Ultimate GPS Dog Fence Guide: How to Choose a GPS Fence for Your Dog

GPS Dog Fence Buying Guide

There are many reasons you may be considering a wireless fence for your dog. Perhaps you have large acreage, an odd-shaped lot, or lots of tricky terrain (ponds, boulders or brush). These properties may not accommodate a physical or buried wired fence, and if they do, it could be quite costly, depending on the size of your yard.

With a GPS dog fence, there are no buried wires which eliminates time and money spent on setup and installation. You can also make multiple fences at home, if you move, or when you travel. Does it sound too good to be true? 

The good news is that GPS dog fences are becoming more mainstream and accessible to the masses. The bad news is that they may not work for you or your property, and not all brands offer the quality required to keep your dog safe.

So how do you tell the difference?

Read on for a full breakdown revealing what you should look for in a GPS dog fence and, more importantly, why. While SpotOn is eager to earn your business, we’re realistic: a GPS option isn’t for everybody. When it comes to your pet's safety, getting the facts is critical, so let’s cut through the noise and focus on what you need to know to make an informed decision.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Understanding GPS: Who is NOT a good fit for a GPS fence
• Understanding GPS Signals: What causes interference, and will it impact me?
• Selecting the Right Brand
• Understanding the Cost
• Support and Resources
• Features and Capabilities
• Finding Honest Reviews
• Making Your Purchase

Understanding GPS: Who is NOT a good fit for a GPS fence.

As much as we love dog owners with small properties and small breeds, if you have either, you may want to consider a different type of fencing. Here’s why:

Small Properties

While we love GPS products, there are limitations. GPS drift is a natural boundary shift that occurs in all GPS products, which you may have noticed when using your phone GPS.

This limitation applies to any GPS dog fence and moreover, any GPS device.

Can a GPS dog fence work on smaller properties? Yes. However; on a smaller lot, the GPS drift will be much more noticeable and could cause your virtual fence boundary to drift into unsafe areas, like a street. If other GPS products say they work on smaller areas, they’re technically correct, but they’re only telling part of the story: it will work; it just won’t work consistently, which could put your pet in danger.

That’s why SpotOn recommends a GPS dog fence for properties that are half an acre or more and advises users to have a 15-foot buffer zone. We want to provide’d rather attract dog owners with property large enough for the product to work accurately and safely.

Small Dogs

To make a GPS dog collar and fence that works reliably, you need high-quality components within the collar, which will inevitably add weight and size to the collar. Unfortunately, the weight and size of these materials adds up. Dogs that have necks smaller than 10 inches simply won’t be comfortable in a GPS dog collar.

Are there GPS dog collars that weigh less and can be worn comfortably by a small dog? Yes. However, the components used to create a lighter-weight product are almost certainly of lesser quality and will not deliver the accuracy you need to keep your dog safe.

Understanding GPS Signals: What causes interference, and will it impact me?

If your dog is big enough and your lot is over a half-acre, there are still a few conditions that can interfere with GPS signals and reduce its accuracy. This section explores those factors, helping you choose a GPS dog fence that suits your specific needs.

City Settings

In areas with tall buildings, GPS signals can “bounce” off these structures and interfere with the collar's ability to connect with satellites. While some GPS fences say they can be used anywhere, city-dwellers won’t have a good experience using GPS in urban areas.

Metal Roofs

Similar to tall buildings, GPS signals can “bounce” off metal roofs. If you have a large property and want your dog’s fence to be further away from structures with metal roofs, you may not experience much interference and can still have a great experience. If your property is less than an acre, you’ll need to invest time and effort carefully planning your boundaries for the system to operate as designed. Because the metal roof is “bouncing” the GPS signal, when your dog is under a metal roof, there's a risk that the system will perceive your dog to be outside of the boundary and issue a correction. Those with metal roofs should also avoid having the dog wear its collar indoors. While SpotOn (and some other systems) have solutions that let your dog wear its collar safely indoors, those with metal roofs have a higher risk of false corrections, so removing the collar when indoors is a smart move.

Wooded Areas

GPS works best when it has a clear view of the sky. For those in heavily wooded areas, a GPS fence may not have reliable performance. However, this does NOT mean that a GPS system is a no-go.

Instead, discerning buyers should read up on the technical specifications. Several GPS fences—like SpotOn—have invested in making improvements to their products to help increase accuracy in these conditions. We call this Forest Mode and it’s part of our patented TrueLocation™ technology. Our system automatically adjusts for extra precision when dogs roam in wooded areas.

