SpotOn GPS Dog Fence NOVA Review

“There he is, in the neighbors’ trash again,” I groaned to my wife about our yellow lab. He’d just run half a mile to the nearest neighbor to investigate their trash. Frustrated by his insistence on leaving our property, I ordered the SpotOn NOVA GPS Fence, and he hasn’t left since (as long as I remember to put the collar on him). He’s a different dog, thanks to this GPS fence.

We have two labs, a chocolate and a yellow. The yellow generally leads our chocolate lab off of our 60 acres for hours at a time. It’s typically not a big deal until they start messing with other people’s stuff and livestock. We didn’t want to cage them 24/7, and putting up a chain-link fence or an underground fence was too expensive.

In short: We’d looked at GPS collars before, but never pulled the trigger until the SpotOn NOVA. It’s more costly upfront ($999), but I love that it doesn’t require a subscription to function, so we’re saving money in the long run. I found it simple to set up and adjust. Most importantly, it’s kept our wandering dog on our side of the property line.

SpotOn GPS Dog Fence NOVA Edition Review

Initial Impressions

While the initial $1,000 price is a bit jarring, I quickly saw the long-term benefit of not being forced into a subscription or installing a fence. The collar came in a nice box with everything I needed and easy-to-follow instructions.

Setup & Training

I followed the prompts on the provided card and in the app to quickly link the collar and set up a perimeter boundary, after ensuring the collar was fully charged. I walked to one edge of my property, with the collar in hand, and realized the boundary wasn’t quite right. It was quickly adjusted on my phone, and I placed the collar on my yellow lab for training.

I’m a novice dog trainer at best. I’ve trained a couple of dogs to retrieve my ducks, but that’s it. Thankfully, SpotOn provided an easy-to-follow training course that had my dog and me ready in a few sessions. As a final check, I walked my property lines with him to ensure it was working before letting him roam free, and haven’t seen him on the neighbor’s property since.

What the SpotOn NOVA Edition Does Well

After placing the SpotOn NOVA Edition GPS Collar on my yellow lab, he hasn’t left our 60 acres in the country. It’s primarily open pasture land, but one corner has some trees, and there are two ponds on the property.

The collar works whether he’s in the open, swimming in a pond, or under the tree canopy. No matter where he goes on our property, he knows when he hears the warnings, he’s getting too close to the property line and will back away to a safe distance.

Besides keeping my dog within the set boundaries, the best thing about the SpotOn NOVA is that it doesn’t require a subscription to work. I know many other collars I’ve looked at require one. SpotOn does offer a subscription if you want to track your dog. I can see why this would be handy, especially if you have a large tract of land, forest, or hills.

I’ve been so impressed with this GPS fence that my wife and I plan to get another NOVA Edition collar for our other dog.

Where I See Room for Improvement

I can see the initial cost stopping most people from purchasing the SpotOn NOVA Edition, because $1,000 is expensive. But once I factored in how much it would cost to build a fence (on a small portion of our property), the cost of vet bills if he were to get into something he shouldn’t have, and the price of a subscription to other GPS fences, it doesn’t seem as expensive.

My other complaint is battery life. I charge it every night when I put my dogs in their kennel because the battery dies sometime during the next day, if I don’t. I understand that GPS burns a lot of battery and it recharges quickly, so it isn’t a huge deal, but it’s inconvenient on some days. Especially, the days when I forget to charge it the night before.

Who Should Buy It?

The SpotOn NOVA Edition Dog Collar is for every dog owner who wants to give their dog freedom with proper boundaries. Dogs don’t know where our artificial property lines are, but this collar keeps them from going anywhere you don’t want them to go.

Final Thoughts: SpotOn NOVA Edition Review

My stubborn yellow lab has worn the SpotOn NOVA GPS Collar for several months. It’s kept him from dangerously crossing the county road and away from our neighbors’ land. While I don’t love the high initial cost, it’s worth it in the end because you can quickly set up a perimeter to keep your dog safe, without locking them up.

If you’re on the fence (pun intended) about the SpotOn NOVA GPS Dog Collar, don’t be. It’s well worth the investment. Our yellow lab no longer disappears for hours at a time.