What We Think About The SpotOn VIRTUAL SMART FENCE After Six Months
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 พ.ย. 2021
- We bought the SpotOn Virtual Fence for our dog earlier this year and we have a lot of thoughts! Check out the pros and cons we've encountered as we set up the fence, trained our dog, and used the collar every day for six months. There's a lot of things we wished we could've known before we bought this, so we're sharing it all with you! From setting up a fence around an extra large property (30 acres!), to customer support, to training, hopefully we help answer some of your questions.
If there's something we haven't covered in the video, ask us your questions in the comments!
As of 2024 the new price for the SpotOn GPS Fence is $999 For an extra $25 off, use our link below and promo code Supperclub100 and get it for $974!
Order your SpotOn GPS Fence here: spotonvirtualfence.sjv.io/3eAXKv
#Supperclub #Homestead
Thanks for such an honest thorough review!
Thanks for watching, Chelsea!
Regarding the defining the map boundaries....with the latest version of the collar and app, you can now draw the boundary of the map on your phone app without walking the perimeter. I only have 4 acres but the back of my property is full of brambles and the app made it super easy. Regarding the static level, it sounds as though you could reduce the static level or turn it off all together since she seems well trained on the sounds.
Thank you for your help 👍
Thanks for watching, Allen!
Thank you very much for this great feedback
Thanks for watching!
excellent review...thanks!
Thank you!
Thanks for the information, very helpful
Glad we could help!
Helpful info. Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
Very informative video. Thank y'all
Thank you for watching!
Excellent review thank you so much
Glad it was helpful!
Training my 2 boxers was a breeze! I walked them up to the boundaries and let the collar beep and vibrate at them for about an hour. Then I let them go. After about 2 shocks, they were good 😂
Glad to hear it!
Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for your detailed review. Your candor about the pros and more importantly the CONS was very helpful.
Thanks for watching! Appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Thanks for the honest review. Thinking of getting one as our 9 month old Vizsla keeps running through the poison oak on one part of our property and rubbing it off on my legs. We’re on 8 acres and we’d probably only do it on 3-4 of those acres.
Thanks for watching, Robert! Ooh yeah, this would be great for keeping your dog out of a certain area. The cool thing, is you can block out certain areas temporarily or permanently. Also - remember to use our link and code in the description to get an extra $100 off!
Thank you for such a thoughtful review. It would be great option for my large property. Just wondering if you’ve had anymore malfunctions and/or other problems? Esme is a beauty!
We haven’t had any other malfunctions! The only thing to be aware of is if we let her out first thing in the morning, the battery lasts about 12 hrs.
I was looking at this for my homestead. Thank you for the review, it is not a cheap option. My yard is only 2.5 acres. We have a fence but my Anatolian can jump the fence.
Hey there! Thanks for watching. I've heard a lot of people warn against these for LGDs. We have a Pyrenees who is also prone to wander. Instead of the Spot On Collar, we'd recommend the Whistle Go Explore device. You may not be able to ever stop her from escaping if she jumps fences, but you'll be able to find her.
Willow Wood I appreciate your comment so much. I have 2 Anatolians and have been considering my options. Mine don't jump the fence (after we put an electric wire on top, no hating, there was injury involved and these dogs are too powerful to be running loose), but it's too small a space for them, really, so I've been trying to figure out what my options are. I have the acreage for them to roam, but will a collar hold a powerful Anatolian that sees a deer? Or a stray dog? Whistle Go Explore won't work--one of my Anatolians hauls ass to my neighbor's house if he gets loose so he can terrorize that dog-hoarding compound. :/ Anyway, I'm interested in your experience. How high is your fence? What has worked for you (if anything?)
I put in a system that used the wire in ground and saw one time the dog got shocked while in the safe zone, luckily I was right there and removed the cooler right then and it was continuing to send out the shocks. I walked around in the safe zone carrying the collar and it went off a couple more times. I discontinued trying to use the collar but have been told I could have removed the prongs and attempt the training in vibration and tone mode and I was thinking you might want to see if the prongs on your collar are removable to prevent a future malfunction and shock. Good luck and nice video
Thanks for the story! Technology can definitely be unreliable.
Check for the occurance of a solar flare if you have GPS issue. It can cause GPS location error. Usually very short term and rare, but do happen
That’s good to know!
I hope you will update us and let us know if it malfunctions again, thank you so much for your review!
No problem! One issue that came up was a faulty charging port. You need to be careful and mark which way is “up” for the connector. After 8 months of use the company is replacing ours because it was still under warranty.