An affordable GPS device that ships directly from China for around $100 is not making these product improvements (this is part of what makes the higher-end GPS collars pricier). You get what you pay for!

Bottom Line

Selecting the Right Brand

GPS dog fences are relatively new and since this product is an investment, you’ll want to feel confident in the brand behind it. This is a crucial step in buying a GPS dog fence, where brand reliability and support become key decision factors.

• Company Website - Look up the company and see if its website looks reliable. Do they have published policies and offer customer support? In large online marketplaces like Amazon, you may find companies that mass produce GPS products and don’t have the infrastructure to provide support.
• Company Background - Does the brand make GPS fences, and do they have a background in GPS? Using GPS for pet containment is still relatively new, and those who have been doing it longer tend to be more reliable versus newer products that have not had the luxury of time and customer feedback to improve their GPS technology.
• Company Headquarters - Where does the brand design, manufacture, assemble, and ship its products from? Those headquartered in the USA have solid control of their engineering and manufacturing. They can also identify, address, and fix any product issues that arise much quicker than those who outsource to China.

What SpotOn offers as a brand

SpotOn Fence was developed by people who make life-saving equipment for the military and law enforcement. We provide this attention to detail to each and every collar and dog. Our Vice President of Engineering is the inventor of GPS fence technology and in 2019, SpotOn was the first to launch a GPS dog fence to the market. We’re proud to be an American brand that designs, develops, and supports our product at our headquarters in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Understanding the Cost

At face value, many GPS fence collars look the same, but if you’re shopping around, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that prices can vary significantly. Candidly, SpotOn is among the higher-priced options. Cost, value, and quality go hand-in-hand. So here’s some information about what is behind the cost, hidden fees to watch out for, and the overall long-term investment.

Hardware

The better the materials and components, the better the collar - and the higher the price tag. Here’s a list of best-in-class specs and why they matter:

• Antenna - Does the collar have a dedicated GPS antenna, and where is it situated? Collars with a combined GPS/Cellular antenna degrade the accuracy of the product and won’t be reliable. Antenna placement is also key; it’s best when it’s situated where it has a clear view of the sky.  SpotOn has the highest performance, dedicated dual-feed antenna that faces the sky (and has a perfect view of the satellites).
• GPS Connectivity - How many satellites can the collar connect to at once? The most accurate GPS fences connect to the most satellites. Many lesser-quality products won’t articulate this information at all, or instead provide the total number of satellites available in the sky (which is irrelevant if the collar can only connect to a few at a time). SpotOn connects to 25-30 satellites at one time for unmatched accuracy and reliability.
• Predictive Technology - Is the collar equipped with advanced AI? The most accurate GPS fences are equipped with motion sensors to monitor your dog’s movements and improve its location accuracy using this location data.

GPS Antennas
Basic vs.
Best-in-class

Basic:
Passive GPS Antenna

Receives GPS signals and passes them to a GPS device.

Mid-range:
Active GPS Antenna

Pulls GPS signals from larger distances and amplifies them to expand a GPS device's reception range.

Premium:
Active, Dual Feed GPS Antenna

All features of an active antenna, plus enhancements to increase the ability to perform in multipath conditions that may interfere with the GPS signals.

Subscription Plans

Bottom Line

When shopping for a GPS fence and collar, quality matters. While a budget-friendly option can be compelling, the "benefit" of that lower price will quickly diminish if the product fails to meet your expectation.

Also, pay attention to hidden fees. You may be locked into features you don’t want or need, and the overall cost of ownership could add up to more than you expected.

Support and Resources

Earlier in this article, we spoke about researching the company’s background. Customer support is a huge reason why this research is so important. GPS does have limitations, and a qualified customer support representative can help you effectively troubleshoot and ensure the product will work for you. To make sure that you’re getting the level of support you want out of your investment, here are a few things to look for:

• Contact Methods - Are agents available by phone, email, chat, virtual meetings, etc? Products sold exclusively on Amazon might not have any direct product support at all. We all have communication preferences, so try to find a GPS fence with support that aligns with how you want to ask questions and get help.
• Headquarters - Are the agents based locally, or do they utilize call centers to service customers? Companies that hire their own customer service professionals take support and customer care more seriously and can offer a better experience.
• Certifications - Customer service professionals can achieve a range of certifications to demonstrate their expertise. The best customer support teams actively seek out and showcase these achievements and ensure that the entire support workforce is credentialed.

