Garmin looks to make dog training easier with four new electronic collars

Garmin is usually a name we associate with GPS and satellite navigation, but did you know that the company also competes in the pet sector? Strange as it may seem, it's true, and today the company announced two new series to add to its dog collar line up. Being introduced today are the BarkLimiter and Delta series of electronic dog collars, and they're aimed at helping owners train their dog with fewer headaches.

The BarkLimiter series is first on the list, and it's pretty easy to figure out what these collars do based on the name alone. The BarkLimiter series is obviously meant to keep your dog from barking, using "bark identification technology" and an accelerometer to tell the difference between your dog's bark and other noises. Once your dog starts barking, the collar will being delivering "correction," starting a low level and increasing as long as the dog keeps barking. These collars also come equipped with what's being called a Bark Odometer, which you can use to measure how many times your dog barks when you aren't around. There will be two variants of the BarkLimiter offered: the standard BarkLimiter, which comes with a non-rechargeable 10-month battery, and the BarkLimiter Deluxe, which uses a rechargeable three-month battery.

Next we come to the Delta series. The collar to focus on in this series is the Delta Sport, which serves as a training collar and a bark collar rolled into one. It includes the same features as the BarkLimiter, has a range of three-quarters of a mile, and even comes packed with a handheld LCD display. Through this LCD display, users can set up to five different training profiles while controlling as many as three different collars at once. The idea is to use the Delta Sport to make training easier while also using it to correct behavior you don't approve of. For those who don't need all of the bells and whistles, Garmin is also offering a standard Delta, which is missing the BarkLimiter features and only has a half-mile range and three training profiles.

The BarkLimiter and BarkLimiter Deluxe will cost $79.99 and $99.99 respectively, while potential owners will have to shell out $199.99 for the Delta and $249.99 for the Delta Sport. Make no mistake, we're working with some serious collars here, especially in the case of the Delta series. All four collars will be available at some point during Q1 2013, though Garmin hasn't set specific dates yet.