I’m owning if it shocked it bad again since that one time it’s been a year now do you guys still use the collar
I appreciate your opinion and efforts. I will try spending the time with my dogs to orientate them to my property. I was looking for something temporarily for a day or two camping in more urban campgrounds. The cost is a consideration.
Thanks, Kevin! The price has since lowered, and you can grab it for $974 with our link and code.
Your Esme looks just like our Louie
Louie must be the cutest then!!
Thank you for this review! We have a farm that is almost 300 acres and I’ve been looking into this collar. The main hurdle at this point is justifying the price tag for 2 dogs 😩
Thanks Lillian! Totally understand. It’s a huge investment, and we wouldn’t normally spring for something that expensive - but it’s definitely worth it after having had this collar for over a year! Esme is still trained so well that she never leaves the boundary.
@@firepinkfarmtn thank you again for making this video, super informative!
Go to Home Depot and get a bunch of little flag markers like electric company uses to mark where not to dig and place them around your perimeter it’s a visual the dog will eventually recognize and remember the lightning is close. After time you can pull some until they are used to no flags.
Spot on actually provide a bunch of flags for the training process!
Turn off static and use tone and vibrate only. That will eliminate the risk of shock.
What were the two training issues you had, that you had to contact tech support, and received the complimentary session with the trainers? You never delved into that and I didn’t see anyone else ask that. I also saw your other video and that didn’t mention it at all.
Sorry, we can't remember as it's been awhile now!
I let my dog get shocked twice and he was done training. He heard the beep and went back. Did that with 2 dogs.
I am a land surveyor in Quebec so I regularly use GNSS receptors. Those receptors cost multiple thousands of dollars and include GPS chipsets that are far more advanced than those that can be found in a product simillar to this one.
The receptors can have a precision of up to 1 meter (3') in an area free of trees or high constructions.
In wooded areas the precision goes down quite dramatically. It can range from 1 to 10 meters (3'-30') of precision with 3-5 meters being the most frequent range.in a medium density woodland.
There's a bit more to it, but I would strongly recommend not using this product in a heavily densed woodland as the precision would be verry low.
Thanks for your comment, Simon. SpotOn does have a ‘Forest Mode’ that you can turn on for dense tree cover.
I’m curious what level you put the static correction at? Trying to figure out what would be best for my dog
In a comment below you mentioned they were not good for large guard dogs. We have a Great Pyrenees as well. What about this collar would you not recommend for that breed?
We've never tested it, but we have the feeling a Pyrenees would be one of the hardest dogs to fence in with a GPS collar. They have such a strong instinct to roam whatever their defined protective territory is. We purchased a collar for just tracking in case she ever gets out, but we keep her in an electric fence with the goats and that's worked well.
Really great video! Thanks so much. Small yard and dog. That collar would to be too large for him. Plus our dog is pretty dumb;-)
Thanks for watching!
What do you have the correction set to? The correction setting shouldn't be set strong enough to cause her to cry out.
I worked with the professional dog trainer to determine what he thought was the right setting for her. Even a mild setting, if shocking continuously, would cause ME to cry out, so I can only imagine how traumatic it would be for her. 😢
This was intresting that I'm now tempted to get one, but I have a pitbull mix with a lab and she is considered to be a outside dog...I think. What would happen if the fence downhill or in a ditch cause she likes to do number 2 in that ditch?
Ours covers flat areas and hills, just make sure you property is at least a half acre.
Now that Esme is trained, can you turn off the shock completely? Just stick with beeps?
Yes!
What about battery life and the charging cycle?
Check out the comments section!
i want one for my dog , cat & goat . $1500 BUCKS . wow . im too poor to buy this . looks like the invisible fence for me . thanks for sharing the video .
They’re definitely not cheap and honestly would normally be out of our price range. Goats, you can just fence. Cats are not a good idea for this collar.
Thanks for the video! We’re about to purchase this, but I noticed that when I look at the pictures on the website, it looks different than the one in the video. Did you get a promotional, or new version? Wondering if I should wait till something new comes out.
They’ve come out with a new version since we bought ours!
@@firepinkfarmtn gotcha. The new one looks less modern to me ha. Thanks for the reply!
@@davideasley8824 Did you end up buying? It looks like the new one is missing a display which is actually a good thing - the old one gets pretty scratched up if you have a very active pup like ours.
@@firepinkfarmtn yes! We did. It’s been great. And you’re right. No display. In a way, the new one looks less “modern” so I thought it might be the other way around. But the app works great. No reason for a screen.
@@davideasley8824 amaaazing to hear!
I recently purchased the spot on collar and I pray that what happened to your dog doesn’t happen to my dog.
