I tested the Halo Collar 5 for seven weeks on Lucy and Shelby, after previously testing the Halo 3 — and yes, Halo 5 is better. It is noticeably lighter, the battery lasts longer in my real-world use, and, most importantly, I haven’t experienced the false boundary alerts that concerned me with the older collar.
That doesn’t mean I’ve suddenly become an advocate for electronic containment. I’m a positive reinforcement trainer, and I would still advise a physical fence or a no-dig/force-free containment solution first wherever that’s realistically possible. But if a physical fence genuinely isn’t an option and you’re considering a GPS fence, Halo 5 is a substantially more convincing product than the Halo 3 I originally reviewed here.
This review is based on real use around our property and at local Sniffspots. Lucy and Shelby wore the collar normally, including in wet conditions and in the pond. I tested tone and vibration with the dogs, but I did not use the static correction or contact prongs on either dog. Static output was assessed separately using an oscilloscope. I also did not deliberately allow either dog to escape a boundary just to test recovery tracking — they’re hounds, and creating an escape risk for a review would be ridiculous.
My Halo 5 Verdict After 7 Weeks
- GPS and boundary reliability: Solid so far, with no false alerts during the seven-week test.
- Real-world battery: Around 18–20 hours in our use. Halo advertises up to 48 hours, but that isn’t what I’m seeing in normal use. We largely charge overnight.
- Weight and comfort: A major improvement. Halo 5 is much lighter than Halo 3 and has fitted both Lucy and Shelby without notable bouncing, rotating or rubbing during normal wear.
- Fence setup: Easy in the app. Drawing a precise fence is inevitably fiddly when your property is an odd shape, but that’s more about plotting a virtual boundary than the app being difficult.
- Water: No problems through rain or pond testing.
- Biggest negatives: The device is expensive, the subscription adds meaningful ongoing cost, and I still disagree with the aversive/static side of Halo’s training philosophy.
How I Tested Halo Collar 5
The original Halo 3 was provided free of charge for Rebarkable to test and review. This article began as that Halo 3 review, and I’ve kept the useful historical context because it gives me something most Halo 5 reviews don’t have: direct experience with the problems of the older generation.
For Halo 5, I tested the collar for seven weeks with Lucy and Shelby around our property and at local Sniffspots. I assessed everyday GPS and boundary behaviour, battery life, fit, app/fence setup and water resistance in normal life. Tone and vibration were tested with the dogs. Static correction and the contact prongs were not used on Lucy or Shelby; electrical output was tested separately using an oscilloscope.
I also didn’t manufacture an escape to test recovery tracking. These are escape-risk hounds, so deliberately sending one through a virtual boundary would be an irresponsible way to review a safety product. Where I discuss features I haven’t safely tested firsthand, I’ll distinguish Halo’s specification from my own observations.
How Does The Halo Collar Work?
The Halo collar works based off of GPS location services and it’s positioning of the collar (which assumedly is on your dog), and you setting up a “safe zone”, you set boundaries within the Halo collar app, denoting an area you’re happy for your dog to be (usually this would be the perimeter of your property, or close to it). The idea then is that your dog’s location will trigger to alert your pup that they’re getting close to the boundary, with a beep, a vibrate, and ultimately a shock. The principle comes from operant conditioning and would be considered “Positive punishment” (aka, the application of an uncomfortable or painful thing to make the subject stop and not repeat doing what they’re doing).
There are also other features within the collar including general GPS tracking and activity tracking.
Who This Works For
Now, for anyone who follows this blog or knows me, may be surprised to see this being reviewed here as I am a positive reinforcement trainer. Now, please do not get me wrong, I do not, and will not ever support an ecollar, and I have not and will not go into it’s beacons for this exact reason – however – there are instances where this is about the only option some pet parents will have, so, I want to explore it in a safe, constructive manner, so that those who have no other options can make the best of a tool.
People I think this would be ideal for:
- Renters Or If You’re Moving: If you have a dog and you’re either regularly moving, or you’re not able to put in a fence, this is a relatively affordable solution for you.
- People who need portable boundaries: If you’re travelling or regularly using suitable private spaces such as Sniffspots, being able to create a new virtual fence without installing hardware can be genuinely useful.
- Land Owners: if you own a property that is impossible to fence (for whatever reason), this one might just work for you.
Whilst the Halo 3 is not a replacement for proper training – it can assist if you’re not in a position to put in a full fence, for whatever reason, and a regular GPS dog collar might be a better option for most of you – so make sure you check out the Halo vs Fi series 3 comparison.
