Inserting a dog-friendly GPS tracker on a canine’s collar is a helpful solution to maintain observe of your pet’s whereabouts. Plus, it will possibly enable you discover your canine a lot sooner ought to they get misplaced.
“I’ve used GPS collars with canines who’ve a historical past of escaping, in conditions the place a canine is prone to change into very fearful, and when taking a canine to a spot with out a safe fence, like tenting,” shared Judy Duhr, director of Converse Rescue and Sanctuary. Duhr places a GPS tracker on all canines in her care (her personal and fosters) for peace of thoughts at a minimal, however not too way back a related GPS tracker helped her pinpoint a lacking canine. “The situation was so actual that I knew precisely what home the canine was in. That’s how exact it was.”
To examine accuracy, ease of use, and luxury, we examined over a dozen canine GPS trackers on collars with actual canines in real-world situations. Our total favourite is the Whistle Go Discover 2.0 Good Tracker, providing dependable location monitoring, a built-in mild, and well being monitoring options.
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Subscription contains well being and exercise monitoring
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Dependable location monitoring powered by AT&T 4G LTE and Wi-Fi
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Battery life for over a day at a minimal
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Constructed-in mild
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App is straightforward to navigate
The Whistle 2.0 Go Discover Good Tracker could be very common with the rescue volunteers and canine house owners we consulted. With a subscription, the tracker supplies connectivity powered by AT&T 4G LTE community or your Wi-Fi, location monitoring, well being monitoring, and a long-lasting battery. The machine comes with two collar attachments which can be utilized to loop the Go Discover Good Tracker round your canine’s present collar.
After we examined the Go Discover machine, we discovered it very straightforward to arrange and pair with the cellular app. The tracker features a printed copy of directions with diagrams that we felt made it very straightforward to observe and inside a couple of minutes the Good Tracker was able to go.
The app design is fashionable and intuitive, from obtain by way of navigation. Along with seeing the place your canine is positioned, you possibly can compile exercise and health-related information in your canine, which some customers discover handy for figuring out and discussing any traits or adjustments with their veterinarians.
The tracker instantly points a notification when a canine leaves the designated secure space you set by way of the app. “You realize how one can’t depart the home with out your mobile phone? That’s how I really feel about my canine’s Whistle,” expressed one of many canine rescuers we spoke with. For them, the Whistle has all the time supplied constant, correct areas with out a lag, however relying in your location, outcomes could range.
The Go Discover Good Tracker from Whistle has a built-in mild you possibly can activate remotely and contains well being and health monitoring. It tracks energy burned and the way a lot time your canine spends consuming, consuming, sleeping, licking, and scratching. It is available in three colours—lime inexperienced, grey, or magenta—so you possibly can match it together with your gear or decide a coloration that’s straightforward to identify.
This tracker is nice for canines over 25 kilos, and resulting from its weight (7.4 ounces), it would probably be too heavy and uncomfortable for smaller canines to put on. Whistle additionally provides the Swap Good Collar, which is available in three sizes appropriate for canines weighing as little as 5 kilos and over 75 kilos. The {hardware} and collar mixture of the Swap is a bit more costly upfront, however the month-to-month subscription is similar because the Go Discover Good Tracker.
Collar Included: No | Subscription: Sure | Weight: 7.4 ounces | Battery Life: 2-10 days | Vary: Limitless | Water-Resistant: Sure
The Tractive GPS Tracker for Canine provides real-time GPS monitoring with no distance limits. It means that you can arrange a digital fence round your property and it’ll provide you with a warning in case your canine leaves that secure house.
Relying on whether or not you utilize Wi-Fi or mobile connectivity, and the way lively your pet is, the battery can final from a day or two to so long as two weeks. It’s waterproof, small, light-weight, and is available in three colours, however a collar is just not included.
Whereas testing, the app gave principally constant reside data, however typically struggled to replace, or would lose connection resulting from weak alerts. It permits monitoring in five-minute increments to preserve battery life, however you possibly can modify that within the settings.
The machine is ready to observe sleep high quality and exercise and it retains a monitoring historical past log. Our tester preferred the tracker’s compact dimension. “It is a intelligent design as a result of it is simple to placed on and take off and it appears to be like aesthetically pleasing, easy but modern.”