I think you should be fine, it hasn’t happened since
From 7:00 forward is exactly the reason why you never ever use shock for dogs and why it's never justified. What an absolute terrifying experience for the poor dog.
Thanks for watching, Sanna. Yes, it is terrifying and we do address it. Thankfully, ever since Esmy has never been shocked again! She also hasn't escaped, gone to the road, or anything else, thanks to this collar.
We bought two Spot On collars and have about twenty acres we "fenced" off with this system. We used the point to point method to establish the fence boundary and it works perfectly. The company has the best real human support, if you ever need it, of any company we have ever dealt with. The price of the collars seems small for how perfectly well these collars work. We know exactly where are two dogs are at any moment and that is priceless to us.
Absolutely! We had the same experience. We are VERY opinionated people and anything we buy gets farm tested, and this thing is a great product.
is there an app and can you locate / track the dog realtime?
Yes, If you pay for the subscription.
Hey! Do you know if it works as well with streets? I plan on using it for my cat, he got hit by a car and luckily survived, but now I‘m very concerned for him and would love a barrier so he never crosses the street again
Hi Laura, sorry to hear about your cat! I wouldn’t recommend it for any space that isn’t your personal property. I also believe it’s only meant for dogs.
How does it work when a dog (say a border terrier mix that's got high prey drive towards kittens 4mos and younger) takes off after something. Does the fence stop them?
Or shepherd after a coyote that's going after the farm critters?
What keeps them from crossing that invisible barrier?
We’ve mentioned in other comments but we do not recommend for LGDs. Ideally, by the time your dog is truly trained to the fence, the beep warning reminds them and they turn right back around. There’s no guarantee the fear of being shocked will outweigh their natural drive to hunt or kill, but that’s a separate training procedure.
Shepherd is just a 65ish # German shepherd. She's not prey driven, but she looked out for the cats and chickens. I had to look up what was defined as LGD. And she's not on the list. She's smaller than all them.
@@firepinkfarmtn whats LGD?
@@jessiemcdermott4662 Livestock Guardian Dog. Anatolian shepherds, great Pyrenees breeds like that
So my question is…do you need the monthly subscription for it to work?
I don’t worry about my dogs actually getting out of the fence as we have in ground now. But would like to invest eventually when we move in the future.
It will work as a boundary/fence without a subscription!
How long is the charge life? We currently use invisible fencing and the battery lasts for months. We’ve read where the Halo collar charge last only 8 hours.
Good question! For us, we charge it every night. It hasn’t been a big problem since our Esmy sleeps inside and wouldn’t be wearing it anyway. It’s never run out of charge during the day as long as we’ve had it.
Hi Wendy - Can I ask why you’re considering the Spot On? Just wondering as I’m trying to determine whether to get an invisible fence, like you, or purchase the Spot On. Thanks :)
@@saraslabisakmd92 We have decided to stick with our invisible fencing, which works great for us, The battery life is much longer, and we’ve read other things about the wireless system having issues when you include the house within the fencing (zapping the dog in the house). Our dog goes in and out too often for us to bother with putting on and taking off the collar each time he goes out.
What brand do you use for that fencing? My family has a large property and an outside dog but I'm worried about taking off the color in case he runs off in the middle of the night while its charging
@@darkpath37 we use Invisible Fencing. We just moved and put it on our new property and he’s doing great with it. We leave it on him all the time and only take it off when we take him for walks. He understands it’s ok to leave the yard when he’s on a leash.
Omg I feel so bad for your pup being shocked like that! 😢 hope she’s doing better
Yes, she's doing great! Hasn't happened again and she always stays in the boundary on about 30 acres.
Just curious, how old is Esme? Our dog is 6 and looking at this
She’s 3 right now
I haven't put the static correction hwv the beeping and alert went crazy while training and kept ringing long after we were well in the safe zone. That makes me very weary about continuing...Id be so upset if that were to happen WITH static correction like it did with your dog. That is scary n unacceptable.
For the life of me - I can't decide between SpotOn and Halo. Thoughts?
We can only speak for this one, but it's been a great experience so far.
We just sent the Halo collars back and are considering giving spot on a try. If you don’t have a good cell signal with the companies they use (not Verizon!) you will not be able to use the functions on the halo app unless the collar is close enough for Bluetooth or WiFi connection. The last straw for us was our dog being corrected on our front porch, 40’ from the boundary!
Fuuuuuck. This sounded so great until you mentioned the part where she got shocked for 10 seconds straight. The expense I can get live with, but man that scared me. Thank you for being honest with your review. As far as I can see this is still the best system out there, so it's probably still in our future.. but I'll have to be careful.
