Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, PickinRocket earns from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. Product availability subject to change.
For upland bird and waterfowl hunters running dogs off-leash in heavy cover, a GPS tracking collar is not a luxury — it is how you find a dog that has ranged out of sight or earshot. Garmin’s Alpha and Astro systems are the two most established options.
Garmin Alpha: tracking and training combined
Alpha handhelds combine GPS tracking with e-collar training functions in one system, letting you track location and deliver training stimulation from a single device — a real convenience if you are actively training as well as hunting with the dog.
- Features a vivid sunlight-readable 3.5” capacitive touchscreen display and a button-operated, dog-focused design for quick, min…
- Easily set up and monitor up to 20 dogs with your compatible dog collars from up to 9 miles away (depending on your dog collar)…
- Dog list and group management let you keep non-paired dog information in the handheld for easier setup
Garmin Astro: tracking-focused, simpler system
Astro drops the combined training functions in favor of a tracking-only focus, which some handlers prefer for a simpler, more dedicated tool if training stimulation is handled by a separate e-collar system already.
- Expanded dog capability – track up to 20 dogs from a range of up to 9 miles
- GPS/glonass – high-sensitivity GPS and glonass satellite reception has the ability to track in more challenging environments th…
- Preloaded mapping – includes preloaded topo U.S. 100K mapping and a free 1-year birdseye satellite imagery subscription
TT 25 collar: the tracking collar both systems can use
The TT 25 collar attachment pairs with Garmin’s handheld tracking systems, giving you the actual GPS unit that rides on the dog’s collar in the field.
- Track and send training commands up to 9 miles with updates as frequent as 2.5 seconds when used with a compatible handheld (so…
- Use the collar to train your dog with 18 levels of continuous or momentary stimulation plus audible tone and vibration when use…
- Rugged yet slim design is universally sized to fit large and small breeds
Actively training the dog alongside hunting it? Alpha’s combined tracking-and-training system saves carrying two devices. Just need reliable tracking in heavy cover? Astro’s simpler, tracking-only focus does the job.
Related Auburn AI Products
Running an affiliate content site and want to scale? Auburn AI has kits for operators: