Bird dogs live for the hunt and that is one of the many reasons we love them. When a hunting dog is on the trail of a game bird, everything else becomes secondary to it, including its own well-being. This unrelenting focus is a result of the determined nature of the breed and the dedicated time you spent training your dog. SportDOG® Brand developed the new FieldSentinel™ Series with BodyGuard™ Health Alerts to help you track your dog’s health. This e-collar adds a new level of safety and peace of mind for you and your dog.
What does FieldSentinel with BodyGuard do?
To put it simply—FieldSentinel is the world’s first e-collar with health alerts. The system uses SportDOG BodyGuard™ technology that features real-time monitoring and alerts to tell you when to check your dog. The goal is to alert you to a possible health issue before it becomes serious enough to endanger your dog and bring the hunt to a screeching halt.
The BodyGuard system doesn’t rely on one specific vital sign like your dog’s pulse to determine the health and safety of the dog. It uses a variety of data points to create a health score and if your dog’s score passes a certain threshold, it will send an alert to the remote. These alerts can be adjusted for each individual dog because as we all know, no two dogs are completely alike.
Dogs are often considered part of the family and hunting dogs are no different. In fact, for most of us, they are part of the family as well as a trusted hunting partner. That’s why SportDOG developed this product. It was designed by hunters, for hunters, and for their trusted partner—the dog. The company describes FieldSentinel as being like a check engine light for your dog.
Why BodyGuard technology is so important
Most hunting dogs have a sense of purpose that causes them to prioritize the pursuit of the game over their own health and well-being, which leaves you as the one responsible for knowing when to stop. During the hunt, your dog is often out of your line of sight through heavy brush and dense cover making it more difficult to monitor for warning signs. When you consider the location of the dog from your position and then the distance to a veterinarian from where you are hunting, the value of monitoring your dog’s health remotely becomes more important.
The e-collar monitors the dog and alerts you to check on its health. Potential health issues include things like heat exhaustion, body stress, and more. BodyGuard technology helps alert to these issues and prevent something like heat stress from turning into something more serious, like heat exhaustion or heat stroke which can be fatal or have long-lasting symptoms. If the dog survives, it can be more susceptible to heat stroke in the future.
There are certain dog breeds that are more susceptible to heat stroke than others, too. Many hunting dogs have had careers cut short due to heat stroke-related issues. Among sporting breeds, Golden Retrievers and Springer Spaniels are among the most at-risk breeds due to the thickness and length of their coats. Other Spaniels are at risk too, mostly due to shorter snouts, which reduce airflow even at rest. Additionally, older dogs have a much harder time bouncing back from overheating, much like people in that respect. Your dog may not be able to tell you it is overheating to dangerous levels, but that is where the FieldSentinel collar with BodyGuard Technology comes into play.
About SportDOG
SportDOG Brand specializes in creating dog training gear specifically for hunting dogs. With its establishment in 2003 and headquarters located in Knoxville, TN, the brand emerged from the expertise of hunters and dog trainers who recognize the importance of safety and durability when working with sporting dogs. SportDOG product lines include training e-collars, GPS tracking and training systems, bark-control collars, containment systems, and other training aids.
When SportDOG started product development for their new e-collar, they learned of many heat-related sporting dog deaths. The most reference story was the opening weekend of the upland season in South Dakota in 2003. It was especially harsh, with unseasonably hot weather and dogs that weren’t accustomed to the heat. Hundreds of hunting dogs perished from heat stroke across the state. With veterinarian services being too far away, it was a tragic weekend for many hunters. The product team at SportDOG asked themselves, “How could we have helped prevent so many tragedies?” The FieldSentinel e-collar with BodyGuard Technology was developed by hunters for hunters to help prevent issues from turning into tragedies.
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