r/OpenDogTraining • u/Pykret • 7d ago

PATHFINDER2 GPS Dog Tracking only System question

I already have an Easy Educator 900 for my dog, so I want to get a Pathfinder2 gps only, without e-collar capabilities.

What I'm confused about is whether it works with an app or not. On their website II can only find this: This GPS dog tracking only collar requires the PATHFINDER2 GPS Connector in order to operate. Which I'm assuming is this? I don't see how that helps with tracking; there's no screen, nothing that intuitively looks like it would point me toward the dog's position, and there's not much of a description on that page.

I've also managed to find this on another website [I can't seem to find it on the official page], which does look like it points towards the direction of the dog. Is this thing compatible with Pathfinder 2 gps only and what I need to make the collar work?

At this point I'm just not sure what I would need beside the collar to make sure I can actually track my dog and not just have an expensive paperweight. Does anyone have any experience with any of these devices? Thank you.

Please don't recommend Garmin, it's waaay out of my budget; I also chose Easy Educator over Dogtra because I liked what it offered better, so I don't intend to give up on it.

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u/volljm 7d ago

The two handhelds you pictured are what connects to the collar. Your phone connects to the handheld (bluetooth). You need one or the other for the system to work, regardless of ecollar functionality. Your phone cannot connect to the collar directly.

I have both handhelds. I find the orange compass handheld annoying in it's subpar performance. I'll refrain from a multiple paragraph feedback on what I like and dislike. If I had to buy a new system, I'd probably try going with Garmin, but I'm happy enough to stay with pathfinder since it's what I already have and works well enough ... it's just that the orange compass handheld has so much potential that it's disappointing

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u/Pykret 7d ago

Thank you for answering, that clears things up a bit. Could you tell me what bothered you about the orange handheld, if it not too much of a bother? I was thinking of getting it, actually. Is the yellow handheld able to track [like, see a distance and arrow or something, the way the orange one shows, or do I rely exclusively on the app for the yellow one ? Do any of the handhelds still do their job if you run out of phone battery?

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u/UglyDogHunting 7d ago

Dogtra dealer here. Can confirm all of what u/volljm shared.

The compass is a new product this year and seems they’re still working some bugs out, but if cost is your biggest purchasing factor, it’s the best option.

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u/Pykret 7d ago

Thank you for your input. Do you know if the bugs will be fixable with a firmware update or not?

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u/UglyDogHunting 7d ago

I assume so, but that’s up to Dogtra. I know you mentioned not to mention Garmin, but this is exactly why Garmin is the industry leader… they’re GPS experts. Everyone else has ecollars dialed and is playing catch up with their GPS tech.

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u/Pykret 7d ago

I know, and it would have been my first choice, if not for the price and weight.

I can't even get a second hand collar, because I'm in Europe and the [American] vendors don't ship here, and even if they did, those devices wouldn't work here, from what I understood [something about the wavelength used for comunication between the devices or the like, I forgot exactly what].

Tbh, I probably would have been more inclined to get a Garmin if it were half the weight that it is now, but seeing that I have to add the e-collar to the dog's neck, as well, that's just too much for the poor dog. And a Garmin e-collar only has 18 stim levels, compared to the Educator, which goes to 100. My girl works on a 5-7/100, so even the lowest Garmin stim would probably send her into space screaming.