At this point in the pandemic, most people have seen a Facebook or Instagram post about a friend getting a new dog. And while those four-legged friends bring entertainment and joy, they also bring a set of challenges in training and care.
And with the current crisis continuing to drive demand for new pets, Plano-based Halo is launching its smart collar device, combining the asset tracking tech with the canine behavioral wisdom of Cesar Millan, to help train and keep their dogs safe.
“You really have to bring these two things together, this great state-of-the-art technology… this dog psychology but then you bring them together and you have something never before seen, which is what makes it so exciting,” Halo Collar co-founder Michael Ehrman told NTX Inno. “A lot of products are out there where there’s a celebrity attached but it’s really like an endorsement, that’s not the way this product is at all. It’s (Millan’s) approach embedded in a technology.”
Halo was founded in 2018 and began selling its devices this month. The company makes a smart collar, similar to the ones dogs already wear but with technology that allows users to set up geofences anywhere on an app. In addition to the user being notified if the dog crosses over the virtual fence, the collar will auditorily alert the dog and guide it back to safety. And if the dog does happen to escape, the app will let you know where they ran off to, while helping guide the dog back into the fenced-off location.
The idea was born out of loss. After one of Michael and Ken Ehrman’s cousin’s dog escaped and was hit by a car – something Michael Ehrman said happens to more than 1 million per year – the two brother began putting their IoT and asset tracking knowhow into Halo Collar.
“As soon as I heard it, I just kept thinking and thinking and thinking about all the things this could do to solve this problem and much more than this problem for everyone who owns dogs,” Michael Ehrman said.
However, with tech backgrounds, the two needed to learn more about the customers using the product: the dogs themselves. That’s where Millan, who is also a co-founder of the company, comes in. Through instructional training videos on the Halo app, users also have access to tools that can help train their dogs about the technology. For example, one thing Michael and Ken hadn’t thought about was that the dogs need to find the fence on their own. If the owner is present, all it would really teach the dog is taking a walk with their owner means scary noises after crossing a certain boundary, Michael Ehrman said.
"I knew what the technology could do but between the two of us I think we realized that the technology is one thing, the dog has to respond to it. And if the dog doesn’t respond the right way every time, then the technology doesn’t really do anything,” Michael Ehrman said. “It shouldn’t just keep your dog safe, it should improve you relationship with your dog.”
The technology works with a combination of GPS, Bluetooth and internal sensor data that tracks the animals. And services on the Halo app, like training videos with a community of Millan-approved trainers, are sold via a monthly subscription model.
Since launching its early-adopter kits this month, Halo has sold more than 3,000 of its devices. And with feedback from those users, it has made upgrades and adjustments to its software. As it grows, the company plans to add new features to the collar, including one that will hopefully allow dogs to walk themselves, without the need of a leash, Michael Ehrman said.
“We’re solving a problem that people were already solving. We’re not creating a need. People need a fence, they need a way to contain their dog and they were doing it by putting in a physical fence, they were doing it by burying underground wire,” Michael Ehrman said. “They were already doing it…. They were just spending a lot more money to do it.”
The company is also planning to release an Android version of its app, which is currently only available on the Apple store. Michael Ehrman said this will allow the company to grow its user base within the U.S. and abroad.
“The mission that we have… is changing the relationship that people have with their dogs and really their whole approach to this affection, relationship,” Michael Ehrman said.
