[JRice]

Hi
We are moving to a house with 4 acres with woodland, paddock and orchard.  I'm so excited but nervous about what all this entails, however my first thought is my gorgeous Swedish Vallhund Greta, i want her to go exploring and i have been informed by the current owners that all the fencing is in good repair, but i'm nervous of her being out of reach of me and i want to know where she is, i would also like one to alert me if she goes out of a particular area ie towards the front gate so my question is does anyone use a gps tracker for their pets and if so can you recommend one?

Thanks 

[Steph Hen]

Following this thread with interest: I've been wondering about getting one for my son.

[harmony]

I believe it is possible to get some type of system that your dog wont cross but I assume it is very expensive. Allowing dogs the freedom to roam unattended in a largish area isn't necessarily one I think I would encourage. Stock fencing generally is fairly easy for dogs to negotiate.

[Scotsdumpy]

I don't know about any specific for dogs but I know there is something that is for humans. They aren't cheap and use mobile phone technology. I don't know if they are robust enough for animals. I know someone who uses one to track her mum who in the early stages of dementia. The problem I can see is that by the time your dog has run off he could have got into a lot of trouble before you track him! I've had similar problems with my dogs who aren't happy with my 40 odd acres and disappear to neighbouring land. I only have one dog that runs off now so our walks are mainly done on a retractable lead.

[in the hills]

If your dog is reasonably trained then I don't think you should need a tracking device and if it's not then I think that it's safest on a long lead.


I'd be worried about leaving any dog outdoors for long periods when they are out of your sight. Any dog can get into mischief and become a problem around stock, etc.


If they are the type of dog that wants to wander off a long distance from you and out of your sight then they are bound to get lost with or without a tracking device and become a hazard to themselves, to other folks stock and a general danger and nuisance.


It's unlikely that all your land is fenced reliably enough to keep a dog in.

[doganjo]

Having three hunter pointer retrievers I would agree.  It is not safe just to let the dog go off on 4 acres without supervision. 

I take mine to a 12 acre field every day for exercise, but I walk round with them and they check in every few minutes or so - it is deer fenced and single gated, but the bottom half is chicken wire so there are occasional gaps due to deer pushing in, so not 100% safe. 

Because of that I have them recall whistle trained and if I don't see them for a longer period than I like they are whistled in and given a treat then sent off on a 'goandplay' command. 

So I would advise whistle and stop training your dog and doing a strict perimeter check to reassure yourself of it's security, before letting him/her loose on your ground. And only when you are within recall distance.

If really excited a dog will manage to get round/over/through most barriers and coudl cause an accident or damage property/other animals.  Your responsibility; your call.

[chrismahon]

You can get 'perimeter' collars here which need a wire around the entire property and give the dog a shock if they get near it- doubt they are legal in the UK though. Our dog was allowed to wander freely here and got through the fences immediately and started hunting on the neighbouring fields. It's taken a year to get her to come back to a dog whistle (not ultrasonic as we worried about the effect on chickens and our neighbour's livestock) and we still have to keep an eye on here almost constantly.


My suggestion would be not to let your dog wander. Unfortunately a GPS tracker will tell you where the dog is but won't prevent problems. Perhaps over time she will calm down and reliably stay within your boundaries, as ours almost has.

[honeyend]

No matter how big your acreage dogs can travel a long distance very quickly and be out of sight. My lurcher can run over a mile in less time than it says for me to say 'come back you *****'

  My neighbour has lost three dogs on the road like this, one ended up 4miles from home in under an hour. They roamed his seven acres loose, one day the young dog took off and the rest followed and after that he couldn't keep them in. What annoyed me is that he was cross with the dogs and not himself and over the space of 3 months all the dogs were hit on the road. Thank god no human was injured as one was a very big dog and it was hit on a major A road.

  I have 14 acres, and they are always within sight. The area around the house is a dog proof fence, and I would recommend Clipex with stock wire and electric on the top so they do not jump it. Its quick to put up and you need no special equipment.
https://mcveighparker.com/fencing/clipex-fencing/clipex-intermediates