It would be nice to be able to somehow add my dogs to Garmin Connect while using the Alpha system. Being able to track their mileage and exercise data, on multiple dogs, would be very useful. Especially for competition training.
Not sure how to add each collar to 'Gear'. It'd be nice to auto track the mileage of each collar. Say something like, GC takes info of each collar off of Alpha handheld. Assign a collar to each individual dog.
What dog tracker are you currently using? I am looking for something for my dog currently but not entirely sure what is any good.
I have the Alpha System w/ 3 t100 collars (there are newer versions. I've had it 3 or 4 years). Garmin has this stuff dialed in. I had Astro version for a couple years, and the Alpha System just builds on that system improving it greatly. Depending on what you need, Alpha + t100's have both track and train, a lesser version may work. I use mine on Hounds that are very hard on equipment and tend to hunt out at far distances. They have held up well and are very reliable. Highly recommended, but I would look into some of the newer versions.
Thanks. I did see that 3rd party version. It seems to add quite a bit vs the original Garmin version. I like that it has a odometer, but I think it only tracks the mileage from one event. it's not cumulative. The Alpha handheld has that info and a lot of other useful data. I'd like to be able to store it and track weekly, monthly, and yearly activities (mileage) for each dog. I can keep a log, but having my stats and my dog's stats in GC would simplify it for me.
We're always hoping Garmin will make a more generic version of the collars that can be used for tracking the positions of miscellaneous objects or people in the woods. We have about 30 collars and 3 alphas we've used for forestry applications for about 4 years now. We use them to keep track of my forestry students in the woods so we don't lose people. We use them to monitor firefighters on burning operations. It's amazingly good technology and more capable than some very expensive, advanced military radios we've used- Especially the rapid update rate... Just need a version of the Alpha and collars that's marketed generically, rather than for hunting dogs.
Yes, I hear ya. I've talked to members of the FEMA team, around here, and this technology would be very useful for them, also. They currently use very old Garmin handhelds to mark way points.
But for me, personally, I just want to track my dog's exercise loads. Being able to do this with Garmin Connect, something I already use a lot, would be awesome.
Dogs exercise loads? Surely that would mean, at a minimum, tracking step count and intensity minutes (based on the dog's heart rate/physiological response), and not just for the owner/trainer/observer to manually start and stop a timer to measure only cumulative time spent on designated exercise sessions?
