“The rugged Garmin Instinct GPS Watch is built to U.S. military 810G thermal, shock and water resistance standards (rated to 100 meters). It has a chemically-strengthened, scratch-resistant high-contrast display that works well in bright light and a fiber-reinforced polymer case for strength and durability. Fully vented silicone bands include two independent, removable keeper loops for a secure fit..” – Gun Dog Supply

REVIEW

The Garmin PRO 550 PLUS is the newest in a line of GPS tracking collars from Garmin. What makes this collar so special, is that its an E-Collar that includes GPS tracking, and not the other way around. You get full E-Collar functions with the added ability to know where your dog is throughout the session.

“Its an E-Collar that includes GPS tracking, and not the other way around.”

To be clear, with the Garmin PRO 550 PLUS, you get an E-Collar that has stimulation with 18 levels, you get tone, you get vibrate, you get a running light and you get true one handed operation. You get all that while having the ability to look down and see where your dog is via direction, distance, and whether or no the dog is moving or on point.

The transmitter is compatible with both the TT15 collar and the TT15 Mini collar if you have smalls or larger dogs. Personally I have smaller dogs so I use the minis and I haven’t found myself hampered with battery life. It is compatible with and functions well with the Garmin Alpha, the Garmin Astro, The Garmin Fenix Watches, The Garmin Instinct Watches, and the The Garmin DriveTrack System

“A system that is very quick and responsive for stimulation and also very quick for a basic tracking function.”

All of this is built into a transmitter built around the popular Garmin PRO 550 design. The only thing the Garmin PRO 550 PLUS does not have is the bark limiter function that you can find on the regular Garmin PRO 550. The Garmin PRO 550 PLUS is built around why I have primitively called a tube style transmitter for many years. This style of transmitter is very user friendly and allows someone who is very familiar with their setup to operate every function with one hand without the need to look down at it. 

From a training perspective, I love it. You still have to pair the collar to the transmitter but its pretty fast, and once I do that the setup functions just like a regular 550. What makes this so much more awesome is that I can look down and quickly see where my dog is if it’s out of sight.

Where the system really shines is when you pair it with other Garmin products. I have mine paired with a Garmin Alpha and a Garmin Instinct Watch. Here is what I get from that. With the addition of the Alpha I can find out both where my dogs are and where I am with incredible accuracy and mapping features. I keep my Garmin Alpha packed away for when I need it. Some people are using a Garmin Astro for this purpose because you already have stimulation abilities with the Garmin PRO 550 PLUS. But I don’t want that, When I have my Alpha out, Im not holding my 550, which means I would not have stimulation abilities at that time if I was using the Astro. If I don’t want to grab either system and I just want to know where the dogs are quickly, I just have to look at my Garmin Instinct Watch. It’s truly impressive when it all works together.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the Garmin PRO 550 PLUS is by far the best system on the market for anyone looking for training and tracking features in one unit. You can start with just this system and add to it later with other products such as the Garmin Alpha or the Garmin Instinct Watch or Garmin Fenix Watch. Or, you can skip those altogether and just use the Garmin PRO 550 PLUS on its own. No matter which way you decide to go it’s a steal at $649.99 as package deal including a transmitter and collar.

“by far the best system on the market for anyone looking for training and tracking features in one unit.”