Collar Included: No | Subscription: Sure | Weight: 1.23 ounces | Battery Life: As much as 15 days | Vary: Limitless | Water-Resistant: Sure
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Chrome steel tracker and nylon collar are waterproof, sturdy, and light-weight
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Battery can last as long as three months
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Makes use of Wi-Fi and mobile connectivity
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Sequence 3 (new mannequin) is smaller and lighter than Sequence 2
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Fi app might be related to Strava exercise tracker
We beforehand examined the Fi Sequence 2 Good Canine Collar, and whereas the model nonetheless provides this mannequin, there’s now a Fi Sequence 3 Good Canine Collar that we really feel is a more sensible choice. Just like the Sequence 2, the Sequence 3 is an all-in-one stainless-steel tracker and collar designed to maintain up together with your canine with a chargeable battery lasting from one-and-a-half to 3 months. Nonetheless, the Sequence 3 is half the scale, weighs 50 p.c much less, and is made to face up to extra direct power than its predecessor.
Fi makes use of Wi-Fi and an LTE-M mobile community with over 70 satellites to trace the situation of a canine. Fi suggests you examine protection in your space earlier than signing up for a subscription to ensure the tracker will present the help you want. With the Sequence 2, our tester skilled a basic location inside a dozen or so toes, and with the Sequence 3, the model claims the tracker can find a canine inside a 6-foot radius.
By way of the Fi app, which now features a partnership with Strava, the favored health monitoring app for people, you possibly can join with different human and canine duos utilizing the Fi Good Canine Collar. You may maintain observe of and share your exercise with buddies whereas sharing any achievements you attain collectively. General we discovered the Fi Sequence 2 and the Fi Sequence 3 provide nice design, a modern look, and a tracker that’s constructed to endure.
Collar Included: Sure | Subscription: Sure | Weight: 1 ounce | Battery Life: As much as 3 months | Vary: Limitless | Water-Resistant: Sure
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Battery life for at the very least 10 days
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Will also be used for automobiles, baggage, or different gadgets
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Has a ringing alert
The Dice GPS Tracker can maintain tabs in your canine, however it will possibly additionally do double responsibility watching your baggage or your automobile. For a suitcase or automobile, simply pop it inside. To your pet, slide the machine onto your canine’s collar, however it’s a bit cumbersome and doesn’t match all collar sizes. It most likely could be very overwhelming for a really small canine.
Our testers stated the setup was very straightforward and intuitive. The tracker updates rapidly and the situation is exact. You can begin by setting it to default to two-minute reporting intervals. Faster updating is an possibility, however it would take a toll on battery life. Batteries can final so long as two months with little use.
The tracker has a hoop perform that will help you discover your pup. In case your canine is comparatively shut, you need to be capable to hear it. One tester stated their canine was startled to listen to the sound, however you could possibly practice your pup to return once they hear it go off.
Our testers like that the app is easy—you possibly can see the route your canine took and the place they’ve been. There aren’t a whole lot of options, which makes it very straightforward to make use of.
Collar Included: No | Subscription: Sure | Weight: 2.22 ounces | Battery Life: 10-60 days | Vary: Limitless | Water-Resistant: Sure
Like many trackers, Hyperlink My Pet GPS and Exercise Tracker makes use of a mix of GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and mobile protection to keep watch over your pup. However it’s notable in that it reveals your canine’s location utilizing Google Maps.
Considered one of our testers was very impressed with the accuracy. Not solely did it pinpoint the precise tackle, however it confirmed exactly the place in the home the canine was hanging out.
The app design could be very clear and straightforward to know. You may arrange alerts and set every day objectives on your canine. It reveals what number of energy have been burned, what number of steps have been taken, and what number of miles have been walked.
The app screens coronary heart price and provides temperature alerts. There’s 24/7 entry to related data you probably have considerations.
The machine is fairly cumbersome and is probably not a superb match for a tiny canine. The machine is manufactured from a tough plastic materials, which our testers stated appeared very sturdy. Testers additionally preferred the battery life, saying it might most likely final all week on only one cost.
Collar Included: No | Subscription: Sure | Weight: 1.6 ounces | Battery Life: As much as 14 days | Vary: Limitless | Water-Resistant: Sure
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Light-weight and compact
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Battery final near a yr
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No subscription or common charging required
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Lower cost than different gadgets examined
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Capability to activate alert with contact data
You don’t want a subscription for the small, light-weight Apple AirTags, however you do want to make use of an iPhone, iPad, or Apple pc to ensure that them to work. AirTags don’t must be charged and the battery lasts a few yr.
They’re straightforward to pair with an Apple machine and may ship alerts to your telephone. Use your “Discover My” app to find the tag and your pet.
You will get a small rubber sleeve that slips onto your pet’s collar to maintain it in place. The AirTag is waterproof and is inexpensive in comparison with many choices. The AirTag is sensible for those who’re almost all the time round good cell service.
