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The love and companionship of a dog is a magical thing so it’s not surprising that many owners are leveraging technology to maximise the chances that, if they’re ever separated, their friend can be easily located.
For many dog owners a tracker is as essential as a microchip or pet insurance. Below we’ll take a look at the two of the most commonly used options:
Tracking dogs with Tile or Apple AirTag
Many pet owners like to use bluetooth trackers such as Tile*, Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag*, or Apple’s AirTag* to keep track of their dog.
These can be easily fitted to a dog’s collar, are generally pretty cheap – expect to pay around £20 to £30 for a single tracker – and you can use the same app to track your pet as you can items such as your keys, wallet or luggage.
However, there are limitations with this approach as these devices rely on the lost item or pet being close to people with compatible phones or apps and they don’t offer real-time location updates.
While this option might be OK in a busy city, it’s probably not going to work so well in more remote or rural areas.
GPS dog tracking
The most reliable pet tracking needs a GPS-based service. These involve fitting a GPS transmitter to the dog’s collar which can be tracked via a dedicated app that shows the pet’s real-time location.
Within this category you have a choice between subscription and non-subscription options.
The first have a higher initial purchase price – expect to pay £150+ outside of any sales or promotions – but without any ongoing cost, while the second second carry a lower upfront cost (around £50-60) but are useless without a monthly or annual subscription.
PitPat* is possibly the best known subscription-free brand while, in the subscription arena, Tractive* and Pawfit* are popular choices and widely available direct from the brands’ own websites and through third-party retailers.
Some trackers can also monitor your pet’s calories, activity, and sleep, while brands such as PitPat sell a separate device* which measures these metrics.
Deciding on a brand
There are a growing number of companies offering dog tracking products and picking which one you prefer is highly subjective.
Asking friends – or other local dog owners – for recommendations is a great way to start drawing up a list of options, plus some of the larger brands offer ‘refer a friend’ schemes so you might be able to bag a discount.
And of course, checking out independent reviews can help narrow down that list and assist you in making a final choice.
You should carefully balance the upfront cost with the tie-in that comes from needing a mandatory subscription – especially as subscription prices can change in the future.