Tracker for dogs (waterproof for cruising)

[Babylon]

Does anyone have any experience of using a dog-tracker - how reliable, waterproof, etc?

My need for one has become immediately apparent close to home this winter, where my extremely energetic and confident 16mth old Cocker sometimes disappears for great distances on upland walks. This is not a problem if I've walked up from the village as he knows his way back home, but there have been one or two situations a bit further afield (in wintery weather and towards dark) where he has disappeared and not returned to the car for up to half an hour or longer!

My fear is not that he won't survive a night out in the open or that he'll get killed on a road, rather that he'll get stolen - intact pedigree male with a friendliness to all and sundry!

Down the line I'd need the tracker to work when cruising - i.e. along the Channel coast - and be properly waterproof given his love of swimming.

 

[prv]

No experience with dog trackers, but I've used a luggage tracker which is the same tech in slightly different form factor. It worked well to follow my suitcase around Hong Kong and Japan (sending your luggage on ahead instead of dragging it with you is the norm in Japan, and very civilised) so if I had a roaming dog I'd certainly consider it.

I think the quality of apps and/or websites for monitoring the tracker can be a bit variable, that's something to look at in making your choice.

Pete

 

[captainboo]

We have a cockerpoo who is now very much into following scents and disappearing off for a while. For peace of mind we have a Tractive tracker. This has proved very useful as you can switch it to live tracking via the mobile phone app and see where he is relative to you on a Google map. The version we have is the last generation which has a removable battery pack and is 2g. The new version is non-removable and 4g so I suspect that it will be even more wateproof (according to the website it is 100% waterproof and 5 day battery life) - not that we have had any issues with our version even whilst swimming.

The tracker ia about £45 ish on amazon but you have to take out a plan to use it. Ours works out at £3.33/mth over a five year period.

It is great peace of mind especially when out and about sailing.

If you are interested in the tractive then PM me as I have a refer a friend link which should get 15% off.

 

[ashtead]

We also have a working cocker but somewhat older-just tell you roaming boy not to injure his cruciate ligament with all that swimming .

 

[Babylon]

Captainboo - presumably the 2G version is the better bet than the 4G version, in that it would still work in areas of poorer coverage, or have I got it the wrong way round?

Ashtead - you're right, but I simply don't know what to do... except stop playing ball games with him altogether?!

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Train the dog.

 

[prv]

Captainboo - presumably the 2G version is the better bet than the 4G version, in that it would still work in areas of poorer coverage, or have I got it the wrong way round?

Some countries have turned off 2G (a concern for my luggage tracker ) - I don’t know whether the UK’s heading towards doing so but it might be worth considering if you’re planning to keep the thing for a while. I’d expect a 4G device to fall back to lesser protocols as available.

Pete

 

[Babylon]

Train the dog.

A trite and entirely unhelpful contribution - what do you think I've been doing with him, to a 95% success rate so far, every day for the last 14 months?

I'm confident that we'll get there in the end, but as a 'responsible owner' I wish to ensure that in the meantime he doesn't get killed or stolen, which is the greater possibility, especially with the profusion of illegal hare-coursing and car-window smashing types in these rural parts.

In the meantime I suggest that you throw away your chart-plotter, your radar, your VHF, your AIS, your PLB, your mobile phone. None of these 'aids' are really necessary to a real seaman, are they?

 

[ashtead]

I can now bore this forum on the ligament theme having become somewhat well versed of late but if he is an energetic boy then some pet insurance might be also worth considering. I’m afraid I don’t know the answer for trackers -they are super cheap in Italy for vehicles but maybe contacting a few gun dog clubs might deliver solutions /ideas. Clearly Bayer do chips so I would fit one of those as well if he doesn’t already have one but dog theft is on increase as you say due mainly to breeders behaviours in creating a market for abductions .

 

[Momac]

My daughters Sprocker is exactly the same although he is still under a year old.
My little understanding is the dog likes going hunting and he doesn't know he is doing anything wrong.
I did read that the dogs of this sort can be better controlled to remain relatively close to the master.. The dog has to see you as the centre of his world universe.
I know you say its entirely unhelpful but I would also suggest training or at least reading so you can understand how to try to better controlling the dog. It may prove to be an impossible task until perhaps the dog is older .

