Good system, works Great. Collar 'box is very large, though.
After having an Innotek in-ground fence for almost 10 years, our collars died and we were looking to replace the system. There was nothing out there comparable, except for SportDog. I've had it set up for about 4-5 days. So far, it's great. I have the 'contain and train' with remote trainer, and it's a bit more complicated than our Innotek, which did not have the remote.
It works great: It gives a warning vibration and sound prior to a shock. Our dog knows the routine, so he stops at the beeping sound.
It hooked right up to our current in-ground copper wire ( about 5 acres worth) and works great. No need to replace in ground wire.
Potential Cons: The 'box' on the collar is about twice the size and weight of the Innotek. It's really big and heavy. I thought the Innotek one was more than I wanted to leave on my dog, but this SportDog is MUCH bigger and seems like it would be uncomfortable and annoying. Our dogs are about 40-45 pounds and they are ok for that size, but a smaller dog it would just be way too big. For the record, our dog doesn't seem like it bothers him, but I would still like it about half the size and weight it is now.
The manual says to only leave on for 12 hours at a time, but that's not practical. The dog knows he can run off when the collar is not on, sooooo.... what's the point if your dog is not protected 24/7? I leave it on all the time and just make sure to leave it loose enough that it doesn't poke him. As long as it's on, he doesn't go near the boundary.
Compared to our straightforward Innotek collars, this system is like a camera that has a LOT of bells and whistles. There are so many options that it makes it difficult and more time consuming to set up (even for someone extremely familiar with and experienced with systems like this) , and there are features you may not use.
That said, it IS nice to have those features and options. You just have to read through the manual, which is kind of lengthy, and it was hard to find what I was looking for for basic set up. So be prepared to have a highlighter on hand and highlight those areas that you will use a lot for basic operation, so you can find them again easily.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned