Chelsea and I love our new farmland in Southern Idaho. We thought that installing a six foot fence would keep the dogs but after a half dozen semi-trucks had to stop in the road, blaring their horn, to keep from hitting the pups, we needed something new. Enter our sponsor Cesar Millan, and his new Halo Dog Collar!
Keeping Dogs from Wandering
As a family, we’ve had a number of puppies over the years. Our last puppy was tragically hit by a delivery truck driving into our new farm driveway. After that happened, I put up the 6 foot fence and gated the driveway so we’d never have anything like that happen again. Unfortunately, I soon found out that our new puppies are experts at discovering holes. I found myself being startled by the blaring horns of large semi-trucks braking as hard as they could to stop from hitting our wandering pups.
A Fence with No Holes
A friend told us about the Halo Dog Collar and sparked our interest. Then, I got the opportunity to try the collar out after Halo reached out to sponsor me. I looked into the features of the smart collar and learned it not only created a virtual fence but also could be used for activity tracking and came with a training program.
A Quick Start Dog Collar
The Halo Dog Collar is a quick setup world-renowned smart collar that uses WiFi and GPS systems with real time feedback. Using the Halo app, any pet parent can quickly keep their dog safe by working with smart fences and a Halo beacon. You can even use it for activity tracking, so you know what your pup has been up to.
Custom Profiles
I unboxed the Halo Dog Collar and plugged it in to charge. After getting the collar paired up, I set about editing my pup’s profile. Each collar gets their own unique picture to help set them apart or remind you which dog gets which collar.
Time for some Field Testing
I am a hands-on type of guy and definitely like to put any of the tools I have through their paces. After a quick drive over to the property, I quickly sized up and fit the collar to Moose, who was more than happy to freely run the grounds.
I jumped back on the Halo app and popped open the “Fences” button to start setting my property’s virtual fence. I was really impressed by how fast the app located the Halo dog collar with the GPS.
Like Finger Painting, Only Better
With the collar linked and located, the next step was to set up the fence for our farm. This process was intuitive and as simple as connecting four little points on my map. I just looked at the fence line on the GPS satellite style map and followed it along with my finger until I connected the end point to the beginning.
Another point of fact that I really like about the Halo dog collar is that it gives you the ability to create up to 20 different virtual fences. For our family, this is absolutely essential as we travel to different properties and different camp sites, cabins, and boating areas that would benefit from having limits set for the pups. This allows us to be flexible in where we go with the dogs and still have the benefit of a Halo collar.
Keeping Dangers at Bay
Just outside the backside of our property is an irrigation canal that has always concerned me. Not only for the safety of the boys, but the puppies as well. The unfortunate truth of labradors is that you always have to contend with their natural love of water. This particular canal has an underwater pipe that sucks down the overflow and shoots it out hundreds of yards away into a reservoir. Scary stuff.
I love playing fetch with Moose in safe waters, but for the longest time I had to repeatedly go and get her and her sister out of this canal. The fear of what could happen was aggravating, and the drain was a literal drain on my productive farm energy. I needed a solution that didn’t require me to pay attention to EVERY SINGLE THING the dogs were doing.
Clear, Invisible Boundaries
I love my dogs, which is why I love what the Halo dog collar does for me and for them. I come from an old school way of thinking, which considers my dogs as both working dogs and members of our family. I love that I take my dogs bird hunting, camping, exploring, and they have a protective family instinct to them. I also love knowing I can keep them safe in return.
Just like Cesar Millan explains and advocates, discipline is the key. I know they love water and would be thrilled to run and explore, but there is a correct time and place for that. The Halo dog collar is simple, unobtrusive, and effective enough to keep ‘home’ the place where the pups stay and play.
Happy Dog Life
Dogs learn early who their family is, and that they are important to them. Like the boys, it takes time and effort to teach them the rules and boundaries. This is definitely true with farm dogs, which is why the halo beacon helps teach them the things they should stay away from – like a hunting bird dog hanging around a chicken coop!
A Collar for a Water Dog
Of course, you can’t get a smart collar for a water dog without considering, well, water. The good news about the Halo dog collar is it has gone through submersion, swim, and even saltwater testing. A fantastic solution for any active pup with no limits on activity!
Would a Halo dog collar help around your household?
Need one nbad
Accuracy?
GPS Level? Depends on your signal I guess. I have a decent signal so…within 2-3 feet. If you saw my Instagram story, she got within 2′ of the fence before it beeped her. AND, the line is drawn by your finger and dependent on the accuracy of the GPS map image…so pretty close.
How big is your farm?
3 acres. I’m not doing crops… just animals.
This collar sounds like it would be perfect for my wandering, Houdini hound. I’ve been looking for a good gps-capable collar. Something she can’t slip out of.
Yeah I like what it does for the “wandering” dog as I don’t like thinking of my dogs as toddlers that need to be watched all the time.
How does the Halo collar do with mountainous terrain? We live in Va and our acreage is NOT flat.
I’m in Idaho and that will be my next test while camping in the mountains. That being said, I’d imagine that if you have a good GPS signal, the mountain issue wouldn’t be much of a problem. I didn’t make em but I think it’s based on signal density/strength. So, if you can pinpoint yourself with your phone…you should be good.
Does it shock them when they get to the boundary wall?
You program it to do what you want. I have mine set to tone. It beeps at them. Also, maybe after an initial shock and tone mode, switching to just tone does the job. It works the same when I use my Garmin 500 Pro but that is a different type of use/training scenario (direct influence as apposed to the Halo’s set and forget style).
What is the tracking range of the GPS to track the dog?? Some are only feet vs miles. I have a dog that is fast and bolts, this sounds great for my 100 acre property with my driveway roadside.
There’s isn’t a range as it doesn’t send a signal directly to your phone. It’s based on GPS signal so it reports to towers or satellite, then they report to your phone. Your collar could hypothetically be used to track your dog in a different city (or even country). You just need to have a fair signal.
Sounds great…. If you have the money a/o only one dog. While I would not put a price on the worth of any of my dogs’ my wallet only goes so far if they also want to eat well.
We all make our choices. There are many ways to get the job done…
Not all that.
Had since August 2020.
What’s the battery life? One full day?
I’ve heard it gets up to 12 hours. Not sure if they’re working on increasing that or not.
Ben, can you elaborate?
I think it’s 12 hours depending on usage. Not sure exactly. My personal goal with the Halo is to just get them to respect the property fence and not try to run under or jump over so my usage is limited so far. Hope that helps a bit.
I will Not be purchasing anything associated with Cesar, thank you.
okey doke
Can I take my service animal on a walk and use it like a leash to keep her by my side, like in a store or at church, or do I need to create fences for wherever we go? I’m looking for something with that specific function. Can sit be set up to do that?
I think that depends on local ordinances as far as “leash-less” but it does have a training feature that should allow for immediate correction. Mind you, it is based on a cell tower reception I believe so might not be the most efficient. You might want to look at a direct signal model for that type of thing. Hit me up on IG @somedayadventure