PetSafe® SMART DOG® Trainer

Seriously? This is a failure. It requires restarting the app to get to the button to correct the behavior. To get the best effect correction should be immediate. It gets worse the more you explore. The app reconnects every single time. Another delay. Also it only connects to one phone at a time and you cannot have any other Bluetooth devices in use. This is only useful as a trainer in a staged session where you dedicate your phone and time to train. It's false advertising to even suggest more.

This is the worst product ever!!! The bluetooth connection rarely stays connected to the device & when it disconnects (which is constantly), it won't re-connect even when sitting right beside it. I even reinstalled the app and it still wouldn't connect. Do not invest in this product if you're trying to use consistency to train your dog. Spend the extra $20 and get one with a real remote.

App is unable to stay connected when you switch to another app. And when you do switch back to the app it has a very difficult time reconnecting. A remote would have been a lot better with the collar, being that I need to utilize my phone all the time and having a readily available remote to access the collar would make ease of access a lot better.

This app technically works fine with the collar. The problem is it takes so long to open the app that unless I have it open and ready to go every second I'm with my dog then it's useless. The app loads so slowly, even if you just switched screens for a second, that I cannot time corrections very well. It randomly disconnects even when I do leave my phone on and app open for quick response. I thought it would be much easier not having to carry around the remote but unfortunately not the case.

you can only connect one phone to it at once. it would be nice if both my wife and myself could have the app connected so that either of us could correct the behavior. the app on android also fails to connect to the collar about half of the time. seems to work better on iOS. I wish the collar had come with a physical remote. constantly having the phone on to be able to immediately correct the behavior really drains the battery and can at times result in accidental inputs.

Overall it does make a tremendous difference so I'm thankful for that. Only it never connects on the first time even when I'm right next to it. Sometimes I end up having to turn the collar off/on to connect. Also disconnects too easily which would be ok if it didn't take so long to reconnect. Having a rowdy dog it's just hard to use the sensitive app

Every time I close the app I have to manually reconnect to the collar. this takes too long to be effective. Edit, After reinstalling the ap it will now automatically connect and appears to be working. Update, the bluetooth connection is unreliable. After several attempts to make it work with mixed results I have decided to return it.

Sadly this app must reconnect to your pet's collar each time you open the app. This isn't great when you're trying to quickly correct a pooch sneaking into the neighbor's property who is anti-doggies. It would be more beneficial if it would stay connected for an allotted amount of time. For example 6hrs. My other thought is possibly even just having a bedtime setting that turns it off at a scheduled time and reconnects in the a.m. at said scheduled time.

Unable to get it to connect. Not easy to start using. I've subsequently discovered that it takes about 5 attempts to get it to link. I'll see if turning off other BT connections help, but this takes more time than the 5 attempts. Other than the connecting issue it's working well so far and it's easy to use.

I think it works well when it is connected. The only problem is that it takes several tries for it to connect and by the time it connects it's too late. Other then the connection issue I feel it works very well. ***Update***so recently got a new phone and switched all my apps over and now I am unable to use the collar. says it doesn't support such a newer model android. I've emailed tech support a few days ago and still no response.

in response to my previous comments reply by petsafe. I have to leave my phone unlocked and open on the app. I'm well aware of how to pair it as I have read the instructions. The problem comes when either the app shuts down or I'm turning the collar back on. It takes well over a minute for the app to reconnect to the collar. By that time my dog is well out of bluetooth range. So I have to turn it on and wait, in my opinion, way too long and then test it to make sure it's actually connected.

This app is not there yet, but getting there. Would like to see a pull-down on the notifications to be able to manipulate the controls faster, and potentially without having to unlock the phone, if I were in a pinch.. A another thought would be to create a widget, again to have faster access to the controls.

The collar works mostly as intended. I haven't been able to get a good fit where my dog can feel static but isn't physically choking, however I found I only need the tone to catch his attention and redirect. I do not like the bluetooth/phone version as much as i thought I would. The app will not run in background and I am constantly reconnecting the bluetooth to send my dog a message. If I could do it again, I would choose a collar with a stand alone remote.

I really wish this came with a remote instead of an app. It really is a pain that I need to have my phone on me at all times when my lab has the collar on. Once you close the app, you need to restart it and it sometimes disconnects from the collar. After several attempts to reconnect, the dog has moved on and the behavior no longer needs correction in that moment. I'm sure there is a remote collar somewhere, but my pet store didn't have it. Other than the app, the collar works fine.

I like the fact that it is an app on my phone and not a remote that could get misplaced. And I like the multiple selections of tone, vibration, and static. But i dont like that you have to dismantle the collar to get to the port to charge the battery. And the app seems to take a bit to load. Hopefully as we use it, things will smooth out.

This app works amazingly well with the collor. Unbelievable, the 3 options for use work really well. Shock is too much for our red nose pitt bull. Tone; he ignores it like it never happened. But the vibrate, is amazing. We have it set at 4. He feels it and knows what it's for. Only takes 1 time, most of the time. And he stops acting up or barking too much. Set to 5 and he yelps everytime. So not good. We keep it low so he can feel it, not to hurt him or punish, but to learn. Amazing app. Thanks.

This app doesn't work half the time. When it does work it's great, but if you move to another app or let your phone go to sleep it takes forever to reconnect, if it connects at all. We tried with several phone and the app worked just over half the time with each.

This app and collar worked great at first and then it stopped connecting to the app. No matter what I tried or did it would take several tries to connect to the app. Sometimes not connecting at all. Going to take it back since I have only had it a week. Very disappointed.

Easy setup and linked right up. My only suggestion would be to have the ability to access multiple collars on the same screen amd the ability to rename them in the app. I have two dogs and this could get confusing.

By the time you get your mobile device out, open the app, and wait for it to pair (assuming you already had Bluetooth enabled, otherwise you must go turn that on yourself), only THEN are you presented with the user interface. And of course, by that point, after all that wading through to get to the app, its far FAR too late for the dog to make the association. Meaning, the ONLY function of the device is effectively UNUSUABLE. Source: I'm a Senior DevOps Engineer

This app would be great, but there is a major flaw. It seems to "sleep" after a while, then you have to reconnect. However, if the dog is no longer beside you, then you have to find the dog and stand beside the dog in order to reconnect. Some behaviors that need to be extinguished require a longer training time. And, you shouldn't have to be next to the dog to reconnect because a) the dog begins to associate you with the collar, b) the training response needs to be immediate and consistent.

Never actually connects through my phone. If it does connect, it's after trying for over 10 tries. So beyond aggravating. I should have just gone with one that had a remote. Very disappointed.

terribly huge waste. Does not connect 90% of the time and when it does it only stays connected for maybe 30 seconds. too bad could be a great product. im going to attempt to take mine back to the store

works great when it connects, getting it to connect is always a challenge no matter which type of phone is used. definitely need to work on that, people pay for a product that can be used not to have to fight with it constantly to work! please fix this issue

Great concept, but poor execution. The app spends more time disconnected from the collar than connected. When you are finally able to connect, typically the behavior you are trying to correct has already occurred.

Works well but only one collar at a time. this makes things difficult to switch from one collar to another and the settings dont stay with the individual collars making it very bad if you have it set at 5 for one dog while another only needs a 3. make the app better and ill change it to a 5 Star.