GPS Technology to Aide in LGD Management

Bill Costanzo – LGD Research Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

This month we will be starting the first of a three-part series on GPS trackers. All the of the livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) that are in our bonding project wear global positioning system (GPS) trackers for at least twelve months so that we can monitor their movement patterns. Other dogs at the San Angelo AgriLife Center or at our research ranches continually wear the collars for long term research we are conducting with the dogs. There are a variety of GPS trackers on the market today that use cellular, satellite or LoRa systems to collect data. They come with many different types of functions that may be useful for livestock producers.

GPS trackers work by pulling data from satellites orbiting above the earth in a set position. There are several different satellite location systems that are used by nations around the world. The US system is called the Global Positioning System or GPS. To take a location, a device needs a minimum of at least three satellites to acquire a position. The more satellites that the device can obtain data from, the more accurate the location will be. Cost is the main issue that arises with accuracy. The more satellites that a company uses, the more costly it is for the data points. Most companies use three to four satellites to calculate a data point on the earth’s surface.

GPS trackers can make using and locating LGDs on a regular basis much easier. The trackers can also help you locate your livestock as the dogs are generally in close proximity to their charges. GPS trackers can also help you locate holes in your fences if your LGD is roaming onto the neighbor’s property or if your livestock have left the pasture. By pulling up the travel path in the providers software you can find the location on a fence line that the dog or livestock got out.

There are many different types of GPS trackers that are available on the market today. They range in price, complexity of use and most importantly, battery life. GPS trackers specifically designed for canine use, often have very short battery lives as the manufacturer assumes that you will be able to catch the dog on a regular basis and exchange batteries. However, many LGDs are not well socialized, making catching them difficult, if not impossible, in large pastures or open range.

Oyster 3 cellular GPS tracker made by Digital Matters.

GPS Terms

Two terms that producers should be familiar with when looking into GPS trackers are pings and uploads. Uploads generally occur in hours of time while pings are generally taken in minutes of time. A ping refers to a GPS position taken by the tracker generally every 15-30 minutes. Most trackers can store thousands of pings at a time before they are overwritten in the unit’s memory. Pings generally do not use much battery life.

Uploads occur at set times during the day, usually every two to four hours and refer to the ping data being sent to the tracking companies computer system. Uploads are generally what use the most battery life in a GPS tracker. By adjusting the upload time, you can conserve battery life while still being able to see where the dog has been over time. There are also other features such as heartbeat & movement settings that can be turned on or off to conserve battery life of the tracker. Its best to discuss these features with your sales representative before placing the tracker on your livestock guardian dog.

We look forward to sharing our research with the ranching community over the next several years as the LGD bonding project continues at the Texas A&M AgriLife Center in San Angelo. Weekly progress of the puppies and the project can be viewed on our Facebook and Instagram accounts @TAMUlivestockguarddog. Don’t forget to sign up for our blog The Guardian Way https:// sanangelo.tamu.edu/research/lgd/ and check out our YouTube channel also.

For questions regarding LGDs you can email me at bill.costanzo@ag.tamu.edu or call 325-657-7311. Look for my next article on Livestock Guardian Dogs in next month’s edition of the SouthWest Horse Trader. 🎠