Anyone use a GPS Hunting Dog Tracking System

[Tremplin du Chante]

Does anyone on here use a Gps or radio tracking system for their tracking dogs on here? I was looking at theTinyLoc GPS Hunting Dog Tracking System
and it looks pretty good, just wondering if anyone has first hand experience and whether Gps or radio tracking works better?

 

[Paul 600]

Not a system that i would think would get a lot of use here in the U.K, would be good on a Kopov hunting boar.

 

[Jagare]

just before Xmas i bought a Garmin Astro Nordic for the Kopov. Amazing bit of kit. It tells me to the meter where the dog is ,if its hunting ,baying or sitting etc. It shows the track the dog has taken and you can down load the whole days hunting onto the computer at the end of the day if you want to. You can get maps for it down to 1-25000. Range with the car roof mounted antenna is over 20 km . Down side it cost a lot of money.

 

[beattie16]

Never seen them used on deer dogs here but whilst me and another member from the site was shooting black cock and capercailly (dont know if its the right spelling!!), in Sweeden, they used them on all their dogs. Was very impressive in the vast forrests. You couldnt shoot there without using them. They even told us if the dog was pointing up a tree at a bird or on the ground pointing. I do think they would be handy for in the big forrests in this country if your dog was away hunting a wounded deer.

Just though Id share this with you.

 

[Jagare]

I use it here in Sweden on my boar hunting dog.
They were first imported from the US a few years ago. The powers that be decided they could not be licenced for use here because the worked on the wrong radio wave length and by using them here would cause planes to fall out of the sky ,ambulances to crash and the world come to a sudden stop . So Garmin made a version for the Scandinavien market that is the same wave lenght as our hunting radios.
You can get the US version fron amazon.com. there are two types of sender. The best one is the collar type .The one that goes in a harness on the dogs back has a habit of the antenna snapping off.
Should work in the UK ok I think you would just have to put in the map.

 

[paintandpins]

We use them on our dogs as a back up. There was a review in sporting rifle last month of the tinyloc telemetry /gps system that we use and stock in the shop.
They are like most things they need a bit of getting used to and you need to practice a bit with them and not just get it out when you need it in anger.
They are viewed as almost the anti Christ by some traditionalists who favour the standard reporting methods and nothing else, however my argument has always been that progress is normally a good thing especially when its a safety net and don’t forget you still need an element of training to get the dog to stay with the deer until you arrive or it just becomes a giant game of Pac man.
Both have their good/bad points, line of sight needed, range or mobile signal for gps to name a few. This is why we went for the r2 unit which has both.
hope this helps
Mark
Paintandpins

 

[Jagare]

I have the Contact pro with the light sender for when i hunt the teckle. Nice bit of kit but has limited range. Will not pin point the dog like the GPS trackers. Gps senders are far to large for a teckle .
With out a dought the Gps trackers are in a league of there own.

 

[stone]

Alan
which collar is that one??
been looking at the 30's as that seems to be the new one out
ATB

 

[Jagare]

Hej Rich, the collar is the DC30. The garmin seems to be the most sold GPS tracking unit in Sweden. It seems to have made all the others seem old fashioned and everybody i know that has one is more than pleased.
Wait till they bring out one with a camera in it 8)

 

[stone]

cheers mate
got one on order
so glad i made the right choice
just hope customs clear it with out all the extra added crap
it's not for me, but a friend

 

[Jagare]

Hej Rich, just a thought the collar has a built in recharable battery. Is the US charger 110v. Mine came with a lead to plug in the cig lighter in the car as well.

 

[stone]

cheers for that
never thought about the car charger
blimey makes sense

 

[Tremplin du Chante]

Totally agree with the traditionalists and like the idea of my dog always coming back and do my best to achieve this. But hunting here in France in the mountains we often get dogs stuck on cliff bands or in gorges or just running off and although they are normally found (three dogs lost then eventually found dead in last six months in my area) i like the extra insurance and time saving.
I think i will go for either Garmin or the Tiny loc although the Garmin looks less expensive at minute.

 

[Jagare]

am, there is also a argument here about people useing there trackers to go and get there dog instead of waiting till they come back. I want the dog to come back too. As you have boar they are a good insurance if the dog gets injured by a boar or as you say gets stuck some where.

 

[paintandpins]

Some interesting points. I was going to say it depends on the reason for their use but I don’t think on reflection it does. If they are used as a replacement for poor training then I was going to say this is the wrong reason, however as in all dog training it isn’t the dogs fault if the training is poor and it would still save a dog if it gets caught up which a poorly trained dog may be more prone to have happen. However I certainly would not want them to become an excuse for lazy training on the handlers part which i could see happen in some cases.
The right reason in my opinion would have been If used for a back up on a trained dog, you still get the safety net if you lose the dog but it makes location quicker even when everything goes to plan. For instance not all dogs return when working for very good reasons such as the type of reporting used or animals at bay, but then again you should still be able to call the dog off just in case needed, even when in full flight, example being a nasty experience i had on a call out the other week where out of the corner of my eye I saw the stalker raise his rifle to shoot a doe who had been tracked and jumped twenty yards in front of one of my bitches. (he had been told he was not to shoot unless told by me, now no one carries firearms on a search but me). Dog would have hit the deer about the same time as his round and I can tell you i have never been so glad that the basics were in the bitch and she stopped at my shout. I have to say I have never had a problem with a stalker doing this in the past but it shows you can get complacent.

 

[colm]

been thinking about this kind of thing for a while, i have a few teckels we use for bushing cover and plantations for fox they get a bit carried away on scent and can travel a fair distance would this set up work for me any one have experience of this kind of work.

Colm

 

[Jagare]

I use a Contac pro with the light sender on my Teckle when I'm hunting roe with him. The Contac pro light has a limited range but is OK for when the dog is hunting roe. The sender on the garmin is to heavy for a teckle as is the tiny-loc Gps sender. I see on the tiny -Loc web page that they do a light sender for there unit but i suspect this only works on radio signals and not on Gps.
I'm sure paint and pins will put you right as he sells them

 

[MarkH]

Rule 1: Never let your teckle off the lead

If you do then you will also need to buy a shovel with the GPS to dig the dog out of the fox hole or badger set

Sorry couldn't help myself

Mark

 

[colm]

Rule 1: Never let your teckle off the lead

If you do then you will also need to buy a shovel with the GPS to dig the dog out of the fox hole or badger set

Sorry couldn't help myself

Mark

Ye i know what you mean have a couple of terriers as well, already run the teckels with bellman and flint locator collars,
thought the garmin system would be a good back up if they wandered to far.
I have been working them on blood trails for while now very impressed with there noses
Colm

 

[paintandpins]

Thanks for the plug jagare
The new Tiny loc 'mini hound' is radio only but i have to say in my opinion they are a better unit than the contact pro. The forestry started out with the contact but quickly moved to tinyloc. Must say i cant fault the units but haven’t tested the mini. One good thing about the gps units is that they are independent of mobile phone networks so you don’t get the coverage problems.