I recently teamed up with SpotOn GPS Fence to, hopefully, finally find a solution to his running and show you how to keep your dog in the yard. Our older dog, Jasper, has a bad habit of running out the door and down the road or off into the woods. He is 8 years old and we have been trying to train him out of it since he was 2 months old, when we adopted him! It’s not safe for him or any cars he may come near. So we desperately want him trained out of it.
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One thing that led me to try the SpotOn Virtual Fence is the fact there are 3 ways to create your fence boundary, virtually and without having to place flags or fence posts! One of them is an instant circular boundary. I loved this feature mostly for travel. With the circular fence, I can set it no matter where we are. Once Jasper is trained to stay inside a SpotOn boundary, it will work for him no matter where we are. That is the perfect travel solution to keeping pets in the yard!
The other 2 ways to make the fence are:
- by hand, simply drawing it on the map on the SpotOn app
- walking the perimeter to draw the map as you go, allowing you to drop extra “fence posts” as needed
Both ways are super easy to do. It was raining (for 2 weeks) when we first received our GPS collar so I drew our first fence from the comfort of our cozy, dry, warm living room. Once it quit raining and wasn’t so muddy, we walked the perimeter and created a 2nd fence. Oh, I forgot to mention, you can have up to 20 fences in your app!
You can kind of see how we drew our boundary in the app screenshot below. I’ve hidden parts of our yard and boundary for privacy reasons. On yours, you’ll have a much larger yard area. Mine is hidden with the white boxes.
Remember when I said it was great for travel? Say you have your regular home, a camper at a camp ground, a vacation home, grandmas house, Aunt Becky’s, etc. where you take your dog. You can have a fence set for each location and just activate each one as needed. WOOT!
Once you get your fence area set up, you need to train your dog. The SpotOn GPS Fence blog has many instructional and training videos on how to create your fence and how to train your dog to use it as well as general dog training videos. We are in the process of training Jasper still. They recommend practicing for about 15 minutes a day for a week or so.
He is stubborn. VERY stubborn. But, it’s working. He definitely pauses and moves back when the collar sounds an alert. We take him out with the collar and leash for now. So far, we are only using the sound and vibration but there is also a static correction option with various settings. We hope to train him with just sound and vibration, since he does seem to respond to those pretty well. If we don’t have success, we’ll try the static option starting with the lowest setting. There is a video and guide on how to do that too.
The Collar:
The collar looks bulky and heavy but it’s actually not. It’s pretty lightweight and once we put it on him, it didn’t seem overly bulky at all. He didn’t seem to mind wearing it and laid right down and went to sleep!
The collar is rechargeable so we take it off at night to recharge, then put it back on home first thing in the morning. When you put it on, make sure the GPS locator is facing up towards the sky. (see photo below)
You can use it with or without the static correction and there are 2 sizes available. One for short haired dogs and another set for long haired dogs. We are using the ones for long haired dogs. I have them already in place just in case we decide to use them.
The collar is adjustable and can fit dogs with very large necks. After you have it sized, just trim off the excess. I left 2 extra holes on in case we ever need to size up. This still allows the excess to be tucked in without worrying about it getting caught on anything. It’s such a small amount.
(click images to enlarge)
Tips For Using SpotOn GPS Fence:
Go slow. If this is your dog’s first time using a GPS fence, don’t expect to set your boundary up and your dog immediately know what to do. It takes patience and practice. After watching the 2 training videos we learned that training him with sound, vibration and static should be done in steps. Start with showing your dog it needs to stay inside the first boundary and to go back when the sound alarms. Pull them back and give them a treat.
Do that a few times. Then begin taking them just past that initial boundary into the area that will produce vibrations or static. Then turn them back to the “safe” area and give them a treat.
Once they gotten the hang of it and respond appropriately to the alarms, have someone stand just outside the boundary and see if they’ll come to them. If your dog goes beyond the boundary, the alarm and static will tell them they’ve gone too far. Bring them back inside the boundary.
Do all of this with them on a leash.
Once they’ve learned, you can take the leash off and your dog should be trained to stay within their boundary.
There is so much to the SpotOn GPS collar. I can’t possibly mention it all but know there are huge areas it can encompass. Your yard needs to be at least a 1/2 acre but can be pretty much as big as you need. There is a forest mode if you have a lot of trees on your property (again great for travel). And there is tons of training and guidance available on their website and through their support email. They are there to help you get set up and properly trained. There’s loads of info on their website and blog.
With all the info they have available, it’s very easy to learn how to keep your dog in the yard using a SpotOn GPS Collar. I have 100% confidence that this is the solution we’ve been looking for! I’d say in 2 more weeks, Jasper will be fully trained.
Check back with me. I’ll post an update!
What Sets SpotOn GPS Fence Apart
1. Most Accurate GPS. SpotOn is the most accurate dog GPS in the market. This is because we use a premium GPS antenna that connects to 4 satellite constellations at once. This antenna is designed to sit on the back of the dog’s neck where it has a clear view of the sky and the best connection to the satellites. This means we can get a faster GPS fix and there is no calibration needed so your SpotOn Fence is always ready to go when you are. In addition, we have patented True LocationTM technology that reduces GPS noise making our boundaries the most accurate & consistent
2. Best options for cellular plans. SpotOn is the only smart dog collar that offers a choice of data plans – customers can select either AT&T and Verizon— so they can opt for the cellular service that works best for their area—regardless of the customer’s phone carrier. And… if they know they live in an area with poor cell service, they can opt out of the plans entirely. GPS fences will always work right out of the box with or without a subscription.
3. Award-winning customer service. Recently awarded the American Business Award for Best Customer Service, we offer live phone support and when customers call they get a real person—Monday through Friday 8am – 6pm EST as well as on the weekends by appointment. No group chats or zooms. All customers get a complimentary training session with a SpotOn trainer. We also recently expanded our return period to 90 days, the longest in the market. This is all backed up by our 1-year warranty program.
Have you ever used a GPS dog collar? SpotOn is the only GPS fence with Forest Mode, optional subscription plans, individually activated fences & free returns! I can’t wait to see how Jasper does with his collar!
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I am a stay-at-home- mom, living in KY with my husband and children. I’m a travel and lifestyle blogger encouraging folks to live their life one adventure at a time while also focusing on beauty, essential oils and health. From time to time I also like to showcase my adorable pets along with my family. Along with Cinnamon Hollow I can be found at The Martin Family Adventure … read more
