halo smart collar review

This Halo Smart Collar Review focuses on the positive features of Halo and also looks at alternative options you may consider including electric fences and the Findster Duo Tracker. While these three products offer varying levels of ability to contain your dog in a certain area, to see their location and to track their activity levels, the Halo dog collar offers the most features and flexibility. It is also the most expensive.

Halo has teamed up with famous dog trainer Cesar Millan, world renowned for his television series the Dog Whisperer. The blend of Cesar Millan’s dog psychology and modern high-tech is what makes Halo unique relative to other products. The goal is to help you “speak dog”, guided by Millan’s tips and training and to be proactive about the safety of your dog. The Halo technology works to prevent dangerous safety issues and even offers a tool to help you guide your dog home if she or he is lost.

halo dog collar features

Custom Virtual Fences

Easily setup fenced areas at any location by using the app to define the borders and “fence posts”. Define a fence for your yard, a friends yard, a park, the beach … anywhere

Activity Tracking & Reports

Like a FitBit or AppleWatch for your dog, Halo is able to track how many walks your dog has had, number of hours spent being active vs resting, and more. All reporting is available through a dashboard app on your phone.

Portability

Fenced areas are easy to setup and easy to “take with you”. Compared to an electric fence which is buried in your yard, Halo fences are portable and can be “moved” by creating them in other locations

Location Tracking

Using advanced GPS, you will always know where your dog is. Monitor Fido when you are away from home, see where he is while you let him “free roam” during a walk at the park and find him if he strays or gets lost.

Easily Manage Terrain/Obstacles

When we installed an electric fence for our dog Max, we had to cut through our asphalt driveway so that the electric wiring could be buried … not ideal, especially in New England where we get alot of snow/ice which tends to get into any cracks and cause damage. Halo’s high-tech virtual fences are able to easily set boundaries across driveways, rocky ground, brick walkways, paver patios and even streams and water.

Cesar Millan (Dog Whisperer) Training

Cesar Millan’s program will get you started quicky and show you how to be the pack leader for your dog. Using proven dog psychology, you will see how to create a positive association between your dog and the new Halo collar. Beyond training for the fence system, you will learn how to have a better relationship with your dog and how to manage behaviors.

Review this table to compare features of the Halo Smart Collar to Findster Duo Tracker and electric fences.

review of halo collar for dogs

	Halo Smart Collar	Electric Fence	Findster Duo Tracker

Price (as of date of publish)	$999 "Early Adopter Kit" Includes 6 mos Gold subscription NOTE: heading into the Holidays Halo is offering a $200 discount so the $999 becomes $799	$125 - $400+ This is for the Product; You will need to bury the wiring around your yard or pay someone to	$149
Monthly Fee	$2.70 Basic Plan $9.99 Silver Plan $29.99 Gold Plan	None	None
Able to Contain Dog in Fenced Area	Yes Can also easily create multiple fenced areas	Yes	No You CAN setup a virtual fenced area and be notified if dog leaves that area but there is no deterent to dog keeping him that area
Protection if Dog Leaves Fenced Area	Yes GPS tracking shows dog location and features allow you to "guide" him home	No Once dog leaves fenced area, he is "free" and not tracked	See above about fenced area GPS tracking is included so you can see where your dog is
Location Tracking	Yes	No	Yes
GPS to Guide Dog Home	Yes	No	No GPS is a feature but there is not a feature to help guide your dog home
Activity Reports	Yes	No	Yes
Effort to Start Using	Fairly simple to use app to setup fence boundaries, at home or anywhere	Need to either pay someone to bury wires around your yard or do yourself	Fairly simple
Reliability/Risk of Failure		Some risk Something could cut electric wire, disabling fence; this happened with our dog/fence
Ability to Re-use; Bring with you to "next" house	Yes Can set up fence boundaries anywhere	Not easily You pay to have wire buried in the ground and would need to dig it up and pay again to bury it in a future yard	Yes
Requires a SmartPhone	Yes iPhone support avail now Android coming end of 2020	No	Yes
	learn more		Learn More

See how Halo compares to Wagz and Fi GPS collars to determine the best GPS dog training collar

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Learn more about the debate around use of electric fences

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