GPS Tracking for Dogs

Are you tired of constantly worrying about where your furry friend has wandered off to?

Do you want to make sure your beloved pooch is always safe and sound?

Look no further, because GPS tracking for dogs is here to save the day!

With a GPS tracker, you’ll be able to easily locate your dog wherever they are, giving you peace of mind and allowing them to run free and explore without fear of getting lost.

We take a look at what GPS tracking for dogs is, how it works, and what the best options are available today to give you total peace of mind over the whereabouts of your four-legged friend.

How do GPS trackers for dogs work?

GPS tracking for dogs works by using a small, lightweight device that is attached to the dog’s collar.

The device uses global positioning system (GPS) technology to determine the dog’s exact location, which can then be tracked using a smartphone app or website.

The tracker sends the dog’s location data to the app or website in real time, allowing you to see where your dog is at any given moment.

Some GPS trackers also have additional features, such as the ability to set up virtual boundaries or “safe zones” and receive notifications if your dog leaves those areas.

This allows you to keep your dog safe and secure while giving them the freedom to roam and explore without the fear of them getting lost.

How do you find your dog if it goes missing?

Hopefully, the day never comes when your dog goes missing, but in the awful event of this happening, the first thing you want to do when your canine is fitted with a tracking device is to log into the software or app and see where your pup is.

Having a tracking service that uses a smartphone app for tracking will allow you to get out there and track your dog on your phone. This can help ensure you’re hot on their tail and can see their exact location from the palm of your hand.

What to do if you’re dog hasn’t been fitted with a GPS tracking device

Losing a dog can be a devastating and stressful experience, but fortunately, there are steps you can take to help find your missing furry friend.

By following a few key strategies and staying calm, you can increase your chances of a successful reunion with your beloved pooch.

Check familiar places

One of the first things you should do when searching for a missing dog is to check familiar places. Start by looking in your home and around your local areas, such as your yard, porch, or any other places where your dog may have wandered off to.

It’s important to check these areas thoroughly and not just assume that your dog is not there. Dogs can sometimes hide in unexpected places, so it’s important to be thorough in your search.

If you have access to your dog’s favourite toys or treats, consider using them to lure them out of hiding.

Additionally, be sure to check any places where your dog may have dug under fences or gates, as they may have escaped through these openings.

Report your dog as lost on social media, local area, vets, microchip companies

Another important step in finding a missing dog is to report your dog as lost on social media, local area, and to local veterinarians and microchip companies.

This will help to spread the word about your missing dog and increase the chances that someone will come across them and let you know. Be sure to include a detailed description of your dog, including its breed, age, size, and any distinctive markings or features.

If your dog is microchipped, be sure to contact the microchip company and provide them with your updated contact information. This will ensure that your dog can be easily identified and returned to you if they are found.

Additionally, be sure to check with local animal shelters and animal control agencies to see if your dog has been brought in. These organisations may have information on your missing dog and can help to reunite you with them.

Contact your local dog warden or rescue centre

Another important step in finding a missing dog is to contact your local dog warden or rescue centre.

These organisations can provide valuable information and assistance in your search for your missing dog. The dog warden is responsible for enforcing laws related to dogs, including those concerning strays and lost pets.

They may have information on your missing dog and can help you to locate them.

Additionally, rescue centres are organisations that help to find homes for lost or abandoned dogs. They may have information on your missing dog and can assist you in your search.

By contacting these organisations, you can increase your chances of finding your missing dog and bringing them home safely.

If you suspect your dog has been stolen, report it immediately to the police

If you suspect that your dog has been stolen, it is important to report it immediately to the police. This will help to ensure that the authorities are aware of the situation and can take appropriate action to help you recover your dog.

The police may already be aware of similar reports of stolen dogs in your area so it’s well worth speaking to them if you suspect your dog has been stolen.

When you report your missing dog to the police, be sure to provide them with as much information as possible, including a detailed description of your dog, when and where it went missing, and any suspects or potential witnesses.