It solely tracks inside a distance of about 33 toes, however its accuracy relies upon upon what number of iPhones are close by. It’s efficient in bigger areas if there are a whole lot of iPhone customers round which, as one tester identified, isn’t useful for those who’re within the woods mountain climbing together with your canine.
The AirTag, nonetheless, might be a wise, cost-effective, correct possibility for those who’re within the metropolis or different crowded areas the place a lot of Apple merchandise are prone to be in use.
Collar Included: No | Subscription: No | Weight: 0.39 ounces | Battery Life: 1 yr | Vary: 33 toes | Water-Resistant: Sure
We now have not examined the Invoxia Minitailz but, however we predict it sounds promising. It tracks location, well being, and exercise, protecting logs of the place your pet is and what’s happening of their life.
It data how a lot strolling and working your canine does, in addition to barking, consuming, scratching, and automobile rides. It tracks coronary heart and respiratory charges and provides alerts once they go above or beneath regular. (The corporate makes use of a science advisory board of veterinarians and veterinary professors.)
You may arrange a geo-fence on your canine with the tracker, which simply means you’ll get an alert in case your pup leaves that secure space. It’s designed to slip onto most collars and could be very light-weight. The tracker is powered by AI and has acquired some rewards for innovation. Invoxia has created different GPS trackers for objects.
Collar Included: No | Subscription: Sure | Weight: 1.3 ounces | Battery Life: As much as 15 days | Vary: Limitless | Water-Resistant: Sure
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Very correct GPS, even in wooded areas
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Fast to arrange
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Can customise limitless variety of digital fences
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Permits for boundaries inside boundaries
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Rain-, snow-, and swim-proof
The SpotOn GPS Canine Fence is a transparent favourite of Reddit customers, garnering enthusiastic suggestions throughout a number of dog-related boards. One commenter on the r/cockerspaniel subreddit states, “We now have been 100% proud of our resolution.” On the German Shorthair Pointers discussion board, one other Reddit person writes, “It is a lot less complicated for my part than Halo. Love with the ability to arrange fences that give visible clues. Our canine is aware of which tree strains are her boundaries…It’s extremely straightforward to alter fences after we need to go go to our neighbors with the canine.”
Many Reddit customers just like the superior accuracy and exact monitoring of the SpotOn GPS which works effectively even in essentially the most wooded areas or areas with no web. The app is easy to arrange and extremely customizable, offering customers with the flexibleness to create boundaries inside boundaries whereas giving their canines the liberty to soundly roam.
You may handle every thing out of your telephone and obtain real-time alerts that will let you name your canine dwelling with the press of a button. SpotOn additionally supplies a straightforward DIY program developed by licensed trainers to assist train your canine to remain inside designated zones.
Though the collar is on the cumbersome aspect, it’s rain-, snow-, and swim-proof and really sturdy. One difficulty customers have skilled with SpotOn is an issue with connectivity, which is usually simply resolved by switching carriers.
Collar Included: Sure | Subscription: No | Weight: 6.72 ounces | Battery Life: As much as 24 hours | Vary: N/A | Water-Resistant: Sure
Last Verdict
Our favourite canine GPS tracker is the Whistle Go Discover. It’s straightforward to make use of, offers correct, reside monitoring data, and likewise contains well being and health monitoring on your pup. Should you’d like to do that with out a subscription, then the Apple AirTag could be a superb possibility. It’s small, light-weight, and might be slipped right into a holder on your canine’s collar. It really works greatest in crowded areas as a result of it depends on Apple gadgets to type a community to seek out the tag.
What to Look For In a Canine GPS Tracker
Your Location
Canine GPS trackers and good collars use a mix of applied sciences to pinpoint the situation of your canine over time. For instance, Apple AirTags makes use of Apple’s “Discover My” community, which tracks networked Bluetooth alerts to triangulate the situation of the AirTag in your canine’s collar based mostly on different Apple gadgets within the neighborhood.
The International Positioning System, extra generally often known as GPS, is a navigation system that makes use of a community of satellites to pinpoint any GPS receiver—as long as they’re seen to sufficient satellites within the community. Whereas the GPS community established by america makes use of 31 completely different satellites, there are different International Navigation Satellite tv for pc Techniques (GNSS) that may also be used for real-time geolocation.
GPS connectivity is determined by the road of sight with at the very least 4 satellites within the community. This implies you are most probably to lose up-to-date location data in dense city areas and mountainous terrain.