What Halo 5 Has Improved Over Halo 3
The difference is not just a new model number. After seven weeks, the three improvements that stand out to me are weight, battery life and boundary reliability. Halo 5 feels substantially lighter on the dog, comfortably gets us through a normal day, and I haven’t seen the false alerts I experienced with the older generation.
I still don’t test punitive feedback on my dogs. Tone and vibration are the only boundary feedback Lucy and Shelby experienced; static output was assessed separately on an oscilloscope. So when I say the boundary system has been reliable, I mean the collar has not been incorrectly triggering warnings during normal controlled use.
Easier Than An Invisible Dog Fence
You can set up multiple safe zones or smart fences, using virtual fence posts to mark out the area.
Creating a fence in the Halo app is straightforward, and being able to do it without laying boundary wire is genuinely convenient. We used Halo 5 both around our property and at local Sniffspots. The only fiddly part is drawing a precise boundary when the property itself is an odd shape — that’s an inherent nuisance of plotting virtual fence posts rather than something I found particularly difficult about the Halo app.
Comes with appropriate training
The new halo collar comes with a 21-day training program to ensure you understand the halo system, and whilst it does start at some very low basics, the halo training process does cover everything you need to know about your new collar, however, some users have shown disdain for it’s basic approach. And I actually see it from both sides. It’s hard to create a course that can walk everyone from the basics to the advanced notes of dog training – but having a quicker option than running the full 21-day halo training program would definitely give me more satisfaction, and others who might be more advanced than the average dog parent – or (even) just a on pager on how the halo collar works and how to effectively use it – that could be a good idea too!
Unparalleled Location Accuracy
Halo 5’s GPS and boundary behaviour has been solid in my seven weeks of testing. Around our property and at local Sniffspots, I haven’t seen the false alerts that were one of my concerns with the older Halo generation. That’s the result I care about most in normal use. I have not deliberately sent Lucy or Shelby outside a boundary to stage an escape, so I can’t give you a responsible firsthand claim about recovery tracking during a real escape.
Customized Safety Perimeters:
Now, as discussed, there’s not a whole heap of times that the halo collar will outperform an actual fence, but, it does have the functionality to give freedom when a fence isn’t present or cannot be present, and it’s safety perimeters? Are great for this. The unique customizable virtual fences align with natural boundaries or human constructions in different environments. They provide a fitting safety perimeter, offering pet parents the luxury to customize their pet’s playing or roaming field.
My husband (Mr Rebarkable) and I have discussed what we’d do with a huge area of unfenced land and hounds who would happily follow their noses into the next county. Fencing a very large or awkward property can become enormously expensive, and this is the sort of situation where I understand the appeal of GPS containment. Even then, I’d still treat it as a management tool with limitations rather than pretending a virtual boundary provides the physical security of a real fence.
Introductory Training Program:
The in-built training program is responsive to individual behaviors in dogs, making shaping routines more effective for pet parents and trainers. It is the result of collaboration with a leading dog behaviorist and showcases the power of scientific knowledge meeting technology. Now, I will warn you, it very much starts from base principles, but it’s very worth it to go through it and ensure you know how to correctly use and set this up so that you know your pup is at minimal risk of aversive fallout.
Ease of Use.
The easy-to-use Halo App provides accessibility to monitor your pet seamlessly, access training routines, and receive important notifications regarding your pet’s activities. Its intuitive navigation ensures anyone can utilize it effectively, even without advanced tech skills. I like the fact it gives some great insight into our dogs activities and locations, and overall it works really well.
Adaptable Machine Learning (Maybe?)
The integrated machine learning capabilities of the Halo Collar 3 make it a smart, learning device that continuously adapts its functions. With this feature, the device learns from your dog’s activities to improve its predictive capabilities, enhancing overall performance and safety – what does that mean in the day to day functioning of this collar? If I’m honest, I’m not exactly certain, it feels a little like they’re jumping on the AI bandwagon, but I’m just not certain what it actually does to improve the collars performace
Suitable Solution When Fencing Isn’t Possible
Now, I really would advise a fence whenever you can do a fence, because a fence also means things can’t come in to your yard (or your designated area of your wireless dog fence), but sometimes that just isn’t possible for dog parents, and I’d be negligent to simply tell people to fence their yard, or move, or that they shouldn’t have a dog – which isn’t an answer! Because sometimes we can’t just stop having a dog when our life situations change. And I appreciate that. I just want everyone to go into a tool like this fully aware of what they mean, and the consequences of using one.
What Could Be Improved
The Halo collar has made improvements since the original halo collar, but there’s still things that can be worked on, and I’d like to see remedied – some might be more difficult than others, but it can be done.
