We’ve been looking for the perfect solution to keep our dog contained on our 20 acres for months. Traditional e-fence and gps collars really weren’t cutting it! Finally in our search we came across SpotOn GPS Fence, and it has been the answer we’ve been searching for!

Our 10 month old Estrela Mountain Dog, Roman.

Background

We own a Livestock Guardian Dog named Roman to protect our free range birds from predators like coyotes and bobcats. We’ve been searching for the perfect solution that allows him to roam our acreage, while preventing him from roaming too far. A physical fence isn’t a suitable option, and we really did not like our traditional wireless and in-ground e-fence options. You’re limited to a small area, or you’re stuck burying thousands of feet of line. Not to mention the frustration when there’s a line break.

Our solution for several months was to have GPS tracker on him combined with an e-collar. When we were notified that he left our property, we’d call him back using the e-collar remote. This system works, but there’s always a delay in notifications, and it’s a pain to have to call him back repeatedly when he leaves. Eventually we came across SpotOn GPS Fence, and it has been exactly what we needed!

About SpotOn

SpotOn is a GPS powered e-fence solution for properties of 1/2 acre or more. You simply set an e-fence boundary within the app, load it to your dogs collar and you’re ready to go!

E-Fence Boundaries

There’s two ways to create your boundary line within the app. You can draw it manually on a map or you can walk the perimeter of your boundary for even more accuracy. The benefit of this collar is your e-fence can be quite literally be any shape or size you want! You can set a fence of 1,000+ acres if you need to. It was super easy to create the e-fence in the app and load it to Roman’s collar.

The accuracy of the e-fence still amazes me. In the past with invisible fences, I’d have have trouble with delayed corrections or warning tones, which make it confusing for the dog. I test the SpotOn boundary line periodically by walking through the boundary with Roman’s collar, and I’m pleased that the fence line is EXACTLY where I set it. Their website says to expect a little drift, but I haven’t seen ours move at all yet. In that regards, it is similar to a physical fence.

You can also use this collar ANYWHERE. Going to visit friends or family or going on vacation? You can install an e-fence around their property for your dog!

The SpotOn collar is waterproof to IP67 standards

The Collar

The SpotOn collar durable and waterproof to IP67 standards. Roman has swam in his often with absolutely no impact to the collar. It’s also designed in a way that makes replacing parts quick and easy IF it did happen to break.

It comes with two sets of contact points - one for short hair and one for long. If your dog is exceptionally furry (like Roman), I recommend clipping a bit of hair where the contact points sit. You can also opt to use the collar without the contact points if your doesn’t need static correction (it will play a tone and vibrate only).

how it works

SpotOn excels in the number of satellites it connects to. It connects to a network of 128 satellites across four global satellite systems (GPS, Glonass, Galileo, and BeiDou) and connects to 25+ satellites at one time, which is more accurate than other pet trackers that can only tap into one satellite system at a time.

As your dog approaches the boundary you created, they’ll hear two sets of tones, an alert tone within 10 feet of the boundary and a harsher warning tone within 5 feet. If they ignore the tones, they’ll receive a static correction + vibrate, static correction only or just vibrate if you don’t want to use the correction. You can set the optional static correction at a level from 1-30. This is a big range, so if you have a sensitive dog, you can set it at a low level!

If you purchase the optional cell subscription, you’ll immediately receive a notification if your dog crosses the boundary and live tracking will start. See our section on live tracking below.

The App

I’m all about easy to use apps that are organized in a way that makes sense. The SpotOn App really is great! It has the following five tabs within the app:

Dogs - Shows all your dogs, their collar’s battery and cellular strength, and active e-fence. You can easily connect to the collar to change settings such as stim levels or switch fences.

Track - See the location of your dog. You can also view their Escape Log so you can see exactly when and where your dog has escaped from their e-fence. See a detailed review on their Live Tracking feature below.
Fences - See all the e-fences you’ve created and which one is active for your dogs. Click to easily edit or create a new one!
Help - FAQs, Tutorials, or contact SpotOn by Chat, Email or Phone
Profile - Basic Account Details, Add new people to see your dog’s location (great for dog sitters!) and your Cellular Plan (if active).

You can see exactly where your dog where your dog escaped on the Escape Log

Live Tracking

Live Tracking is an optional feature to this collar with a cellular plan, but I highly recommend because of how much value it adds to the collar! As I mentioned previously, our previous setup was a GPS Tracker + e-collar, and we actually tested 5 different GPS trackers on Roman simultaneously. One of the biggest issues with all of these is you’re not notified until 3-5 minutes after they pass through the in-app fence boundary. By the time I received the alert, Roman could be half a mile away.

With SpotOn, I’m notified immediately if he leaves the boundary, and I’m able to see his exact location as soon as I open the app. That is a HUGE improvement over the other trackers. The live tracking updates are in real time, so you can see exactly where you dog is headed or if they’re coming back to you when you call them.

You can also see your dog’s exact location without them escaping at any time within the app. It auto-updates every 20 minutes, or you can click Track to pull their current location right away. This is a great feature if you’re on a lot of acreage!

Battery life

This is a collar you’ll have to charge daily, but it’s really not an issue for us. We just made it a habit to put it on the charger when we take it off Roman each evening. If we forget to charge one night, it’s not a big deal as it only takes a little over an hour to charge! The stated battery life on their website is about 22 hours of containment or 14 hours of tracking. You’ll also receive phone notifications when the battery is running low.

Price

The price of this collar is high at $1,295 (and you can save $100 with code JAKOBA), but you have to consider the value this collar brings. If you’re on a lot of acreage and want reliable containment for your dog, this is an awesome solution. Physical fences are not always the best solution for people on large pieces of property. My property runs through a creek, and we wouldn’t be able to fence that part. Not to mention many dogs can dig under or jump over physical fences.

The optional ongoing cellular subscription is $9.95/month, and I highly recommend it. Without the subscription, the collar will work properly (tones and corrections at the boundary), but you won’t get notified if they leave the boundary or be able to see where your dog is. You get a 90 day free trial of the subscription if you purchase a 1 or 2 year subscription plan.

If you’re not satisfied with the collar, they offer a 90 day period where you can return your like-new collar. It also comes with a one-year warranty where they’ll replace your collar if it has a defect. See their full Warranty policy here.

Review summary

If you’re on over half an acre and are looking for a great alternative to a physical fence, SpotOn Fence is an amazing solution! The e-fences are super easy to create within the app and the boundary line you create is incredibly accurate (very little drift). With a cell subscription, you get notified immediately whenever your dog leaves your property and you can see exactly where they are at all times. The battery life is short at 22 hours, but not a problem if you can bring it in each night to charge.

Click here to learn more about SpotOn GPS Fence, and use code JAKOBA to save $100.

Questions? Let me know below, and I’m happy to answer!

SpotOn GPS Fence Review | Perfect E-Fence Solution for Livestock Guardian Dogs