Tracking Your Dog in 2021
It is our responsibility as pet parents to keep our furry friends happy, healthy, and safe. One newer way to help keep an eye on these responsibilities is with a tracker. These can provide data that might otherwise go unknown to us, such as activity, location, and temperature. If your pet were to get lost, as long as you are in an area with coverage, the tracker will show where they are in your app. Keep in mind, there could be a delay and if your dog is out for awhile, pinging cell towers will cause the battery to be negatively impacted.
There are various ways a tracker can connect: bluetooth, base stations, and built in Wi-Fi. All generally use a predefined “safe zone”. Bluetooth is the most common for initial setup. Trackers that use bluetooth generally send alerts for when your dog is outside of the safe zone, either from your phone or base station. Base stations communicate between the tracker and your phone via Wi-Fi. If your tracker has Wi-Fi built in, it uses your home router to create the base station.
All of the trackers listed below require a service plan (for GPS tracking), track activity, are water resistant, and use apps for Android or iOS devices to view your pet’s data. Some will even work for cats!
Fi Smart Dog Collar
- Yearly Plan: $99, 2-Year Plan: $186, 3-Year Plan: $248
- Has a lost mode:
- Increases location attempts to once per minute
- Activates red pulsing LED on collar to increase visibility
- Provides directions to your dog’s last pinged location
- Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled
- Base travels easily for away from home
- 1 year warranty
- Includes 30-day GPS trial
- Multiple sizes and colors
- Has third party vendors for collar options
- LED light on collar
- App allows multiple users with various roles
- Compete against others on step goals
- Without subscription you are limited to tracking that day’s health activity and walks with owner, plus location only when connected to base/wifi/owner’s phone
Whistle GO Explore
- Yearly Plan: $7.95/mo, 2-Year Plan: $6.95/mo
- 90 Days to try, Risk Free
- 1-year product warranty
-
4G LTE wireless service via AT&T
- Both plans give access to on-demand veterinary help via chat, phone, and email from the app
- Real-time location tracking
- Up to 20-day battery
- Multiple refresh options to save battery life
- Built-in light with 3 settings
- Monitor sleeping, licking, and scratching
- Comes with 2 different collar attachments
Link AKC Smart Collar
- Monthly Plan: $9.95, Yearly Plan: $7.95/mo, 2-Year Plan: $6.95/mo
- GPS location tracking nationwide
- Tracker attached inside of collar
- Free collar size exchange
- Leather and sport collar options
- Activity monitoring and sound training with customized activity goals
- Temperature alerts
- LED light and sound features
Whistle FIT
- Yearly Plan: $59.40 ($4.95/mo)
- 90 Days to try, Risk Free
- 1-year product warranty
- Tracks health and behaviors
- Sends personalized daily food portion recommendations
- Health reminders
- Up to 15-day battery life
- Attaches to most collars
- Activity tracking only, no location tracking
There are many features and price ranges when it comes to tracking our pets. Be sure to find the tracker that best fits your specific needs and lifestyle. If you have an escape artist, best to invest in a quality GPS tracker. If your dog has health issues more than it ventures out, consider one that gives you history, goals, and health alerts that are customizable to your furry companion.