Garmin tracking system

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

does anyone own and use the Garmin Astro tracking system? Both my dogs ran away from me on the mountain the other day in pursuit of some animal. Rocky came back quickly when I called, but Lilo was MIA for almost 15 minutes. Needless to say, I was freaked out. She eventually returned to the trail looking sheepish, but not entirely unpleased with herself. She can cover a lot of distance in 15 minutes and although she is chipped and wears a collar, I am seriously thinking about investing in a GPS tracking system. My husband says the Garmin is the best - but it's also really expensive, so before we buy this, I thought I'd ask around if it is as good as the manufacturer claims.

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

Please let us know how this works!!! Timbow is on leash most of the time and has never gotten away from us, but I would rather know that I could find him if something were to happen.

[katherine willis]

I am using an e-collar which is supposed to have several miles transmission. I got it because I live in rural Maine surrounded by acres of forest as well as ocean. The collar also works when he is swimming. I was very afraid my ALD would chase an animal into the woods and I would lose him. The collar has been terrific. Like Parker, I use it on vibrate mode. I worked with a trainer to make sure my doodle was really trained for it; otherwise you can get a velcro dog. The interesting result is Sandy comes right away when I call whether he is wearing the collar or not (inside our house).

[Debbie and Thomas]

Off topic, but lucky you living in rural Maine surrounded by a forest AND the ocean!!! I just couldn't resist commenting... sounds like a fantastic place to live.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Wouldn't it be better to get them to come back or freeze than to track them down? I would invest in an e=collar if you take them to places where they can run from you.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

yes, that would absolutely be better!!! Unfortunately, I think her hunting instincts are much stronger than her obedience training (she has her MD-UX title).

[Linda and Murphy]

Since she is obviously quite intelligent, get her a cell phone (which you can track) and teach her to dial 911.
;)

I do some Geocaching, which requires a gps, and the handheld Garmins are quite good. It requires 3 satellites to triangulate (not so many in Alaska) and the more satelites available the quicker the location comes up. It doesn't work well in cities with tall buildings, or in heavily forested areas. Anywhere it doesn't have a clear view of the satelites.

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

that's a good point - thank you. We often walk in the woods and on the day Lilo ran away from me we were in some pretty thick brush under large fir trees. I haven't made up my mind about the gps system yet; this week she has behaved perfectly.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

It sounds like it all comes down to a battery recharge problem. We can track our cell phones--if the battery is charged and the phone is turned on.

Bottom line--we would need to Plug the Doodle into a Charger at Night! Ahhh

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

April 2, 2010 Update on the GPS tracker discussion:

I finally decided to invest in the Garmin Astro GPS system for hunting dogs. It has a range of 7 miles and we downloaded the trail maps from our area onto the handheld device. The collar itself is sturdy and lighweight, and Lilo can wear it over her regular collar. Of course she has not attempted to run away after I bought it, but it'll happen sooner or later I'm sure. At least now I will have a very good idea of where she is and have a much better chance of finding her quickly if she gets stuck in the brush somewhere on the mountain. I used my REI dividends and bought it online at rei.com. There is no monhtly fee.

It's too bad there isn't a lost-dog app for the iPhone, because hanging one around Lilo's neck would have been cheaper!!!