Yeah, that was terrible - but it has never happened again thankfully.
So you electrocuted your dog for 10 seconds straight? I guess that’s one way to make sure she doesn’t leave the area.. in 6 weeks, you can train a dog to stay on the property without torturing them
@@mikevidauri1773 hey Mike - if you’d volunteer your free labor to train our next dog - we’ll take you up on that! WE didn’t shock her - as explained in the video - it was some type of malfunction with the gps collar.
Do you need to get a extra line added to your phone bill?
SpotOn offers cellular plans from $6-$10 a month depending on if you choose to bill it all at once or not.
Is this cellular line just needed for the tracking function? Or also for the containment feature? In my area Verizon is the main provider and in your video it appears at and t/t-mobile is what they use
@@Rockwoodrebel Our subscription is for live tracking and notifications if you dog leaves the fence. The GPS fence will work without a monthly subscription.
this thing only beeps? No zappy?
It has both
We just received the Halo collar. And the accuracy is TERRIBLE. We live in a rural mountain area in northern VA. Seriously debating if we should tey spoton. It says it has more satellites. Our cell service is very spotty where we live. I was wondering how rural you guys are? Do you have any accuracy issues with spot on?
Hey Laura! We're also in a very rural area. The GPS works, and our collar's boundaries work perfectly (they warn when close and then shock crossed). However, we can't use the tracking function where we are. How big of a property do you have? We started with a very small boundary, then progressed up to our full 30 acres.
@@firepinkfarmtnoh good! Gives a little relief. Our main fence will be about an acre. And then we have property in another very rural area that is about 20 acres.
The size is rediculous big for mediums and small dogs
Thanks for your comment. Our little Esmy is super comfortable with it.
does this work on smaller property that is less than an acre?
Hi Tammy, the website says it can work on a property as small as a half acre, but I’d be a bit nervous. Sometimes the gps points can drift momentarily by a certain amount of feet, so if you’re right by the road with a total of less than an acre it might not be the best option. You might look into PetSafe collars or in ground fences.
We bought 2 collars last July and they have been nothing but headaches. They are so frustrating for us and the low battery charge time makes it very impractical for our dogs that live outside 24/7. Now after 6 months, the one collar wont charge at all and they're both getting "the green death".
Hey guys! So sorry to hear that. Did you reach out to Customer Service for warranty replacement of the one that isn’t charging? No matter what, you’ll need to charge any collar, but how often are you needing to do that?
@@firepinkfarmtn Yes I spoke with them and they are both in the box ready to get shipped back for warranty. Unfortunately we live in Canada so the shipping is outrageous.
We have to charge them at least twice a day. Both collars have green corrosion coming out of the charge ports.
Try that on a Pyrenees 😂
Oh heck no! We know it wouldn’t work on one. We have a sweet Great Pyrenees but she would wander for miles if we let her. Thankfully, she stays in with our goats inside moveable electric fence. Only broken out once to get a bobcat, and another time when we brought new goat babies home.
We know GPs can be stubborn, but we have many Pyrenees using our system. It does require training to get them used to staying within the boundary.
So it’s not a GPS device? Why on earth would it use cell service? Why wouldn’t it just use GPS only like a garmin. I don’t get it.
If you dog was screaming, the static correction level is Wayyy to high...
Pretty sure we were on a super low setting. She is incredibly sensitive, so it may have freaked her out more than anything.
No mention if you called the company after your dog was basically tortured due to an unacceptable malfunction. Did you call them? If so, what did they say? I'd be FURIOUS.
1500 i mean anything for my dogs so they are safe but that way way too much
I hear ya! It was a HUGE investment for us and we wouldn’t have been able to afford it if it weren’t for those stimulus checks.
@@firepinkfarmtn 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
for that price I can just build a fence and save money; no thanks😂
If you can fence 30 acres in a way to keep out a dog for under the price of a Spot On Collar, you're hired! We'll fly you to Nashville and pick you up from the airport.
Has the shocking incident occurred again?
Nope!
I have one and I wouldn't recommend it, it doesn't shock my dog when it is supposed to and she has walked through the barrier casually multiple times and it has shocked her randomly while inside as well.
This is an amazing idea, but $1500 for this technology is RIDICULOUS.
True, but so were the alternatives: pancake pets, or creating underground fences in rocky terrain over 30 acres.
@@firepinkfarmtn what's a pancake pet?
