Gun Dog Forum

Getting a gsp pup next month and I'm looking for a good e-collar with gps and stimulation, any recommendations?

No advice on brand, but understand if you need to send your combo unit in for repair for one or other of the features, you're left with nothing until you get it back. With separate units, you have at least one to work with in that event.

I use a Garmin Tritronics Field 70 and a Garmin astro 420. The dog has to wear two collars but that is not a issue. Most of the time for training you only need the 70. Actually all of us got along quiet nicely with out the tracking collar before we had one and in 70 years of hunting I have only lost one dog and that was a gun shy hound. he was laying on my coat the next morning. the Astro is nice in the grouse woods or to find my truck when I get lost.
Most people will recommend a Garmin 550.I guess they work......Cj
Oh, Yeah; I know almost everything about GSPs If that was really the advice you need.

I do field events, so a combination unit with stim is not an option for me. Not permitted by the running rules. Sooo, two collars.

I have an Astro 430(I think that is the number??) and I like it a lot. If I know the grounds I am training on and have a good idea of where the dog is... I find I can pretty much figure out what the dog is doing, even though I may not have it in view.

For e-stim, I have an old Tritronics Flyway Special that does everything I want for an adult, trained dog. Trained several dogs to a fairly high level with that old TriTronicsover the years.

More recently I bought have a Sportdog 2525(again I think that's the #) that has tone and vibrate functions, which I have found very useful in bringing along a youngster.

There are lots of folks on this board with years of experience in training bird dogs and are here to help. So ask your questions when you have them.

As previously mentioned, the Garmin 550 Pro seems to be a good, simple combo unit based on comments by a couple of folks I know who have them.

RayG

I have gotten excellent service from Tri-Tronics and now Garmin for decades. Using a 550 Plus now with mini TT-15 collars and like em both. Going to add the Instinct Watch next. Have used my 550 Plus extensively in many different states and terrains, it has performed as designed in all of them. It has best in class ecollar training features and all that I need for GPS location capabilities of my dog while running or pointing. One transmitter on the dog and one controller on me is a wonderful thing.

One thing seldom mentioned but is a big benefit for me, is the size of the mini tt-15 collars allows me to put them on a puppy at an earlier age. Having GPS on my puppy at an early age makes for great peace of mind and allows me to let the pup develop and explore in cover with minimal interference from me while doing it. That makes a big positive difference in how they develop and sets us up for a lifetime partnership we both enjoy.

OP... get the pup first. You will have plenty of time to evaluate which collar fits your need. The way things upgrade and improve there might be something better by the time your pup's ready for collar training.