gps or e collar

[indiana mike]

I use the Sportdog Tek. It has worked fine for me over several months and many trips to the field. No issues with antenna breakage and they have taken a pretty good beating through heavy cover. The Tek unit is about $300.00 less money than the Garmin unit but doesn't have the maps as stated. Still it works fine for letting you know how far the dog is and in what direction. There are three buttons for training that can be set up about any way you want them. I use the tone function to let him know it's time to check in. There is also a vibration function and of course the shock function which Is adjustable. The only issue I have with the collar is the size. I have added foam pipe insulation to make it conform better to the shape and size of his neck. The weight of the collar doesn't seem to be an issue but my dog is a 15" male.

[sgc]

Garmin GPS tracking collar

[Remmy]

I have used the tek 1 for about 6 months. I have been satisfied. You can change the antenna yourself. I have broken 2 of my 5. If I had the coin I would buy an alpha, but a 3 dog unit will cost several hundred more dollars.

[indiana mike]

This is my second season using the Tek 1.0 with no problems. Antennas can be replaced yourself. No maps just an arrow showing direction and distance to your dog which was all I needed along with the tone/vibration/shock modes and $300.00 less than the other unit. The collar is pretty good size so it could be a problem on a small dog.

[Pentecostalkennels]

My only complaint with the tek 1 is the size of the collar. I would rather have maps but I didn't want to spend the extra money on a garmin or tek 2. Works good for me so far.

[44magman]

I run tritroics and a garmin dc50 on my beagles even on the pups and have not had a problem . Some times we tread the gps collar threw the regular collar so the gps collar will not slip off. To me the maps are the very important part of the gps I have the topo maps that show roads and even some trails makes picking dogs up realy easy. But we run hare up here and use the same collars on the big dogs running bear bobcat and coyote.

[OKIEDOG]

We test alot of products, but my favorites are:

Pro 70...small, lightweight, shock only system (excuse me...these days it's called 'training system'). I like the BarkLimiter feature built in. This replaces the original TriTronics Classic 70 system.

Garmin Alpha...this is a combination training/gps system. No, in some trials you cannot use the training feature, however, the T5, which is a track only collar, will marry up to an Alpha handheld and there's movement in some registries to permit this collar on an Alpha since the T5 cannot shock.

Those are my two favorites. I like the SportDOG 3225 too. I've tested the Tek 2.0 alongside an Alpha. $ for $, you get more with the Alpha. Range was the same, both tracked equally, but there's just more features with the Alpha and I liked the screen/maps better. However, I liked the collar on the Tek 2.0 better than the brick design of the Alpha collar. If I could have the Tek 2.0 collar on an Alpha system, I'd be golden!

I like the security of a GPS system. It's come in handy for finding dogs and even, just two weeks ago, finding a lost coon dog who'd fallen off a bluff and then tracked a coon into a cave. It took 17 1/2 hours to dig back and wedge back enough inside this rock sheer to a cavern 25' back behind a ledge to get the dog out. He was weak, but okay. Alpha helped to pinpoint the bluetick so we'd know where to start to get the dog out. I was hooked on Alpha before...that pretty much solidified things for me-I'm an Alpha guy all the way!

Mike Franklin

[indiana mike]

The GPS can help with knowing when to use the e collar. If the dog is well out of sight you can tell if he is responding when toned to come in. There have been times when I thought the dog wag ignoring me when called or toned but when I looked at the GPS I was able to see that he was actually coming my way. Again I think the major problem with the track/train collars is the size. I have a 15" dog and still use pipe insulation to make it conform to the shape of the neck. I think they have the electronic design down pretty well but wish they made a downsized version for smaller dogs.

[BCBeagles]

buy the smaller collars Chuck Prather has at Plum Creek Kennel supply and you can do away with the pipe foam.

perfect fit for even small dogs...believe me I know. Good luck!

[andrew_kirby]

I went from just a classic 70 system then upgraded to the trashbreaker, then added the garmin astro 220. All were great systems and each upgrade was better than what I had before. Two collars never bothered the coon dog but was pretty overkill on my small beagles though. Bought the Alpha last year and after a lot of time with the system it is hands down the best I have used and if you really mess with it it has so many nice features that simplify everything, I love the birdseye and having one collar is so much nicer. Being able to add other guys handhelds as contacts is great in the event you ever go down or lose your handheld. Ive messed with the sport dog tek 1.0 never had one but have seen two guys that had them and I messed with theres and after seeing my alpha they soon upgraded. If you are price driven I can see the appeal to buy the sport dog and they make good products, but if you if you can swing it the Alpha is hands down the best thing out there.

An additional added benefit to gps period is the fact that before I had gps I had lost dogs had to leave em out overnight or some may be gone for a couple of days. Knock on wood since adding the garmin gps I havent lost a coon dog,beagle or myself.