This will help the police to investigate the situation and increase the chances that your dog will be recovered.

Additionally, be sure to cooperate fully with the police and provide them with any additional information or assistance that they may need.

By taking these steps, you can increase the chances that your dog will be found and returned to you safely.

GPS tracking devices v Bluetooth tracking devices. Which option is best for tracking your dog?

When it comes to tracking dogs, both GPS tracking devices and Bluetooth tracking devices can be effective.

However, GPS tracking devices are generally considered to be the better option for several reasons.

First, GPS tracking devices use global positioning system (GPS) technology to determine the exact location of your dog, which is more accurate than Bluetooth tracking.

This means that you’ll be able to see your dog’s location in real-time and track their movements more accurately.

Additionally, GPS tracking devices often have a longer range than Bluetooth tracking devices, allowing you to track your dog from a greater distance.

This can be especially useful if your dog tends to wander off or if you are in a large or rural area.

Finally, GPS tracking devices typically offer more features and functionality than Bluetooth tracking devices, such as the ability to set up virtual boundaries or “safe zones” and receive notifications if your dog leaves those areas.

Bluetooth tracking devices are another option for tracking dogs. These devices use Bluetooth technology to determine the approximate location of your dog.

The tracker sends a signal to your smartphone or another device, and the app or website shows the approximate location of your dog based on the strength of the signal.

This can help track your dog within a certain range, such as within your home or yard.

However, Bluetooth tracking devices are not as accurate as GPS tracking devices, and their range is typically limited to around 100-150 feet.

Additionally, Bluetooth tracking devices typically do not offer as many features or as much functionality as GPS tracking devices.

For example, they may not have the ability to set up virtual boundaries or receive notifications if your dog leaves a certain area.

Overall, while Bluetooth tracking devices can be a useful tool for tracking your dog within a certain range, they are not as effective as GPS tracking devices for tracking your dog’s location over long distances or in more complex environments.

What are the pros and cons of tracking your dog?

There are both pros and cons to tracking your dog using a GPS or Bluetooth tracking device. Some of the potential advantages of tracking your dog include:

1. Peace of mind: Knowing where your dog is at all times can give you peace of mind and allow you to relax, knowing that your furry friend is safe and sound.
2. Help prevent your dog from getting lost: By tracking your dog, you can easily locate them if they happen to wander off or get lost. This can help to prevent your dog from getting lost and increase the chances of a successful reunion if they do.
3. Monitor your dog’s activity and health: Some tracking devices also include features that allow you to monitor your dog’s activity and health, such as their steps, calories burned, and rest times. This can help track your dog’s overall health and well-being.
4. Enjoy your dog’s adventures: By tracking your dog, you can see where they go and what they do, allowing you to enjoy their adventures and share them with friends and family.

However, there are also some potential disadvantages to tracking your dog, including:

1. Cost: GPS and Bluetooth tracking devices can be expensive, especially if you need to purchase a subscription or pay for additional features or services.
2. Potential for malfunction: Like any technology, tracking devices can sometimes malfunction or lose their signal. This can be frustrating and can make it difficult to track your dog.
3. Potential for overuse: Some people may become overly reliant on tracking devices and may use them excessively, potentially leading to a lack of independence and autonomy for their dog.

Overall, while tracking your dog can have many benefits, it’s important to weigh the potential advantages and disadvantages carefully before deciding if it is right for you and your furry friend.

Other dog GPS tracker devices on the market

Let’s take a look at some of the best options available today to track your pooch.

Tractive GPS Dog 4 tracker for dogs

The Tractive GPS dog tracker works in over 150 countries across the world and can be used with a mobile app that is available on both iOS and Android devices.

This tracking device is fully waterproof and is small in size and super lightweight making it ideal to connect to your dog’s collar. Battery life comes in at between 2-5 days with tracking updates between every 2-60 minutes.

This device relies heavily on the cellular network so might not be the best option for tracking your dog out in the wilderness, but overall, it’s a pretty good option.