The Training Philosophy Still Isn’t Mine
Halo 5 may be better hardware, but my position on static correction hasn’t changed. The system can deliver static feedback at a virtual boundary, and that is not a training method I use on my dogs. Lucy and Shelby were tested with tone and vibration only; the static output was measured separately using an oscilloscope, and the contact prongs were not used on them.
If you can safely contain your dog with a physical fence or another no-dig, force-free solution, that remains my first recommendation. Technology improving doesn’t change the behavioural questions around aversive feedback.
Battery Life Is Better — But Not 48 Hours For Us
Battery life is one of the clearest improvements over Halo 3. Halo advertises up to 48 hours for Halo 5, but in our normal real-world use I’m seeing roughly 18–20 hours. In practice that comfortably covers morning through night, and we’ve fallen into a routine of charging it overnight. If I leave it into the following day, it tends to run flat around lunchtime or early afternoon.
So: definitely better, and much less irritating than my Halo 3 experience, but I would not personally plan around the headline 48-hour figure. Your settings, GPS use, connectivity and boundary use can all affect battery life.
Water Resistance Is No Longer A Complaint
This was a genuine frustration I had with the older Halo 3. Halo 5 now carries an IP67 rating, and more importantly for this review, Lucy and Shelby have given it a much less scientific test: rain and the pond. So far, absolutely fine. I haven’t experienced a water-related problem during the seven-week test.
It’s Still Expensive
This is the clearest practical downside for me. Halo 5 is an expensive piece of hardware and it also carries an ongoing subscription cost. Whether that makes financial sense depends heavily on what you’re comparing it with: on a huge or difficult-to-fence property it may be dramatically cheaper than physical fencing, while for someone who already has a secure yard it’s much harder to justify.
I wouldn’t bake a temporary sale price into your buying decision. Check Halo’s current device price and membership options when you’re comparing it, then calculate the total cost over the period you realistically expect to use it.
It’s not as good as a real fence
This sounds really obvious, but this isn’t a tool that’s going to replace or be as effective at containing your dog as a real fence — and also the opposite – it won’t keep other dogs (or wildlife) out of your yard. Yes your set safe are a will mainly keep your dog safe, however, if you have a dog with a high prey drive? That virtual boundary, and the punishment it applies, may well be absolutely nothing as your dog runs after a deer or a rabbit.
It’s Figurehead…
Cesar Milan (yes, the Dog Whisperer of 90’s fame) is possibly the worst thing that have happened to dogs in my opinion and in the opinion of most reputable dog trainers, and choosing to associate their product with him is something I strongly dislike – not to mention that it talks about “Behavioral psychology training methods”, and sure, it uses operant conditioning, but not in an advisable way… I feel like his endorsement is a negative as we try to move the dog industry forwards and he weighs the dog-world down like a millstone.
A Note On Halo & Nervous Dogs
If your dog is of a nervous disposition, I wouldn’t use this tool at all, because redirected bites do happen. That means that if your child is out with your dog, and your dog gets surprised by the punishment the collar doles out, it could result in a bite to a human.
Also, any punishment based training with a nervous dog could simply add to the issue. If you have a nervous dog, you might want to opt for a fi collar instead.
Would I Recommend Halo Collar 5?
For the right situation, yes — but it still wouldn’t be my first containment recommendation.
If someone told me they couldn’t install a conventional fence, I’d still look first at whether a physical no-dig solution or another force-free containment setup could work. A GPS fence cannot stop another dog, wildlife or a person coming onto your property, and a sufficiently motivated dog can still make a bad decision at a virtual boundary.
But if those options genuinely aren’t practical and you’re going to use a GPS containment system, Halo 5 is finally starting to look like the product I wanted Halo 3 to be. The hardware is lighter, the battery is better, the app and fence creation work well, it has survived our pond testing, and — across seven weeks with Lucy and Shelby — I haven’t seen the false boundary alerts that bothered me before.
That’s a meaningful improvement. It doesn’t change my position on static correction, it doesn’t make the subscription cheap, and it doesn’t make a virtual fence equivalent to a real one. But judged as a piece of GPS-fence hardware, Halo 5 is considerably easier for me to recommend than Halo 3 was.
If you’re deciding between containment and simple location tracking, read my GPS dog fence vs GPS tracker guide. If you’re comparing the main GPS-fence options, see SpotOn vs Halo and SATELLAI vs Halo.
Author, Ali Smith
Ali Smith is a professional, qualified, and multi-award winning trainer is the founder of rebarkable. She has always believed animals deserve kindness and champions force free methods. Believing that dog guardians will all choose the kindest options if proper information is provided, she aims to help all dog guardians who need it and make dog training as accessible as possible
Ali lives win Maryland, US with her husband and her three dogs.
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