# Tracking App



## Billie Fletcher (May 13, 2013)

A friend just found this on Google Play - thought I would share here as I'm sure some of you will get as excited as me about it!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.nabo.dogtracks

I have been talking for ages about how awesome it would be to have a tracking app integrated with a map, and apparently this one is just that! Supposedly using the GPS on your phone it draws a line on a map showing where you laid a track and where you put the articles, how long it took you to lay it, etc. Then it draws a 2nd line when your dog is tracking and marks the articles they indicate. 

Waiting to hear how it works for my friend before buying it, but it looks very cool - particularly if you're out laying tracks for multiple dogs and tracking at all different times.


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## Katie Finlay (Jan 31, 2010)

This is magical. Please tell me how it works. And yes, go ahead and make fun, I'm admittedly a horrible tracking trainer.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

been a long time since i did any Iphone app shopping ... but a few years back, most were either free or cost a buck or two ... this one would seem awful expensive by those standards, or is that the way most apps have now gone ?


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

That is very cool


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## Billie Fletcher (May 13, 2013)

rick smith said:


> been a long time since i did any Iphone app shopping ... but a few years back, most were either free or cost a buck or two ... this one would seem awful expensive by those standards, or is that the way most apps have now gone ?


I'm not too sure actually - I have never purchased an app before (only download free ones), but if this one is good I don't mind paying to support it. 

From their website...


> Why is the app not free?
> Between designing, prototyping, testing and actual development we have spent hundreds of hours of our spare time, evenings and weekends. In order to keep delivering updates and new apps to our fans we need to take out a charge.


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## Billie Fletcher (May 13, 2013)

Matt Vandart said:


> That is very cool


Yeah if it works it looks pretty awesome!! 

Partner suggested that you will probably need to stick the phone onto the dog's harness to get an accurate idea of where they're tracking (if it's in your pocket you won't see casting or anything).


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## John Simpson (Jul 17, 2011)

Billie Fletcher said:


> A friend just found this on Google Play - thought I would share here as I'm sure some of you will get as excited as me about it!
> 
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.nabo.dogtracks
> 
> ...


 
From a Police perspective this could be useful in court as to extra corroborating evidence to the actual detail of the track the handler ran, from start point A to finish point B.


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## Carolyn Herle (Dec 29, 2009)

The accuracy of these would likely not be suitable for IPO tracking. Our GPS units we used for work are +/- 3 meters and those are the WASP enabled. Our precision farmers have to get a satellite subscription to have within maybe 10 cm (3 inches).

Carolyn


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

Billie Fletcher said:


> I have been talking for ages about how awesome it would be to have a tracking app integrated with a map, and apparently this one is just that! Supposedly using the GPS on your phone it draws a line on a map showing where you laid a track and where you put the articles, how long it took you to lay it, etc. Then it draws a 2nd line when your dog is tracking and marks the articles they indicate.
> .


 Wonder what the deviation range is? Also if working off cellphones, some areas you go do have coverage issues. But for sport dog work it probably works well if you know what the deviation is so you don't screw up a dog forcing them to work a track where it doesn't exist. Or at least not there.


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

John Simpson said:


> From a Police perspective this could be useful in court as to extra corroborating evidence to the actual detail of the track the handler ran, from start point A to finish point B.


It does, if you remember to turn it on....lol If you forget or start it late then remember to document that.


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## Billie Fletcher (May 13, 2013)

Sarah Platts said:


> Wonder what the deviation range is? Also if working off cellphones, some areas you go do have coverage issues. But for sport dog work it probably works well if you know what the deviation is so you don't screw up a dog forcing them to work a track where it doesn't exist. Or at least not there.


My friend had a go at it this morning, but just quickly. She said it was pretty good, but the accuracy might not be too great for IPO tracking, but will probably be ok for KC tracking.

I wonder how cellphone coverage would affect it, as it is run off GPS, so probably doesn't need a cellphone connection, just a GPS signal? (I don't know anything about that sort of technology so could be talking smack LOL). I imagine it doesn't work too well in valleys or anything, which could be a pain as anything about UD level tracking here tends to go into gullies and valleys... But for training purposes on a flat paddock I think it could be cool. 

I like the fact it records temperature and wind speed, I am useless at taking a note book out to record these things, but always have my cellphone on me so might help me to keep a better logbook. I would also like to see if stuff like wind direction or temperature is affecting how much Elsie is casting, and how far off a track she is working... Stuff that I am useless at keeping track of myself. 

Might buy it tomorrow when I have money and see if I can go tracking tomorrow morning


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## Annie Wildmoser (Nov 18, 2012)

I've tried a few apps (iPhone most recently "Trail Tracker") to help track (I'm shamefully bad at remembering my tracks) and the accuracy just doesn't come close to being a useful tool to measure track accuracy. It is useful to give a general outline of the track if you are super forgetful like me.


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## Billie Fletcher (May 13, 2013)

Alright I have purchased it and had a play with it this afternoon... Some good and bad points!

First thing is that you really need a way to attach it to your dog's harness, I used some rubber-bands which was not effective  (more on that later). I am thinking of buying one of those phone holders that runners use, or some sort of velcro case so I can keep the phone as still as possible while she is thrashing around. 

It takes awhile for the GPS to pin point your location perfectly, so turn the app on and get it ready before you are standing at the start of your track both before you lay it and before you run it. When I first turned it on, it was at 16 metres accuracy, then got down to 2 metres accuracy after about a minute.

It is actually very good at following where you have tracked, and placing markers on it is very easy. I walked my whole track and put down 5 articles, the app tells you how long the track is and how long it took you to walk it. 

When I came back to track, it had aged for 36 minutes (useful!). Now I forgot to wait for the GPS to pinpoint us properly, so when we started it was at about 10 metres accuracy, but figured itself out quickly. 

When we got to the first article, I went to Elsie to check it off on the app, and I couldn't see how, not sure if it wouldn't allow it because it thought we had gone past it? Will need to investigate this further. 

I gave up checking off the other markers as our track didn't go too well (had to stop 3 times because apparently our only tracking paddock near by is now a parking lot for road work vehicles booo) and I was busy trying to tell school children to stop coming over to see what Elsie was doing. Urban tracking SUCKS! At some point the app looked like it had turned off while bouncing around on Elsie's back, I couldn't be stuffed fiddling with it so when we finished I took it off and put my phone back in my bag, but when we got home it had actually recorded the whole thing and recorded our walk home... Interesting! The path home was very accurately recorded, and by the looks of it the track was too, except it said she picked up no articles when she got all 5. 

I am looking forward to using this again


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