The GPS Dogtra Pathfinder 2 GPS monitoring and training system is a complete GPS Electronic Cervical System that allows you to map, monitor, track and train your dog or dogs remotely. The Dogtra Pathfinder 2 is for dog owners who hunt and train with their sports dogs. This advanced collar and remote work with your iPhone or Android cell phone, allowing you to track your dog or dogs up to nine miles, which is fantastic for hound hunting. We found that this also works on a single dog in a tall field of tall grass. This system shows exactly where your dog is without you having to panic. We also like integration with Apple Watch.
The Dogtra Pathfinder 2 system comes with a GPS receiver as well as a GPS connector that connects the system to your Dogtra Pathfinder 2 app. The system is simple enough to get up and running quickly in about 15 minutes with a little reading of the manual. The system works with the GPS receiver in your dog and the GPS connector with you. You run the entire system with your cell phone at the Pathfinder application 2. The system uses lithium polymer batteries that are loaded quickly in less than four hours and last up to eight hours.
The Pathfinder app is incredibly easy to use. Regardless of what phone you have, it’s important to make sure that while hunting and training you have a solid external battery for backup. The last thing you want is to be in the field and without cell phone battery with several hunting dogs.
I also recommend a solid waterproof case for your phone and something sturdy to keep your phone safe. Hunting can be a contact sport and it’s important to keep your expensive gear safe. The GPS connector is lightweight and I was able to strap it to my backpack out of the way; It is so light that you never know what you are there. We like the bright yellow color of this receiver as it helps us find it when we need it. It is also waterproof.
We found Bluetooth connectivity on our phone to quickly and easily pair with the system. We took our pup to the field and I was able to set up a moving fence which is perfect to know exactly where your dog is within a defined space based on an adjustable radius. This allowed me to keep my dog within a defined space and to know that he was not getting too far ahead of me. When he went a step further than I wanted, I was able to sing it quickly and easily to let him know that he wanted him back. I have purposely trained my dog that any tone, regardless of what he is doing at the time, is his call to come back to my side and heel.
The Pathfinder2 system also has a Geo-Fence which allows you to restrain your dog based on points you select on a map. You will receive an alert and the app will inform you about the status of the dog, whether it is inside or outside the fence. The Geo-Frence will not automatically correct the dog, but will allow you to make corrections to your dog based on the alerts you get.
Pathfinder 2 has a new electronic fence that allows you to contain and correct your dog automatically if it leaves the containment area that you establish. The e-fence has the option of offering automatic corrections when your dog leaves its limit. The collar will vibrate when the dog is close to the limit and will give a five-second boost command when he goes out of the limit. This fence solution can help train your dog to stay on your property without the expense of installing a true electronic fence.
This system can track and work with up to 21 dogs, perfect for the raccoon or bloodhound hunter. One of the things we liked about that was that we could use the patrolling feature and would switch between tracking devices for each of our dogs every five seconds and see everything through a satellite map using Google Maps. Switch to Adjust everything to the screen, we could see all the dogs at once on a big map. We can switch between a topo map and an aerial photographic view. The Pathfinder 2 application allows you to quickly and easily customize the configuration for you and have incorporated profiles for highland hunters, hunters and pig hunters.
The dog’s necklace is impermeable at 33 feet. With the amount of swimming our dog does while training and hunting, we are thankful for a solid waterproof collar. Daily dipping of this collar during summer training sessions has shown us that it will handle just about anything we can throw at it.
While this collar is specifically for training and hunting, it’s kind of nice when we’re not hunting so we know exactly where our dog is at all times. The only time our dog moved away from us to chase a fox while walking through the neighborhood, it was pleasant to know exactly where our dog was and be able to get him away from the fox in the backyard of our neighbor.
I recommend that you download all of your maps for the areas you are hunting so that you have offline maps to use where you don’t have cell service. Several of our best pheasant and grouse hunting spots have very spotty cell service. And the discharge of maps without connection has made a difference in our ability to see where we are. Speaking of training, you can easily disable the E-Collar tab in your settings, select Tracking Only mode, and the collar can be used in field trials and competitions where tones, vibrations, or stimulation are not allowed.
I found this system to be intuitive and easy to use, but it requires very heavy use of your cell phone. After using the Dual Dogtra T&B system in recent years, the Pathfinder 2 system is rich in functions, but I find my remote control and the ability to quickly press a button. I also find myself looking at my screen to see if I am pressing the correct buttons on my phone. However, if you need monitoring and is working with several dogs, I would not hesitate to make the leap to the Pathfinder 2 system only for the exploiting and extended scope of the entire system: nine miles is quite substantial for follow -up. The Dogtra Pathfinder 2 System is available and retails for $429.99. Additional collars for each dog will come to $279.99. Overall, for a system with the features and capabilities of this system, it’s worth considering.
