Garmin DC 30 GPS dog collar turns hunting into a videogame

Here's one for the hunters. Strap the Garmin DC 30 collar onto your hunting dog, fire up your Astro 220 receiver, and you'll not only know where your dog is, but you'll also know if he is running, pointing, or treeing, even in dense cover. Range is good for up to seven miles, and the tracking even covers the dog's direction so you can figure out where that delicious nubbin of turkey is hiding. The receiver can track up to 10 dogs at once, and the collar is good for 17-36 hours on one charge. The DC 30 is sold separately for $199.99 or for $649.99 as part of an Astro 220 combo, and should be available third-quarter 2008.

UPDATE: Garmin was nice enough to send us proper shots of the actual DC 30. Thanks!

[Brian @ Jun 26th 2008 11:25AM]

That's the old DC 20, not the DC 30.

Nice try, though.

[Ryan @ Jun 26th 2008 12:15PM]

Will they blend?

[StreetStealth @ Jun 26th 2008 3:11PM]

Ruh-roh, Rorge!

[Brian @ Jun 26th 2008 4:01PM]

The image was fixed. Hooray for Engadget :)

[OneLove @ Jun 26th 2008 5:33PM]

The dog doesn't look happy. :)

[ZeroCorpse @ Jun 26th 2008 7:47PM]

I liked the original picture better. All the dog needed was a jet pack.

[Colin B @ Jun 26th 2008 11:31AM]

This seems like a pretty cool setup...but probably prohibitively expensive for most hunters. A friend of mine lost his hunting dog of 6 years recently though, and I'm sure he wishes he had this. $650 just seems like too much...

[kjb434 @ Jun 26th 2008 11:59AM]

I know a lot of hunters that $650 is nothing to spend on something that will be used over and over again.

[Habitual Cheetah @ Jun 26th 2008 11:33AM]

Damn, poor dog looks soo sad:-(

[natels @ Jun 26th 2008 11:40AM]

I would be sad too if I had a 8 inch antennae sticking out of my back so my master could track my every move.

[John H. @ Jun 26th 2008 12:26PM]

obviously u know nothing about hunting with dogs. there is nothing a hunting dog enjoys more than...hunting

[dom.rout @ Jun 26th 2008 12:29PM]

It's because his owner is evil

[Kamokazi @ Jun 26th 2008 1:03PM]

@John

My springer spaniel loves chasing birds (which is basically what he'd be doing if he did go hunting), but he despises wearing anything more than a basic collar...wouldn't matter if we'd let him chase birds with it on, he'd try and tear that thing off his back first.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Jun 26th 2008 4:50PM]

You animal rights people are morons.

[rock99rock @ Jun 26th 2008 11:35AM]

That poor dog. Imagine what he is thinkin.

[kjb434 @ Jun 26th 2008 12:01PM]

The dog doesn't care. If he gets to have a treat and get to track down birds he'll be the happiest.

These does are trained for this and live for this. There most unhappy when just sitting at home doing nothing.

People need to stop putting human emotions on animals.

[fashionista @ Jun 26th 2008 12:21PM]

Dude, working dogs love to work. This thing doesn't bother her a bit.

[rock99rock @ Jun 26th 2008 12:36PM]

Of course working dogs love to work. That doesn't mean they enjoy having items strapped to their back like this. No one debated that bored@home dogs are unhappy.

@kjb434 Dogs do have feelings, its a proven fact. I never said anythign about human emotion though, get your shit straight.

Also, all dogs go to heaven. We are still working on the proof for that one though.

[tyler @ Jun 26th 2008 12:47PM]

I'm thinking I need to figure out how to get this receiver attached to my girlfriend without her knowing.. that could be pretty useful in the long run..

[rock99rock @ Jun 26th 2008 4:39PM]

I have to update my comment, as the picture has now been updated. This particular solution is much more fitting for a dog, as the collar is MUCH less invasive than the saddle from the previous version.

@tyler

Agreed. Although, it might be better suited to my favorite hooker, for when i cant find her on her normal corner.

[kal326 @ Jun 26th 2008 11:43AM]

Hell I could have used this when my cat got out last week. Damn thing was gone for the better part of 3 days and finally decided to come back. With this I could have found him in no time, instead of putting up fliers and walking around calling him.

