A recent incident that involved Bleu (8 month old border collie) running loose, chasing after some deer in the middle of the woods after dark, resulting in me sprinting after him and panic crying about never being able to find him, prompted a search for a GPS tracker. Bleu did, in fact, come back home after a 5 minute run down our usual walking loop. He’s lucky he is smart and knows the way home!
If you have ever lost a pet, even for a few minutes, you know that gut wrenching, broken heart feeling of “will I ever see them again?”. So today we are going to talk about GPS trackers and do some comparisons to determine the right one for your cat or dog.
Types of GPS Trackers
The first thing you should know is that any Pet GPS tracker has an up-front cost, as well as a monthly or yearly subscription fee to be able to monitor your pets movements on an app on your phone. Hunting dog GPS systems are a little different. They have a hefty up-front cost and require a separate handheld device to help you track your dog via radiotelemetry. In college, I did a workshop on radiotelemetry with collared wildlife and there is definitely a learning curve. Some people have used Apple Airtags on their pets collars, but this requires an apple phone and doesn’t seem to be as accurate as a live tracking device.
Different Brands
Tractive – I chose the Tractive GPS because it was highly rated on Amazon, was only $34 (at the time) and had the cheapest monthly/yearly subscription plan. This device is a little bulky, so not ideal for a cat or tiny/small dog, but it seems great for 30 pound dogs or larger. Tractive does make a cat and XL dog version, but the reviews still complain about it’s bulkiness. This device is easy to use, tracks your pets movements live on an app map, saves your walking paths, and can be set in a “safe zone” when your pet is within the boundaries of your home to save on battery life. The device does have to be charged about every 2 weeks.
Fi – Fi is a live GPS tracker with an app, very similar to Tractive and has a lot of similar perks. Fi is a sleek GPS that is already attached to a collar. This limits you on which pet you can use this on! The battery life lasts about 3 months and the device is highly rated, although many reviewers complain about having to wait minutes for the map to update. When your pet is running loose, you don’t have minutes to wait. This collar is also expensive, comparatively. On Amazon, it’s about $190 and includes 1 year free membership. After that first year free, the monthly/yearly subscription cost is almost double that of Tractive.
Dogtra Pathfinder– This is a typical hunting dog GPS system. The upfront cost is $450, no monthly fee or membership required. This does have vibration, tone, and electric fence capabilities, but requires a separate handheld device for tracking. This GPS system is fitted to a large, bulky collar, with an antenna. So not really ideal for every day use and definitely not ideal for cats or small dogs.
Many people think microchips are a GPS device. This is not accurate. A microchip is a rice sized device that is implanted within the skin between your pets shoulder blades. Microchips have to be physically scanned with a microchip scanner for an ID number to appear on the scanner screen. That ID number then has to be entered into a microchip companies website to get the owners contact information. If the owner had the microchip implanted, but never registered it into their name, then the microchip is basically useless. It can sometimes be determined which business that microchip was sold too, but that doesn’t always lead back to the owner of the pet.
If you have a pet that likes to roam, bolt out of the door, or that allows his impulsive thoughts to chase after deer get the best of him, then maybe consider a GPS tracker. You will be able to find your pet quicker and get them back home safely without having to put up flyers, alert the neighborhood, constantly check local shelters, or set up live animal traps.
As for Bleu, we went back to the basics. Sit. Stay. Come. Down. Loose leash walking. The Tractive GPS tracker will give me a little peace of mind as we get through this rebellious adolescent puppy phase.
