I run a dog rescue and have been using the Marco Polo system for about a year now. This is an invaluble system first and foremost for me due to it's alarm capabilities. Having multiple dogs, many of which are "bolters" it is a true blessing to have an acurate system to immediately alarm when one has left my yard or house. The ability to set the distance at which the alarm begins to sound is easy but we just keep it at the closest level so that we have an immediate alarm if a dog were to slip out. The fact that you can use multiple collar trackers for just one base unit, numbering on the base unit exactly which collar is alarming, is wonderful.
The tracking unit takes a bit of study to get used to if you are not super nerd inclined, but once you learn it quickly it is easy to grab the unit and go searching. I live in an area which is hilly with many canyons and open space and previous units made by other companies did not allow for the ability to get good coverage, and we found out the hard way that those other units lost the battery life within a day or two and then were useless to continue tracking. Marco Polo will go on tracking for long periods of time with no recharge needed.
This product is highly recommended by me and as a Pet Professional I have found it to be a very high quality product which gives us invaluble peace of mind.
I have had the Marco Polo system for the express purpose of being able to find my dogs in the woods should they stray on our walks. I have used it for this purpose, though, thankfully, I haven't needed to really look for a lost dog. I don't use the monitoring part of the system since my dogs are in a fenced yard when at home.
What I like & would like improved are somewhat the same, and are addressed in the points below.
1. I like the smallish size of the part which goes on the dogs' collars. Yet, if it were still accurate over long distances, I'd like it smaller still. Nevertheless, my 30# dogs have no trouble with the size or the weight of it.
2. I like the fact that the system doesn't depend on GPS. There is no monthly fee, especially since I only use it sporadically, however, I think it might be the best of both worlds if somehow a GPS component could be incorporated, giving me the ability to locate the dog on a map on my phone in addition to on the handheld. But, because the locations where I walk don't always have reliable GPS reception, I chose the Marco Polo where the signal is only communicating between the transmitter and receiver. If this became a GPS product in addition, I would want an option to pay per use, not a monthly fee.
3. I find the handheld portion of the system to be adequate in size. Much smaller and I couldn't read it. The display is already a challenge for my aging eyes :}, however, I like the beeping part of the program. Three beeps and I'm close! A serious design oversight is that there is no hole in the handle so it can be secured by lanyard or carbiner clip either around my neck or on a belt loop. It is small enough to fit into my fanny pack, but not easily accessible from there.
4. The distance the unit can reach is reasonable. The product I used before Marco Polo only had a range of some number of yards. This one gives you longer range, however, this is dependent on what obstacles might be in the way.
5. Customer service has been exemplary. Any questions have been promptly answered, and the company has bent over backwards to make sure I am a satisfied customer.
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I've seen GPS stuff on the market come and go because it was too expensive, only worked for a day or two, or had spotty coverage. Marco Polois the answer. I'm thinking of puttin in on my kids at the park.
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This isn't available at Amazon yet, but since I've been using this tracker for about six months now, I thought it would be nice if it could start off with one review so people can read about it's use from someone actually using it on their pet.
The tracker is easy to use right out of the box, and comes with very good instructions. An important section of the instruction book is the section on tracking tips. I've also had good luck with customer service as I ran into things I had questions about. Take it out and play with it, so you know what it's like to track something down with it, before you'd have to do it in real life (trying to find a lost pet). Kids especially have fun trying to stump you by hiding the collar REALLY good.
I like the size of the collar unit; my dogs are between 30 and 40 lbs and it's not too big or heavy for them. It fits on any collarit doesn't have to be a buckle type collar, you can slip it on a martingale style collar as well. I have used it on a safety collar, the tezlab one with an elastic insert, and it works fine on that too (if you are leery of leaving a collar on). The handheld unit is small as well, and the antennae "doors" fold in when not in use and protect the screen.
There is a power cord that is used to charge both the handheld and the collar unit. The collar should hold a charge for a couple of months, but it's always safe to get on a schedule of charging monthly, or at least checking the charge monthly. I've never run the charge down in the handheld unit yet. When I use it in monitor mode, it's usually plugged in.
The tracker works kind of like the radio tracking units the hunting folks are familiar with, the "beep beep" tracking systems. But there's an arrow indicating the direction of the collar, and the strength numbers can give you an idea of how far away the collar is. There are also one, two, or three beeps, depending on signal strength (distance to the collar). The enables you to drive around the neighborhood looking for your pet, while listening to the number of beeps and not having to look at the screen all the time.
This is not a gps unityou cannot see your pet's location on a map or get exact distance to the collar. But, since it's not a gps unit, you don't have a monthly service plan and don't rely on cell reception. It can be used in remote areas or outside the of the US.
This is not a long distance radio trackerI'd call it maybe medium range. I have a short range radio tracker and this one gets further than that, but that maybe less than a mile if you are in hilly, wooded terrain with a lot of natural or man-made features. Still, if the pet goes out of the range, you can move around (like you would anyway if you had nothing on the pet) and at least have a hope of picking up a signal.
For example, you come home and your dog is not in the yard. When you get your handheld, you cannot get a signal. Either on foot, bike , or in your car, start to cruise around the area, until the handheld unit picks up a signal.
At that point, you can go on foot. If there's no arrow yet, simply move around until you figure the direction where you either get an arrow or your signal strength numbers start to go up.
As you move in that direction, the arrow will appear and you can simply let it guide you to your pet. You do occasionally get a wacky arrowsuddenly it tells you the pet is in the opposite direction. Keep going and ignore any "one off" direction things. Not sure if it's signal bounce or interference, but it will occasionally happen.
Even if the pet is moving, you can close in on the signal.
Practice this without the panic of a missing pet, and have someone hide your collar, or put it in your husband's golf bag and practice tracking him down on the course. This will locate a pet even if it's inside a house or vehicle.
Besides tracking, you can also monitor your pet. You can set several different circular zones and if the pet leaves the zone the handheld unit will beep to let you know. You can do this in your house or while traveling or camping, or even just hiking with your dog loose. There is a way you can be remotely notified as well, with the addition of an autodialer, but I have no experience with this.
One complaint/suggestionthe handheld unit needs a lanyard or wrist loop. I drop these things all the time.
There are getting to be more and more options for preventing lost pets, and this is a great one for those who don't live in areas with good cell reception or simply do not want to be committed to making monthly payments for a gps tracker. It can be used on smaller dogs or cats.
Microchips are important as well, but they require someone catch your pet and get the chip scanned. They are great for identifying a lost pet so are an important part, but a tracking system may enable you to immediately begin actively searching for your pet.
Once the pets is lost it's too latewith a tracker you can have a much better chance of locating the pet before it gets hit by a car, and if it is injured, you can find it quickly to get care.
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We needed something to keep a new rescue dog (23 pounds) we adopted from pulling while on a leash. I purchased this based based on the recommendation of a local trainer.
