Dogtra ARC Product Review

I recently got my hands on the Dogtra ARC, which is Dogtra's new and low-profile remote dog training system. Designed to be very slim and blend in with the collar around your dog's neck, it is the perfect discreet dog training device. The hand-held is small and light weight, making it great for carrying around your neck or in a holster on your belt. The Dogtra ARC training system is suitable for wearing out for a run at the park, while still allowing you to have that e-collar control of your dog without the anti-electronic collar looks from strangers.

Features of the Receiver (Collar)

The receiver, as said above, is designed to be very slim and light weight. The Dogtra ARC design moves away from the normal block design of many other e-collars, sitting on the curvature of your dog's neck which makes it more comfortable for them. When paired with a black collar, the ARC receiver almost completely blends in, matching the width and curvature of the collar without being set out from the dog's neck. The collar that comes with the receiver is designed to be used on any dog 15 pounds and up.

The receiver gives you the ability to use a vibration feature, as well as a nick, and constant stimulation. The vibration feature enables you to get your dog's attention without having to use a static stimulation. Having a nick and constant stimulation feature gives you the control of how much stimulation you want to use depending on the circumstance. The Dogtra ARC also allows you to choose between 127 levels of stimulation, unlike most remote dog training systems that only have a few levels, this allows you to correct the dog at the exact level they require.

The Dogtra ARC receiver is completely waterproof, giving you the freedom to train in any conditions. It also comes with quick two hour charging lithium polymer batteries, allowing you to keep your Dogtra ARC powered up and ready to use.

Features of the Transmitter (Hand-Held)

The Dogtra ARC hand-held is small and light; the transmitter fits nicely into my hand with all the buttons in convenient places. The hand-held also incorporates a checkered grip on the sides ensuring a good grip even in wet conditions. In my hands, only the antenna of the transmitter is able to be seen, making this a very discreet hand-held as well.

The transmitter is capable of controlling two collars at a time. The system comes with one collar, and a Dogtra ARC Extra Collar can be purchased separately; one collar will be the black and the other collar will be the orange. Unlike other training devices this device doesn't have a toggle to switch between dogs; instead they opted for two sets of buttons color coded to the collar. Although the transmitter does have a toggle giving you the option to switch between nick and constant stimulation, making it very easy to transition back and forth. The stimulation buttons on the front and the vibration buttons on the sides allow you to know what button you're pushing without looking at the hand-held.

The Dogtra ARC transmitter is equipped with a LCD screen display, giving you a readout of the current stimulation level and a three bar battery life indicator. The level of stimulation is controlled by a rheostat dial on top of the transmitter, which is easily changed with your thumb and pointer finger. As with the receiver, the transmitter is also waterproof and equipped with the two hour quick charge feature.

The Dogtra ARC offers up to 3/4 miles of line of sight range. This amount of range makes off lead training possible as well as gives your dog the freedom to roam around. As with all training devices, range will vary depending on the terrain, foliage, and weather conditions.

Overall Impressions of the Dogtra ARC

The Dogtra ARC would make a great discreet training system for anyone worried about other people making comments about their use of an electronic collar. It's also nice for people that don't like seeing a big blocky receiver on their dog. The ability to dial in the stimulation level for your dog is a good feature. The LCD screen is very convenient, especially when it comes to dialing in the stimulation level and takes the guess work of trying to figure out how much battery your device has left.

There are a few things that I think the Dogtra ARC is missing or at least customers should think about before buying. First, is the lack of a tone feature, which may or may not be a problem if you have trained with that in the past. The second is the limitation of only being expandable to two dogs. The way the button system is set up on the Dogtra ARC makes it ideal for one or two dogs, but anyone with more than two dogs are out of luck with the current design. The last concern is the contact points could be long for thinner furred dogs; it would be nice if they included at least one pair of shorter contact pointer in the package, but they do offer replaceable contact points sold in 4 different lengths.