, if he has been hit by a car and is lying dead at the of the road, that device you wanted won't offer you any solace.

 

I know that sound very hard, but it is in fact, the truth.

 

Where did you adopt your dog from? And where do you live? can you get advice/ help from them. He sounds like a real character. I am just afraid he will get hurt.

Edited December 31, 2009 by RobinM

[GeorgeofNE]

Oh boy, have you been lucky so far!

 

A dog tracker isn't what you need. You need to prevent him from getting away! Is it a fence issue? Sneaking out the door?

[kikibean]

I know Dillon (he was my foster!) and his mom and she's very careful about watching him. I've never seen a dog that's always looking for ways to escape like Dill is. It doesn't matter where he is or what he's doing, he constantly checks the escape routes. Inside, outside, where ever, he's always looking for a way to get loose. He's definitely a hound that wants to run.

 

I think one time he got out when neighbor kids left the gate open (they've since locked it). I think another time a part of their fence was blown loose and he found a weak spot.

Edited December 31, 2009 by kikibean

[Guest eaglflyt]

I think most GPS tracking systems work by being attached to a collar ... and standard collars don't generally stay on greyhounds. Usually their head diameter is smaller than the diameter of their neck, so it's unlikely to stay on your hound if he gets loose.

I don't know if they make one that could fit on a well fitted harness, but you could check. I'd also suggest microchipping him, if he isn't already.

 

Has he attended any obedience training classes with you? Does he have any recall? I'd surely work on that, too ... along with further bonding exercises.

 

I'd surely try to cover all the bases, like it seems you're working on doing. Bless your heart on adopting a Houdini hound.

[JenniferS]

I agree, prevention of him getting loose in the first place is 1000 times worth it's weight in gold over any kind of tracking device!

There have been some demo-ed in the past, but one of the issues is keeping the battery charged, and keeping it on the dog 24/7.

[kikibean]

The battery thing is a very good point. I wouldn't have thought of the problem of keeping it charged.

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

The Petsafe GPS collar comes with 2 sets of rechargable batteries. The maker claims the batteries are good for 5-7 days per charge. You set a "zone" and as soon as the hound leaves the "zone" the collar automatically begins tracking. You will be notified by email and can go to a website to track the hound. You also have the ability to call a number and have someone track your hound and give you up to date info. You can get a signal location whenever you querry the system to give you a location. As far as the collar, it does attach to a standard collar, but you could make it fit onto a martingale collar. One thing to note, the unit is on the large side. I would say it is about 4" long, by 4" wide, by 1.5" high.

 

Chad