[Dwayne @ Jun 26th 2008 11:48AM]

Dandy! For the farm, this rocks.

[Morgon @ Jun 26th 2008 11:48AM]

And if you miss, the receiver is capable of making the dog turn and laugh at you.

[Alex @ Jun 26th 2008 12:04PM]

I was wondering how long it would take for a Duck Hunt reference.

[David_Guetta @ Jun 26th 2008 2:37PM]

@Alex

Epic FAIL!!

[srue @ Jun 26th 2008 11:50AM]

Anyone know what kind of dog that is?

[fashionista @ Jun 26th 2008 12:14PM]

English Pointer.

[Thanatos @ Jun 26th 2008 12:31PM]

That i believe is a German Short hair Pointer, they usually are brown with little white spots but some breeds are white with big brown spots, my family has 3 of them. Also my dad is a guide at a Pheasant Preserve and your dog should never be that far in front of you to ever need a GPS system on them. Otherwise when the bird flys good luck hitting it. A little beeping collar works just as well and is really cheap. And if they run away you need to train your dogs better.

[Jerry @ Jun 27th 2008 8:09AM]

@Thanatos: Yeah, that's true for bird hunting, but for things like racoons and foxes, the dogs can get very far from you.

[swift @ Jun 26th 2008 2:24PM]

English pointer. GSPs don't have tails like that.

[shorthairmom @ Jun 26th 2008 3:08PM]

It is certainly not an english pointer. It's a German Short Haired Pointer

[Thanatos @ Jun 26th 2008 3:27PM]

Most German Short Hair pointers have their tails cut shortly after birth.

[Lowest Ranked @ Jun 26th 2008 11:50AM]

This is, the next-gen version of Duck Hunt.

The graphics are unreal.

[Myears Hearbarks @ Jun 26th 2008 11:55AM]

> ...up to 10 dogs at once...$649.99 [each]...

That turkey would end up being almost as expensive as homegrown tomatoes!

[Munky @ Jun 26th 2008 8:20PM]

$649 for the first. $199 for each additional.

[bd451 @ Jun 26th 2008 12:55PM]

The collars are 199 each, the 645 is the price of a collar + handheld device, which you only need one of.

[The 3rd Hot Dog @ Jun 26th 2008 11:58AM]

Astro?

As in, "Ruh Roh, Reorge!"

[nwtrnr @ Jun 26th 2008 12:06PM]

Hmmm... interesting.... wonder if this'll work on kids

[riggs @ Jun 26th 2008 12:00PM]

*FLY AWAY*

[Lonecow @ Jun 26th 2008 12:08PM]

Will this antenna make the dog giggle at me if I accidently miss the duck?

[KilgoreTrout @ Jun 26th 2008 12:43PM]

I'm gonna get one of these to strap on my wife

[phanbouy @ Jun 26th 2008 12:59PM]

So you like when she uses strap-ons?

[Colin @ Jun 26th 2008 1:26PM]

lollllllllllll

[thomas Whatley @ Jun 26th 2008 12:52PM]

i have the astro 220 dc20 combo and it works great i cant wait to see the improved transmitter dc30

[Adam @ Jun 26th 2008 2:50PM]

This is lame and way unsafe for the dog. If your not right on your dogs heals, your not going to get the birds thats the dogs pointing anyways. I think most hunters enjoy staying with their dogs, using commands and watching them work.

P.S. You don't hunt turkeys with dogs engadget.

[Kamokazi @ Jun 26th 2008 1:07PM]

No, I don't think this looks like the Unreal engine...I would guess the Cry Engine, or maybe something developed in-house.

[Kamokazi @ Jun 26th 2008 1:57PM]

Bah, that was supposed to be a reply to Lowest Ranked

[Jason @ Jun 26th 2008 1:10PM]

Now you know exactly where your dog is when he gets shot for scaring the hell out of the other hunters.

[Colin @ Jun 26th 2008 1:23PM]

Think if you could send vocal dog commands over radio to a speaker mounted to that harness as well :)

[lizaoreo @ Jun 26th 2008 2:19PM]

Forget the dog, I'm gonna stick that on my kids.