Wireless location assisted zone guidance system incorporating shepherding of wayward dogs

A wireless location assisted zone guidance system adapted to assist in the training and management of an animal, comprising:

• a wireless location determination apparatus configured to operatively generate latitude information and longitude information representative of a geographic position of said wireless location determination apparatus;
• at least one animal stimulation apparatus;
• a processor coupled to said wireless location determination apparatus and configured to receive said latitude information and longitude information therefrom and coupled to said at least one animal stimulation apparatus and configured to operatively control a generation of stimulation;
• memory coupled with and accessible by said processor;
• a data table stored in said memory as a two-dimensional array having a first array index operatively representing an ordinate and having a second array index operatively representing an abscissa, a first one of said axis of ordinates and axis of abscissae corresponding to longitude and a second one of said axis of ordinates and axis of abscissae corresponding to said latitude;
• and a plurality of geographically defined guidance zones operatively stored in said data table, with each guidance zone value stored in said data table identifying a one a safe zone associated with a first behavioral guidance stimulation, an alert zone circumscribing said safe zone associated with a second behavioral guidance stimulation different from said first behavioral guidance stimulation, and an out-of-bounds zone circumscribing said alert zone associated with a third behavioral guidance stimulation different from said first and second behavioral guidance stimulations;
• said processor configured to operatively receive said latitude information and said longitude information from said wireless location determination apparatus, retrieve a value stored in a location in said data table using said longitude information as said first array index and said latitude information as said second array index, and use said retrieved value to determine a one of said plurality of guidance zones that said latitude and longitude information from said wireless location determination apparatus is associated with, and provide behavioral guidance stimulation to said animal through said animal stimulation apparatus responsive thereto, and to produce positive feedback within said at least one animal stimulation apparatus when said current geographic location is determined to be within said out-of-bounds zone and a direction of at least one of a movement detected by traversal from one resolved GPS position to an adjacent resolved GPS position closer to said alert zone and a movement intent toward said safe zone.