Its more than worthy for price...we had invisible fence installed on 2acres and it was $1800. Training included and unlimted customer support...our beagle loves the freedom and so do we. That being said im going to buy this GPS smart fence for our cabin so pups can roam there too.
There arent any alternatives so its well worth it for lots of people.
Wait until it becomes cheaper man it'll be like two hundred dollars
Not a small purchase or a small collar.
Thanks, Dale! You can now get the collar for $974 with our code and link in the notes!
Nothing customer service did for you was free.
Ok, for those of you with 30 acres; you don't need a GPS fence or any fence at all for your dog.
Sorry, but we disagree! Definitely need a fence for our non-livestock guardian dog. We might have thirty acres, but we’re close to the road and our pup now stays in the boundaries and stays far from the road. 👍🏼
It's not going to work on a Siberian husky. If they want to keep running, they will categorically ignore any stimulus, shocks, vibrations, or sounds. End of subject.
Thanks for your comment.
The malfunction your dog experienced is very concerning.
We know, it was scary for everyone involved but hadn’t happened since
This is nothing an airtag can't do...
Yup, way better than an airtag!
Lol totally not. I NEVER saw a multi page complaint list because setting up the system was EXTREMELY complicated and another few about the customer service. Turns out if people don't have a youtube channel to put them on blast companies just don't care. Finally the fact pinpoint tracking is available if the pet leaves the boundaries coupled with the fact u could buy dozens of airtags for the price of 1 collar....ill just stick with the AWESOME,cheap and accurate system I simply put together myself
@@BMWiE-lz3nu interesting, we had the opposite experience. The company was extremely helpful and even intro'd us to a dog trainer for a free phone call. At no point in our purchase and training of the spot on collar was there any mention of a youtube channel. The airtag has no "correction" so basically you can just find your dog when it goes to the next county. Not an option for us, as we mentioned we have a road right by our house. Keeping our dog ALIVE is of the utmost importance. So, how can a airtag do that?
Not correct. I thought the same and purchased one for my pup but then I read more about how AirTag works. An AirTag works on Bluetooth which relies on crowd sourcing to triangulate location- meaning there has to be other iPhone users in the area where your pup has roamed off to. . so if your pup escapes and travels more than 180 feet or so from someone with an iPhone the location can’t be detected.
1500???? Nope
I know, I know
🙈 Oh No, gratuitous shocking? 😬 Yikes!
Yup, but we can confirm it’s never happened again.
I do not believe you. You have 30 acres and if she is outside and you guys are inside without eyes on, you do not know if she is breaking the zone. That is why you got alerts on your phone. She had broken the barrier, but the system has glitches and did not notify you until sometime later. Why have a containment when you are on 30 acres does not make sense? Put a gps locater and train dog. Waste of money bc none of these systems work 100% bc dogs are stubborn or might not understand humans.
Works for us!
Throw the garbage away!!!!!!!!
Just buy FI gps collar and is no shock to the dog!!!!
I think people who buy shock collar should putting on them self!!!!
I've shocked myself with the collar to make sure I understand what I'm asking of my sweet dog. If it's shock my baby once or twice or lose her to a speeding car...that choice is easy for me. But I understand and respect if other people would make a different decision. Also, I can probably count on one hand the number of times she's been shocked in months and months of wearing it-and most of those were in training.
I’m sorry I didn’t mean any disrespect…..
It just hurts to hear or see any animals getting hurt or being abused ,
Wish you the best for you and your beautiful dog.
I also subscribe to your beautiful channel:).
@@mbibi3294 and no disrespect meant to you - but I am thinking seriously of getting some brand of invisible fence for my two dogs (although after watching this video, I doubt I would consider this brand - but I only have an acre, not 30). My HOA does not allow fencing and whenever I work outside in the yard, I have to keep my dogs confined to a deck. I know they would love to be with mom, and take in all the smells on the ground - rather than just peer over a deck railing. I am guessing, after being properly trained, neither will ever get shocked. So where is the problem? To be able to see my dogs running in the yard - horsing around without a long lead - has to give them so much more happiness compared to the small potential of getting a correction. I think you should consider the big picture - weigh the pros and cons - before making a judgement. Again, no disrespect intended - so your concerns will be on my mind as well during training. The better the training, I hope the better the outcome. But the thought of knowing they will be able to run and explore in the woods without supervision makes the cost, time, and effort so worth it! Because, in the end, it's the dogs that benefit - not me, that's for sure!
Lost me at 1500. I’ll stick to my 300 dollar pet safe wireless fence.
what is that system called
@@GodLovesYou5635 pet safe wireless fence
Thanks, Richie. You can now get the collar for $974 with our code and link in the notes!