Outside of support agents who can answer questions and troubleshoot issues, you’ll also want to see if the company has consumer-friendly policies. Here are the ones to look for:

• Return Policy - Longer return windows are essential with GPS fences. There can be a learning curve, so when companies have a longer return window, it shows consumers that they’re truly invested in making sure the product can work for you.
• Accident Forgiveness - Dogs will be dogs, and accidents happen. Getting a collar that offers accident forgiveness protects your investment.
• Warranty - The longer the warranty, the more faith the company has that the product will work.

The third component to look for is direct support. This may include:

• Property Evaluations - Before you buy, can you contact the company to get feedback on whether or not a GPS dog fence will work for you?
• Dog Training - Every GPS collar and fence system will require you to train your dog. What training resources are available? Is it in the app? Can you view it ahead of time on their website? Is one-on-one support available if you need assistance?

Last and most important: does the company require you to get a subscription to access support or resources? If so, this can be telling: why would a company charge its customers for access to customer service?

Bottom Line

Customer support should be readily available and accessible to all customers for any tech product, especially when it comes to pricier items. You’ll have the best experience when:

• Customer support professionals are available when and how you prefer to communicate
• Customer support professionals work in-house and aren’t outsourced (bonus if they have certifications!)
• Policies are consumer-friendly
• Direct support is available to discuss your specific property or pet
• Support is free and not unlocked through paying for upgrades

Features and Capabilities

When looking at all the GPS products available, you’ll find a wide array of exciting features. There are two key things to consider:

• Which features are actually important to you - Be realistic about what you really need this product to do, rather than getting caught up in the “nice-to-have” features.
• Check your assumptions - Do you assume the collar will work in a certain way? Gut check these assumptions to make sure you understand what you’re buying so you’ll be happy with your purchase long term. A few angles to consider: Does the product work during a power outage? Can you have multiple fences on one property? How do alerts and warnings work?

Not familiar with GPS fence features. Here is a brief overview!

Product Type

There’s actually a lot of diversity within GPS collars and fences. These include:

• High-end Collars - With these systems (including SpotOn), all the tech is self-contained within the collar, and you do not need a base station. These products are paired with a smartphone app, which offers an aerial map view of your property so you can draw your fence. Set up takes just a few minutes, and you can create your fences to your specifications with varying levels of customization based on the product you choose. Battery life is a bit shorter with these systems, and each dog requires its own collar. These systems are also pricier due to the better tech. On the plus side, there’s a considerable upgrade in the amount of features (more on that later) and because there’s no base station, you can more easily bring this fence with you anywhere and create fences on the fly.
• Base Station - These systems have a transmitter that you keep in your home and plugged into an electrical outlet. They often feature circular virtual fences that emit from that base station that you can make bigger or smaller based on your specifications but have some limitations with fence size, and you cannot customize the shape. The setup is also a bit longer. Accuracy isn’t as strong as higher-end collar-based systems with more sophisticated tech. During power outages, fences will become inactive after their reserve battery is drained, and these systems cannot be used in homes with metal roofs. On the plus side, battery life is longer, and the price is more accessible, especially for those with multiple dogs since you typically need just one base station.
• Budget Collars - There are budget-friendly GPS fences priced under $200 that are self-contained within the collar, usually available on Amazon, that emit a circular boundary. Users stand where they’d like to center the boundary and, from there, typically press buttons for the collar to connect to satellites. You usually have some flexibility for how large you’d like the circular boundary to be, starting at 20 meters. These products are mass-produced overseas using lesser-quality antennas and materials, so performance tends to be inconsistent, especially if there are any trees, homes, sheds, or other structures close by.
• Trackers - GPS collars can track your dog's movement but do not attempt to contain your dog within a fence, whereas GPS fence systems issue alerts to the dog's collar as they approach the virtual fence boundary. Simply put: trackers track, and fences contain (sometimes with tracking options - read on for details!). These are similar to Apple AirTags; however, an AirTag only works if it’s within close proximity to an iPhone, and the trackers use GPS to achieve extended range. These are more budget-friendly, but they lack the tech of high-end collars and may have inconsistent performance.

