SportDOG SD-1825 Unit
Photo by: Author

I would recommend the SportDOG SD-1825 for anyone looking for a reliable system that will perform in and out of the field.  Both the transmitter and receiver are 100% waterproof and submersible. The 1825 can be expanded to multiple dogs simply by adding a SportDOG Brand Add-A-Dog collar. The transmitter is coated with a "soft coat" finish making the unit comfortable to handle. If you’re a hard core duck hunter, SportDOG offers the SD-1825 Camo model. 

Collar/Receiver

The SD-1825 features a new smaller ergonomic collar which is designed to fit closer to the dogs neck and ensure a perfect fit.  The collar is 100% waterproof and submersible. The collar's "Turn-On" button is located on the inside of the collar, between the contact  probes, so the dog cannot accidentally deactivate the collar and is large enough to easily find if you need to turn the collar on or off while on the dog.  The 3/4 inch collar strap features a well made with a strong Roller Style, Square K9 buckle, with rounded corners  that won't dig into your dogs neck like lesser made collar straps.  While I am not a huge fan of 3/4 inch straps for larger breeds of dogs - the new ergonomic design of the reciever tends to keep the receiver in-place while working the thickest cover.  The collar will fit a dog with a neck size up to 23 inches.

SportDOG SD-1825 Collar Receiver
Photo by: Author

One innovative feature SportDOG introduced into the electronic collar industry is the ability to program the SportDOG SD-1825 to match your training needs based on the sensitivity of your dog.  Unlike other collars on the market today, the SportDOG SD1825 can be set to one of three different stimulation levels - Low, Medium or High.  The default range setting is 2 or medium. This can be independently adjusted for each collar/receiver, so if you’re like me and you have different breeds of dogs, you can set each collar appropriately. For my English Springer Spaniels, I would set the collars to "Low" as they are more sensitive to electronic corrections.  However, for my harder charging Labrador Retrievers I might use the "Medium" or "High" setting.  This feature alone makes the SportDOG SD-1825 a collar I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to clients regardless of the temperament of the dog. 

Range

The SportDOG SD-1825 boasts a one mile range (a significant improvement on the 3/4 mile range of the SD-1800). Keep in mind that all manufacturer quote line of sight range, which means that the system will operate effectively at the quoted distance under deal conditions (terrain, weather and cover).  If you are operating in more challenging environments you can expect to get less range from your system. 

Batteries

SportDOG has also improved on the batteries used to power the system.  The SD1825 now uses
rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries which can be fully charged in 2 hours.  According to SportDOG, users can expect the batteries to last 3-5 years and are user replaceable.  You can also expect to get 70+ hours on a single charge. 

The SD-1825 comes with a dual lead charger and docking station so you can charge both the collar and transmitter at the same time, with the same plug.  One of my favorite design changes in the SD-1825 is the docking station.  In the past, you had to peel away the “mud plugs” to plug the collar into the charger, and if you use the electronic collars like I do -- it’s not long before the rubber mud plugs are torn off and lost.  With the new docking system all you need to do is snap the collar into the docking station to begin charging your system. 

SportDOG SD-1825 Transmitter
Photo by: Author

One of the things that struck me the first time I saw the 1825 Transmitter was the matte black finish with the blaze orange logo on the face of the unit.  The transmitter is very small (weighs 4.8 ounces and measures 7" x 2.12" x 1.12" with antenna) and can easily be worn on a lanyard around your neck.   The high-impact plastic offers a soft coat grip that fits comfortably in your hand.  Like the collar, the transmitter is also 100% waterproof and submersible.

The SportDOG SD-1825 has a “Low Battery Indicator” and a built-in “LED Battery Charge Indicator” which lets you know when your transmitter is ready to be charged and has finished charging.

The unit offers a built-in toggle switch on the face of the unit that allows you to easily switch between two dogs -- WITHOUT sacrificing any functionality of the collar.  According to the marketing material and the copy on the box the unit is "expandable up to 6 dogs" and "up to 16 levels of momentary and continuous stimulation".   However, like most marketing jargon it’s important to read the fine print.  So let’s look at each one of these statements carefully.

Expandable up to  6 Dogs

The SportDOG SD-1825 User's Manual states that the SD-1825 is expandable up to 6 dogs -- which is true, kind of,  but not without sacrificing functionality.  Let me explain. 

The unit is shipped programmed to have each buttons on the face of the unit operate the single collar receiver that comes with the system.  From the factory, the top button is programmed to send continuous stimulation to the collar, the bottom button is programmed to send momentary stimulation to the collar receiver and the button on the side of the unit issues a non-electrical form of stimulation – tone to the dog.  So each button issues a different type of stimulation to the collar.  On the face of the unit you will also notice there is a toggle switch that allows you to switch between 2 dogs, and the buttons will operate the same as if you were working with a single dog system.  Top Button - Continuous, Bottom Button - Momentary, Side Button - Non-electrical stimulation.   However, in order to use a third, fourth, fifth or sixth collar (SportDOG Brand Add-A-Dog collars) you are required to program the system to Mode 3 which means each buttons controls a single dog collar and the only type of stimulation you have is CONTINOUS.  This is fine for folks that don’t care if the collar effectively becomes a single type of correction collar.

Up to 16 levels of Continuous and Momentary Stimulation

As I explained earlier the SD-1825 is shipped from thefactory so that top button will send 8 levels of continuous stimulation to thedog, the bottom button will send 8 levels of momentary stimulation to thecollar receiver and the button on the side of the unit will send a non-electricalform of stimulation - tone to the collar. In order for the system to send 16 levels of stimulation to the collar receiver it needs to be programmed to do so. This is actually a fairly easy task. Once you have programmed your system to operate in one of these alternative modes, the toggle switch will allow you issue 16 levels of continuous stimulation.  "Mode 2" allows the top button to issue continuous stimulation with the intensity level set to  the “high end”  reading on intensity dial and the bottom button will issue continuous stimulation with intensity level set  to  the “low end” reading on intensity dial,  effectively making your system have high and low stimulation for each of the 8 intensity dial settings.  So the only downside to this mode is that you effectively lose momentary stimulation. 

SportDOG SD-1825 Accessories
Photo by: Author

• SportDOG SD 1825 collar and transmitter        
• Transmitter antenna      
• Short and long probes     
• Test light    
• Adjustable black collar strap which fits up to a 23" neck        
• User replaceable, rechargeable batteries in the collar + transmitter        
• Dual lead battery charger   
• Collar charging cradle        
• Belt clip + lanyard for the transmitter     
• SportDOG Owner's Manual / Operating Guide     
• "Behavior & Training Guide" booklet by Charles Jurney with Rick Smith and Tom
  Dokken        
• Basic Training DVD featuring pro trainers Charles Jurney, Rick Smith, Tom Dokken, and
  Chris Akin