Anyone Input on the Sport Dog Collars

ditch-chicken

ditch-chicken

Member
Have a Garmin Sport now but want something affordable with Tracking for my trip to SD with my two labs. This will be my first trip out there hunting two dogs together.

Was looking at the Sport Dog Tek 2.0
 
Last season I got a Garmin Alpha 200i to use in the field. The GPS location screen is simple. It shows a big arrow in the dog's direction and a distance. It also has inReach satellite connectivity. I activate it during the hunting season. I hunt alone and am getting older. With spotty cell phone coverage it again gives me insurance that all I need to do is push the button and help will come. That said, the transmitter and receiver are bulky. There are tons of screens and I am constantly going back through the instructions to refresh my memory on how to use them. It is also pricey but it met my needs. I don't think you can beat Garmin when it comes to GPS equipment.

I also have a old sports dog model I use for training. It is really easy to use. Love it.
 
No complaints on Sport Dog here. Had the 1850 for maybe 15 years before it crapped out. Bought a 400 after that; still works.

But TGM has given a very accurate review of the Garmin 200i which I use now. Primarily because I have hunted 640s of 9 foot tall corn in SD and I like to know just what my dog is doing even if I can't see very much in there.

My solution for the bulkiness and screens was to buy a Garmin Instinct watch which links to the transmitter. I wear the watch on the inside of my wrist on my left hand, not the normal watch position in the picture. When holding the forearm up, I can see the arrows pointing to the dog(s) and the range to the dog on the watch face with a quick glance. Works well for me.

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No experience with the Sport Dog tracking collars though.
 
Chestle said:
No complaints on Sport Dog here. Had the 1850 for maybe 15 years before it crapped out. Bought a 400 after that; still works.

But TGM has given a very accurate review of the Garmin 200i which I use now. Primarily because I have hunted 640s of 9 foot tall corn in SD and I like to know just what my dog is doing even if I can't see very much in there.

My solution for the bulkiness and screens was to buy a Garmin Instinct watch which links to the transmitter. I wear the watch on the inside of my wrist on my left hand, not the normal watch position in the picture. When holding the forearm up, I can see the arrows pointing to the dog(s) and the range to the dog on the watch face with a quick glance. Works well for me.

View attachment 3938
No experience with the Sport Dog tracking collars though.
Click to expand...
That is really kool! I would love something I could clip on my current Garmin unit that would allow my to track my dogs. I cannot stand bulky controls like many I have seen on the market
 
ditch-chicken said:
Have a Garmin Sport now but want something affordable with Tracking for my trip to SD with my two labs. This will be my first trip out there hunting two dogs together.

Was looking at the Sport Dog Tek 2.0
Click to expand...
When Sport Dog first came out with the TEK 1.0 I think they had quite a few issues with that unit. Now they have the TEK 1.5 and the TEK 2.0. I don't have any first hand experience with either but their pricing is just as spendy as the Garmin units. If you only need the GPS feature I'd look for a used Garmin Astro. Check eBay.
 
I’ve owned a couple sport dog units. Don’t particularly care for the remote as the few I’ve owned haven’t held up well. For an inexpensive collar I like the garmin delta series- they are three dog capable, easy to use without having to look at the remote and have held up well.
my best units have been Dogtra. My oldest unit is about 13 years now and still works. Recently (5 years ago) upgraded to a two dog 2502 T&B setup. Again simpg e to use without haveping to look at, haven’t had to replace batteries yet, can handle water well- this unit has a magnet setup to turn collar on and off so no button to mess with or leak. This is a pointer type caller setup with run beep/ point beep which i turn off. I run springers and the horn is sufficiently loud that I can use the locator feature in heavy cover and determine where my dog actually is. They do make a unit 2702 T&B with a vibration feature as well, and both these collars come in singe dog units as well. They would be the 2501 and 2701 T&B model.
 
You’ll find may of us here have the Garmin Alpha. 100 or 200i. Really spendy but easy to use and very dependable. You can sometimes find them refurbished, by Garmin, or used. I had the 100 and now the 200i. GPS for you and your dog, training collar. 200i has inReach satellite available, by subscription. I’m old and my DW worries about me when I’m in the woods So I use this feature.

Garmin has this now:

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I do have a simple Sport Dog unit and collar that I occasionally use.
 
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