Fence Building

• Circular Boundaries - The budget-friendly options and base station systems offer circular boundaries that emit from a central point. You can adjust the size of the circular boundary, but you cannot adjust the shape. If you have arectangular or an odd-shaped lot, you may want to seek out a more customizable option.
• Custom Boundaries - Other GPS systems offer an app that allows you to view a map of the property and draw the fence boundary to fit your specifications. This is an advantage for people with large properties, odd-shaped lots, and those who require an extra level of specificity. You can also save multiple fences within the app for easy access, rather than having to move the epicenter of a GPS device that uses circular boundaries. However, there’s a range of customization options. For instance, with some products, you can only make very basic-shaped fences, whereas SpotOn allows any shape or size fence.

Fence Customization

If you know you want a system with custom boundaries, various systems will give you different features that allow you to tailor your fences toward your needs. While not all systems will offer these features, knowing about them can help guide your choice of which product is best for you.

• Amount of Fence Posts - Even though you’re creating “virtual” fences, each product will have a set amount of fence posts available to make your boundary. Do you have a perfectly square-shaped lot? You may only need four fence posts. Do you need a boundary that zigs, zags, and curves to your property line? Seek out a system that offers more fence posts (SpotOn has 1,500 fence posts!).
• Amount of Fences - While some products let you create unlimited fences, others have a maximum limit, and some brands require pricey subscriptions to add more fences.
• Overlapping Fences - Do you want your yard to have two fences, like a daytime fence with full range of your property and a smaller nighttime fence to keep your dog closer to home when it’s dark? Or perhaps you have livestock guardian dogs who help protect your farm animals as they do rotational grazing and thus need lots of fences on one property. SpotOn is currently the only system that lets you create multiple overlapping fences. While other products allow you to adjust your fences, many do nnot allow you to save fences that share any GPS coordinates. Constantly adjusting the boundaries on your fences can be a cumbersome task that you may want to avoid, especially when you’re spending a significant amount of money.
• Keep Out Zones - Want to keep your dog away from certain areas, like your garden, flower beds, grilling area, pool, or swampy terrain? Seek out products that let you create keep-out zones. With SpotOn, you can set up keep-out zones right within the app. Other systems have accessories with similar functionality to emit a no-go zone (like a base station). These accessories aren’t as customizable as in-app functionality, and you may need to purchase extras if you need a larger keep-out zone.

Tracking

Want to track your dog? Remember that not all GPS systems provide this feature, while others only track and don't provide any fencing technology. Admittedly, this can be confusing, so here’s a quick overview of the different approaches you’ll find within today’s GPS systems:

• Fence - Products like Invisible Fence® and other buried wire options simply fence your dog. You cannot see their location in real time, since tracking requires connections to the internet or cellular.
• Fence and Track - High-end GPS systems, including SpotOn, offer fences and the optional ability to track your dog. To enable these features, these products will have a cellular plan, almost always with a monthly fee.
• Track without Fencing - Budget-friendly dog trackers will track your dog, but they do not alert them if they’re nearing the boundary of a geofence. These systems require a cellular connection and sometimes need to be within range of your Wi-Fi to perform as designed. They aren’t typically a good fit for those with large acreage.

Collar Feedback

GPS systems have different ways of “telling” your dog they are near the virtual boundary. You’ll want a collar that is consistent and intuitive so your dog understands what these signals mean, so you can effectively train them to respond accordingly.

• Audible Tones - Many collars emit canine-friendly alert and warning tones that indicate that your dog is nearing a boundary.
• Vibration - Similar to a smartphone, some collars offer a pain-free physical vibration designed to gain your dog’s attention and provide a warning to indicate the virtual fence line.
• Static Correction - This is a more obvious, but still pain-free physical signal designed to be a last resort in telling your dog to return to the safe area within the fence. While there are varying schools of thought surrounding static correction and shock collars, the technology has advanced tremendously. While you can still find more primitive products that may be too heavy-handed with their correction, SpotOn has the broadest range of sensitivity, so if you need to use the feature (it’s optional!), you can find the precise level that works for your dog.

Solution for Indoor Usage

Does your dog come in and out of the house all day? If so, seek out a collar that allows for indoor use.

All GPS devices experience some interference when you’re indoors. The risk is that your collar could give your dog an unwarranted correction indoors. You have three options to mitigate the risk.

• The quick fix: remove the collar when your dog is indoors.
• The better option: some collars let you purchase extra accessories that you can place inside your house to create a safe area indoors.
• The premium option: purchase a collar equipped with the tech to address this issue, such as SpotOn’s Home Zone feature, which is designed to turn off warnings and corrections when the dog is indoors.