 

[Babylon]

Thank you Martyn, appreciated.

He is in fact my third dog, all of whom I've trained from puppyhood (from 2yrs old in the case of the rescue) and never had this particular problem with the others. I've read widely on the subject, and obtained additional professional advice etc.

I've spoken to his breeder (who runs a shoot, although I don't work him as such) and his traits are not dissimilar to his mother's.

Once lockdown eventually lifts I'm keen to get additional training for him, but in the meantime I'm equally keen to be able to locate him on the rare occasion he still does disappear on upland walks in foul weather etc - hence my interest in a tracker!

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

A trite and entirely unhelpful contribution - what do you think I've been doing with him, to a 95% success rate so far, every day for the last 14 months?

I'm confident that we'll get there in the end, but as a 'responsible owner' I wish to ensure that in the meantime he doesn't get killed or stolen, which is the greater possibility, especially with the profusion of illegal hare-coursing and car-window smashing types in these rural parts.

In the meantime I suggest that you throw away your chart-plotter, your radar, your VHF, your AIS, your PLB, your mobile phone. None of these 'aids' are really necessary to a real seaman, are they?

Apologies, I didn't intend my reply to sound trite, as it was posted with serious intent. I would have seen it as laconic, getting the message across with the use of the least number of words, in contrast to my usual wordy contributions.
My experience with regard to dog training is that when I had a Springer Spaniel I trained her to respond instantly to the command "sit", so that she almost left skid marks when it was used to prevent her running off while off the lead. If she wandered out of sight she was easily summoned by calling her name or using a dog whistle. I reinforced this training by the use of frequent rewards.
No, I am not against the use of electronics. I am currently in the planning and purchasing stage of a radical electronic upgrade of my boat, but my (centuries ago) Scottish heritage makes me averse to the idea of spending money when less costly but equally effective solutions are available.

 

[Babylon]

Apology sincerely appreciated, and for my part I apologise for being a bit tetchy - only that I have indeed done a huge amount of consistent work with him every single day since November 2019.

If he's only 95% of the way there free-ranging on walks, he's 98% there the rest of the time and at home - heel, steady, sit, down, come, go, stay, leave, eat, bed, no, up, in, etc - and never gets on furniture, goes upstairs or chews anything that isn't clearly given to him. We're even getting to the point at home where a raised eyebrow frequently achieves the desired outcome... its really just the residual problem of the wild dog part of his brain (tracking, chasing, hunting, etc) still occasionally taking over! Chasing sheep is my other worry (he's run off and done this when he's got their scent three or four times since last summer), which is a self-rewarding exercise that is completely unacceptable.

Stressful as it is, I've been experimenting (with some early success!) in briefly bollocking him verbally and visually (i.e. body-language) before we start walking - to remind him in advance that he needs to be obedient every single one of my recalls.

I'm also talking to local gun-dog trainers about him doing a fortnight's residential finishing-school - boot camp if you like - now that he thinks he can be the grown-up in charge.

 

[ashtead]

We previously had a Labrador who was also free spirit and while he would come back he travelled far away. One day my father in law a vet told us it was all about training and yet even with his canine knowledge we never really controlled the dogs desire to run free. Our spanial is so biddable by comparison ,stays close by and far quicker to learn . His only bad habit is to bark if he goes through gates not on the lead or when stones are thrown for him into sea. He does have some hearing issues when swimming but does return once he realises we are leaving . Do let us know if the trading works at the gun club.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Apology sincerely appreciated, and for my part I apologise for being a bit tetchy - only that I have indeed done a huge amount of consistent work with him every single day since November 2019.

If he's only 95% of the way there free-ranging on walks, he's 98% there the rest of the time and at home - heel, steady, sit, down, come, go, stay, leave, eat, bed, no, up, in, etc - and never gets on furniture, goes upstairs or chews anything that isn't clearly given to him. We're even getting to the point at home where a raised eyebrow frequently achieves the desired outcome... its really just the residual problem of the wild dog part of his brain (tracking, chasing, hunting, etc) still occasionally taking over! Chasing sheep is my other worry (he's run off and done this when he's got their scent three or four times since last summer), which is a self-rewarding exercise that is completely unacceptable.

