sportdog track/train combo collar are they worth the money

[sjkennels]

my training collar has been unprograming it self all the time. and i would like to have just one unit to mess with instead having to look at my garmin and shock collar. so i am thinking about buying the sport dog tek 1.0 training collar/tracking collar has any of you had one? would you suggest buying one or buying something else?

[Ahumphers91a]

I heard 1 comment that sways me to say no. Here's why, what if your "all in one" collar fails? Then what is your backup, unless you own another collar to run as a backup, then what? That screams at me because I wouldn't want to loose my dog...

[Cajun Casey]

I suppose the handheld could crater, but the GPS and e-collar components are totally independent. Worth it? Don't know because I haven't needed either side of it yet. I like the handheld better than the Garmin. If you can make do with a pick-up trainer, the Garmin-Tritronics union might produce a combo worth a look soon.

[lowerGSP]

+1 for seeing what Garmin/tritronics bring to the table.

[topher40]

Personally I hate all the gadgets that are available. Give me one of the old telemetry collars and a shock collar. If your training by yourself a remote bird launcher is wonderful. Why do you need all the info that a Garmin or other GPS unit provides WHILE you are working the dog? I have seen to many people that have GPS that watch the unit more than the dog. When I see that my question is "are you working the dog or the gadget?" How many times have you seen a judge watch the GPS? (If your a trialer) For God's sakes people, work your dogs, handle them, TRUST them, and get something done (other than playing your dang video games). The GPS is a recovery tool, after you lose the dog then you can find it. A disservice is being done to dogs all over the country with handlers over using technology. :roll:

[birddog1968]

hate gadgets but a e collar telemetry collar and remote launcher is ok??? Make up your mind Capt.

I use the Garmin for peace of mind, to be able to see when a dog may be off or having issues medically (by looking at stats after a hunt), or to find a dog on point that may be dug in. Not everyone with a garmin stares at the screen while working dogs......

[myerstenn]

Personally I hate all the gadgets that are available. Give me one of the old telemetry collars and a shock collar. If your training by yourself a remote bird launcher is wonderful. Why do you need all the info that a Garmin or other GPS unit provides WHILE you are working the dog? I have seen to many people that have GPS that watch the unit more than the dog. When I see that my question is "are you working the dog or the gadget?" How many times have you seen a judge watch the GPS? (If your a trialer) For God's sakes people, work your dogs, handle them, TRUST them, and get something done (other than playing your dang video games). The GPS is a recovery tool, after you lose the dog then you can find it. A disservice is being done to dogs all over the country with handlers over using technology. :roll:

When your working dogs in big country that may go over the hill, its nice to know if their going forward or backward and wether they respond to your call to turn, all i use is the directional dog compass . I find it handy and perfer it over a telementry collar.

[Cajun Casey]

GPS handhelds are quite useful for the directionally challenged when ready to walk out. They are also useful for reviewing a dog's pattern and for marking locations for future reference. For example, if I come across an old well or some other hazard, I can note it to avoid in the future.

[gotpointers]

I avoid sportdog products as well as its parent company petsafe due to past experinces.

[sjkennels]

Why do you need all the info that a Garmin or other GPS unit provides WHILE you are working the dog? :roll:

i don't know what kind of land you hunt topher but it sure makes it nice when you hunt a lot of crp when you can hardly see your dog most of the time. i guess you could do it two ways when you haven't seen your dog in while and you think she is on point. just start walking around looking for your dog when you don't know if your dog is in front or to the sides of you. or you could just look at the garmin and see that it says dog on point 50 yards to the north and you can walk straight to the dog. lot less wasted time looking for your dog. it just makes things a little easier. every time this year i have looked at the garmin it has said dog on point and has produced a bird.

when you say how many times have you seen a judge look at the garmin. correct me if i'm wrong since i have only been to a couple of trials since this is just what i have been told. but don't you have to have to have the hand held part turned off when the judge has it? unless you ask him to look at it when you dont know where your dog is? when the you and or the judge is on horse back it makes it a lot easier to see a dog then when you are on foot. now as i have said i have only been to a couple of trials but the ones i have been to none of them has been held in waist high crp. that would sure make it hard to get your big running dogs to range out that far and you sure wouldn't be able to judge the dogs that good when you can't see them most of the time. in my mind you have to "trust your dogs" more when they are in crp and can't see them. then knee high grass along draws where you can see them more often then you can in crp.

just a few more of the pros when using a garmin

its also kind of neat to see how far many miles your dog has gone during the hunt and the average speed of the dog.

when and if you lose a dog it sure is nice to be able to go straight to them instead of walking,driving or riding around wondering where they are. it pays for it self the first time this happens.

now these are just things that stick out to me that make it nice to have. but wouldn't it be even better to have everything in one unit then having one for the collar and another one for your gps.