Extra Capabilities

In addition to features that help you build and customize your fences, there are other capabilities that may be valuable.

• Escape Reports - Some products build reports that summarize the times and places where your dog approached the boundary. This can help you better understand your dog’s habits and what may be tempting them to stray, and in turn make modifications to improve your boundaries.
• Off-grid Mode - For collars with app connectivity, your smartphone needs cell service to activate new fences; however, some GPS fences like SpotOn have an Off-grid Mode that allows you to create a fence in areas where there’s no service or Internet connection - perfect if you live in the middle of nowhere, or enjoy camping, hiking, and overlanding.
• Activity Monitoring - Some collars will have a feature within higher-level subscriptions that shows how long your dog is active, resting, taking walks, and more.

Sizes, Colors, and Accessories

• Sizes - While most GPS dog collars come in small, medium, and large sizes, review sizing guides carefully to ensure a snug but comfortable fit. If you have a toy breed, the high-end GPS collars may be too large for them. If you have an exceptionally large breed, SpotOn offers strap-extending accessories to find the best fit.
• Colors - Most brands offer standard styles and colors, however some provide extra options, like pink collars.
• Accessories - Typical accessories include replacement parts and extra charging units. If you live in an HOA, yard signs to denote that your virtual fence may be available for a charge; other brands provide these for free. Last, extra accessories to provide indoor capabilities or keep out zones may be available for an additional cost if they are lacking within the tech inside the collar.

So, which GPS dog fence should I choose?

Admittedly, this buying guide is extremely detailed and could be overwhelming. So, to help you streamline your research, here’s a downloadable checklist that aligns to each topic covered, so you can find the GPS dog fence that will work best for you!

How to Choose a Dog Electric Fence: Finding Honest Reviews

• Can anyone leave a review on the website? - Companies that produce reliable tech are eager to capture customer reviews. Doing so should be easy and straightforward. If this is not available (or if it’s hidden), there are likely some deeper issues that they’re trying to manage.
• High Ratings in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store - For collars that are app-enabled, feedback in these forums is very valuable since it comes from actual product users and reviews cannot be deleted by brands. 
• Transparency - GPS is relatively new tech, and companies like SpotOn are trying to educate their audience on how it works, while also trying to earn more customers. GPS has very real limitations–SpotOn is upfront about how these will impact your experience. GPS drift (which affects all GPS devices) can cause your boundaries to vary. With SpotOn, this shift is minimal and will be accurate within 3 feet under open sky, 10 feet when there’s interference, and will issue tracking updates every six seconds.

Finding honest reviews can be extremely difficult, especially as companies become more competitive with online advertising. It can be incredibly frustrating when all reviews sound the same or if some just don’t sound legitimate. Here are a few ways to expand your research to weed out reviews that are full of fluff and find a brand that you can trust, which is crucial when selecting a GPS dog fence.

Positive Signs

Transparency is key, so all the topics in this buying guide should be covered on a company’s website. If it’s not–or if the information is very surface-level with no areas to dive deeper–it may indicate that the company behind that product is still enhancing the tech and figuring it out, or they could be trying to conceal shortcomings.

Red Flags

• Resale - Do you see these products on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist? If so, that may indicate that the product isn’t reliable and that the company has narrow return policies.
• Robot Comments - Do you see repetitive and/or robotic-sounding comments on social media posts or YouTube videos? That may indicate that a company is purchasing bots to help boost its reputation, instead of earning it authentically.
• User Groups voicing Critical Feedback - There are more and more Facebook Groups and Reddit communities filled with dog owners who use these products. Follow a few. See what pain points users have. See if the company responds in a productive and candid way. But also take it with a grain of salt: happy users aren’t as likely to be active in these forums, and some of the issues could be operator error.

Ready to get the Most Reliable GPS Dog Fence?

SpotOn has been independently tested by industry-leading GPS experts, Spirent, who also conducts GPS testing for NASA.

Their findings? SpotOn is…

• 7x more accurate fence lines
• 6x more reliable alerts and tones
• 96% consist with working as promised: GPS drift never exceeded the expected range.
• 11x more precise in the presence of trees, buildings, and other conditions that interfere with GPS signals.

Your dog’s safety is critical, so bring home a GPS dog fence that is tested and proven by the GPS experts, and trusted by dog owners. 

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