Stressful as it is, I've been experimenting (with some early success!) in briefly bollocking him verbally and visually (i.e. body-language) before we start walking - to remind him in advance that he needs to be obedient every single one of my recalls.

I'm also talking to local gun-dog trainers about him doing a fortnight's residential finishing-school - boot camp if you like - now that he thinks he can be the grown-up in charge.

It's unusual for a dog to chase sheep when not in the company of at least one other dog, they have their pack instinct. Perhaps he thinks you are his companion in this sheep hunting enterprise. It might be a good idea to continually call him to heel before he goes out of sight, and reinforce the habit with treats, so that he will not go off on adventures.
Regarding 'pack behaviour'; I'm not sure of the benefits of his going into , basically, another pack, for training, with no participation from you. You say he 'thinks he can be the grown-up in charge'; he needs to know his place in the hierarchy of your household i.e. that you are 'top dog' and what you say goes. Training by someone else will not be effective in that regard IMHO
Giving him a bollocking before going for a walk will be completely incomprehensible to him, as it will be more logical to him that punishment comes after the fact.
It's amazing how a dog will respond to a raised eyebrow or even a look, mine used to even take direction by hand signals and her mood could be discerned by her demeanour. If she had done something wrong, (she once caught a pheasant and buried it in the vegetable patch), she would actually look guilty when she saw me.
From what you say, you are doing all the right things, except in that area of keeping him close and that's what you should concentrate on now.

 

[Canopy Locked]

We had the Tractive Tracker for both our dogs (the terrier was an absolute sod for chasing deer and she just never gave up until she could barely put one leg in front of the other!!).

The system did work very well, except for the dodgy mobile phone coverage around where we lived in the highlands. My observations of having used Tractive is that it's good but sods law dictates the time they disappear is the one time you've forgotten to attach the unit to their collar. Also as time passes there is (usually) less risk. Our terrier is older now and she's just not so bothered about hunting. The spaniel is now 3 and again shows less inclination to hunt - recently put up a hare on a stubble field (thank heavens I had the terrier on her lead) but he peeled away and came back to me once he'd got to the edge of the field.

I do feel your concern over scrotes who steel dogs - not sure what I'd do if I caught someone taking our dogs, but I'd probably do time.

In a case of the dog being stolen, which was fitted with a tracker on the collar, I guess the first thing they'd do is take it off and throw it out of the window.

The other thing worth mentioning is that Tractive use a CPA on the credit card - I paid in advance for 2 years - had completely forgot about the system as we were no longer using it - luckily they repaid the money and cancelled the CPA after I made a massive fuss.

CPA's the devils spawn!

 

[Babylon]

Thanks chaps - all good advice.

Re the 'advance bollocking' it isn't really a reprimand for something he's not yet done obviously, its more a 'wake-up call' by way of appropriate sternness of glare and voice, hard eye-contact and other body-language from me as a warning to not get above himself once we set out.. and it does seem to be having some efficacy!

The worst behaviour in terms of bounding off is when I'm walking with someone else or occasionally on the mobile phone: this breaks the almost 'psychic' connection we would otherwise have. Funny that!

 

[prv]

CPA's the devils spawn!

Yes - though a few years ago my bank (Halifax) announced that they would voluntarily apply similar terms to the Direct Debit Guarantee, to continuous authorities on their debit cards. That removes a lot of the worry since you can turn off the money-hose at your end, instead of having to convince the company to stop charging. Worth checking if yours does something similar.

Pete

 

[riverteign]

Our dog has a Pawfit tracker. She is a big swimmer and so far no issues with it.

 

[Andrew M]

I had been looking at trackers for a while to use on our dog. Early Dec Vodafone started a promotion on their CURVE tracker, £12 to but then £2 month, with a free phone app. Thought I give it a go and am very impressed, accuracy is great and the app is so easy to use. What I liked is that it's got a built in sim so will work on Vodafone network , or GPS, or WiFi, or Bluetooth.