“There might be lag time with a few of them so you must make certain it’s monitoring in real-time,” says Duhr. “Should you’re chasing a canine that’s chasing a deer, it’s essential that you recognize proper now the place the canine is.”
Subscription
Most GPS trackers designed for pets require a subscription to activate the GPS monitoring capabilities and enhance the vary of protection, which is usually limitless. Subscriptions additionally present further details about your canine that you simply may discover helpful, akin to sleeping habits and the variety of steps they took.
Sturdiness
In case your canine roams freely, the tracker you choose ought to stand up to the weather and their playful tendencies. Relying in your canine, a tracker’s skill to carry up towards water, pawing and gnawing, and filth must be a deciding issue.
The extent of a tool’s waterproofing safety is usually decided by an Ingress Safety Score, extra usually often known as an IP code. This worldwide commonplace displays how a lot safety is obtainable towards stable particles like mud and water.
For instance, a number of GPS monitoring gadgets are coded IP68. The primary digit after IP is in reference to mud, and a tool is taken into account “dustproof” if it is labeled with a “6”—the best ranking. The second digit describes waterproofing, and a ranking of 8 signifies that the canine collar is able to full submersion for greater than half-hour (at a depth of 1 meter).
Battery Life
The battery life for GPS trackers varies extensively. Some are meant for use on an occasion foundation, with a battery life designed to final just a few hours throughout a hike or day trip. Nonetheless, there are additionally good collars and trackers with a battery life that may prolong into weeks or months. Accounting for battery life earlier than buy includes, partly, some reflection in your routines.
Should you anticipate utilizing a collar equally to a smartwatch, then it might be cheap to develop a behavior of placing it again on the charging dock on the finish of every day. Nonetheless, if you would like your canine to put on a GPS tracker or good collar always, then a longer-lasting battery must be a significant precedence. All the GPS trackers on our record, apart from the Apple AirTag, include a charger.
How We Examined Canine GPS Trackers
We examined GPS canine trackers in our New York Lab after which in the true world with actual canines. Our methodology guided our testers by way of a number of scores whereas additionally gathering subjective impressions alongside the best way.
To start out, our testers timed how lengthy it took to arrange the GPS tracker and the corresponding app on their cellular machine, and so they gave their first impressions on the design and dimension. They famous their canine’s response to carrying the machine.
For a number of weeks, they examined the accuracy and efficiency of the tracker, noting real-time data and outcomes. They evaluated options, akin to lights and sounds, and provided perception into the kind of surroundings and conditions during which they felt the tracker carried out effectively and the place it fell quick.
Testers then ranked the GPS tracker on a scale of 1 to five throughout the following classes: Ease of Setup, Accuracy, Performance, Design, and Worth, and the aggregation of scores and suggestions have been used to tell our picks.
FAQ
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Canine GPS trackers connect with close by GPS satellites, which ship the tracker’s location coordinates to the corresponding cellular machine. Some trackers can connect with Wi-Fi networks, mobile service (4G and LTE), and Bluetooth to trace your canine.
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In case your canine is comfy carrying a collar, and the GPS tracker is not too heavy, then a GPS tracker is secure to be used. At all times examine together with your veterinarian if you’re uncertain whether or not your canine ought to put on a collar.
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Sure, however the connectivity supply and power will range based mostly on the tracker you choose. AirTags and different gadgets use proximity to networked Bluetooth alerts or Wi-Fi to triangulate your machine in relation to different gadgets. This works nice indoors, in city areas, or in different places dense with know-how. GPS, then again, depends on line of sight with a minimal of 4 satellites in a navigational community. This works completely in open areas, however could battle indoors, or when buildings are in the best way.
Why Belief The Spruce Pets?
This story was written by Mary Jo DiLonardo, who has lined animals and pets for a number of a long time. DiLonardo is dwelling to a rescue canine named Brodie and has fostered about 70 canines and puppies. She is all the time looking for the healthiest and handiest merchandise, meals, and treats for them.
To tell this story, DiLondardo spoke with Judy Duhr, director of Converse Rescue and Sanctuary based mostly in St. Louis. Duhr has positioned GPS collars on over a dozen canines in her care, utilizing them on her personal pets in addition to with fosters to maintain them secure. One time, a canine received out of the fence and its GPS monitoring confirmed the canine was in a particular home not very distant. The house owner had eliminated the canine’s collar, which included telephone numbers, however the GPS tracker helped Duhr discover her canine anyway. “The house owner wasn’t going to reply the door however the location was so actual that I knew precisely what home my canine was in,” Duhr shared.