Diesel will be a year old in March. In that short time, he’s already lived more life than most dogs ever will.
He’s a Great Pyrenees (well, technically 50+% Great Pyrenees, 35% Maremma, 15% Anatolian Shepard, give or take) and he’s starting to take his job seriously. He’s here to protect the goats and act as an early warning system for us. He patrols ground that most people would never consider safe for a dog to roam freely.
Since we’ve had him, Diesel’s been bitten by a rattlesnake and had to receive antivenom. He’s been sprayed by a skunk. Eaten a mushroom (we weren’t sure if it was poisonous or not) and we forced him to vomit (just in case). And on Christmas night (2025), he went to visit the neighbors and turned it into a walkabout that covered miles, he was out all night, we woke up and found him sleeping on a ridge close to the house after his adventures. And right now he’s got an aggravated cut on his leg, All before turning one. Wheeee!
Our land is rocky, steep, and has constantly changing elevation all over. There are cliffs, a creek, shelves, draws, and hard, rocky transitions everywhere. The goats have a defined area, but Diesel can easily jump their fence. Buddy needs to move around and patrol. And eventually, he’ll be out all night doing exactly that.
The problem was simple. Our property is not fenceable.
The SpotOn GPS Fence creates a virtual boundary without buried wire or physical fencing, making it ideal for steep, rocky, and unfenceable land. Using GPS, it allows you to draw custom boundaries that follow the terrain, send alerts when the boundary is challenged, and track where your dog is and where he’s been. It gives working dogs the freedom to patrol while giving owners real accountability and peace of mind, even when they’re away from the property. LEARN MORE / PURCHASE ONLINE
The Reality of an Unfenceable Property
Traditional fencing doesn’t work here. Physical fencing would be expensive, incomplete, dangerous in some areas, and ineffective in others. Buried wire systems aren’t realistic in rocky terrain with major elevation changes.
But Diesel still needs boundaries. Not to restrict him, but to keep him alive.
We needed a system that could adapt to the land, work with his instincts, and still give us accountability.
That’s where the SpotOn GPS Fence came in.
Training Took One Day
After a long search of every option on the market, we opted for the SpotOn Omni, we received the Omni collar on December 23, 2025. More recently, we upgraded/added the newer collar from the same company (the Nova Edition). Now we have both (one for a future dog). Our inside doggie, she’s very old (pictured at the bottom of this post) and when she goes, we’ll need to train the new puppy and I’m sure that new puppy will want to spend all day outside with his big bro, Diesel.
The day after Diesel’s Christmas walkabout, we trained him on the GPS fence.
It took one day.
As you can see in the image above, he has no interest in going back for another round with the beep at the boundary line. Since initial training, he’s challenged the boundary fewer than ten times. Every time, he turns and runs back immediately. In many cases, we’re not even sure he received a correction. It may have just been the beeping.
Diesel learned exactly where his world ends, even though there’s no physical fence anywhere.
Why This Collar Was Exactly What We Needed
This system solved multiple problems at once.
First, it created a boundary on land that simply cannot be fenced. The GPS fence follows the terrain instead of forcing the terrain to conform.
Second, it gave us real time awareness. We can leave for hours and receive notifications if Diesel challenges the boundary. If something’s off, we know immediately.
Third, it gave us visibility. We can see where he’s been and where he’s currently located. That matters when you live on rugged land with predators, cliffs, and long sight lines.
Fourth, it supports the long term plan. Right now, Diesel sleeps in the goat barn at night. In the future, he’ll be out all night doing his job. This system makes that possible without sacrificing safety.
VISIT THE SPOTON WEBSITE TO SEE PRICING
Features That Matter in the Real World
This collar is a working tool.
The GPS fence requires no buried wire and no physical fencing. The boundary is virtual and adjustable.
It works across elevation changes and rough terrain where traditional systems fail.
Notifications alert us when the boundary is challenged.
Tracking shows where Diesel’s been and where he is now.
IMO, the collar is just right for working dogs that live outside.
Most importantly, it allows freedom with accountability. Diesel can patrol, roam, and protect without disappearing into dangerous ground.
A Fence That Matches the Land
Some properties are flat, clean, and easy to manage. Ours isn’t.
We needed a solution that respected the reality of the land, the instincts of a livestock guardian dog, and our responsibility to keep him alive.
This GPS fence gave us that.
Diesel still does his job. The goats are still protected. We still get warned when something’s wrong.
The difference is that now, even on land that can’t be fenced, we finally have boundaries that work.
Click here to view the SpotOn website and learn more.
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