The tracking app allows you to set up geo-fences that will send you an alert should your pooch leave the boundaries and it also comes with additional health tracking for your pet that you use to see how active your dog is throughout the day.

A subscription is required to use the tracking device with the subscription being done on a monthly, annual, 2-year or 5-year plan.

The Tractive GPS dog tracker costs £44.99 per device with subscriptions starting at £12 per month and going as low as £4 per month when buying a 5 year subscription.

You can find out more here

Pawfit 2 GPS dog tracker

The Pawfit 2 is another great option for tracking your canine.

As with the Tractive device, this tracker unit is fully waterproof and small enough to connect to your dog’s collar without causing him or her any discomfort.

The unit utilises the GPS network as well as Wi-Fi technology to give you accurate location data for your dog using the iOS or Android app. The app also brings in health data for your dog so you can see how active they are from within the app.

Another awesome feature of this device is the text-to-speech functionality that allows someone to press the button on the device if your dog is missing to be given verbal details about who the dog belongs to and how to get the dog safely back to you if it’s lost.

The embedded sim-card will work across Europe and North America.

The tracking device will cost £54.99 (sale price as of 07/12/2022 was £49.50) with subscriptions starting at £6.79 per month and going as low as £3.39 per month when purchasing a 2 year plan on their basic subscription.

Find out more by visiting them here

Weenect

The Weenect Dogs 2 tracker device is another great option with some cool additional features not seen on any other dog tracker device.

The tracking device is small and lightweight and connects easily to your dog’s collar, and allows you to track your dog from anywhere in the world using the mobile app.

Battery life for this device is between 2-4 days depending on the update times. Location updates are set to occur every minute with this tracker.

The app doesn’t feature virtual fences or activity monitoring, it does have a cool feature for training your dog using a bell.

The tracker device costs £49.99 upfront and subscriptions start at £9.99 per month and down to only £3.75 per month when purchasing a 3-year pre-paid subscription.

Details for this device are here

Safer Pet

Claiming to be the UK’s smallest GPS tracker device for dogs, weighing in at only 23g, the Safer Pet Tracker and Activity Monitor is another good choice for those of us who want that extra peace of mind over our furry friends.

The tracker is accurate up to 10m and works across Europe using GPS and Wi-Fi to accurately track the position of your dog. The device also comes with an embedded sim card and connects to a mobile app for tracking. The device has three update frequency modes giving updates every minute, 10 minutes or 1 hour, with the best battery life being seen when getting hourly updates.

The tracking device is very reasonably priced at only £24.99 with subscriptions ranging from £5.99 per month to £2.50 a month when purchasing a 5-year subscription.

Garmin K5 Dog Device

The Garmin K5 Dog Device is one of the pricier options but is a great choice for hunting dogs or when you want to take your dog way out into the wild.

The device comes built into a rugged collar that is easily placed on your dog, and the beauty of this device is that it doesn’t rely on cellular networks for tracking, instead relying on a high-sensitivity GPS/GLONASS receiver that uses LED beacon lights. The lights are visible up to 90m away making it super easy to locate your wandering dog.

This device also has a great feature whereby you can “talk” to your dog through vibration and acoustic signals allowing well-trained dogs to be guided by your voice.

This device works up to 10km away and is fully waterproof and rugged enough to stand the harshest conditions.

Priced at £299.99 – find this device here

Apple Airtags

Another way to track your dog is to use AirTags from Apple.

These devices are tiny in size, around the size of 2 pence piece, and can be easily attached to your dog’s collar.

AirTags work differently from GPS trackers as they don’t have their own GPS receiver – instead, they rely on the huge network of iPhones out there to track location.

As an iPhone comes into range of the AirTag, the device connects briefly with the iPhone and uses the location of the iPhone it connected to send back its location information to your phone.

This makes AirTags a good choice for tracking your pet in a city or larger town, but the trouble with these devices is that unless an iPhone comes into range, the location won’t be updated.

Many people do use AirTags for dog tracking, but in our opinion, a proper GPS tracking device wins over these every time.

AirTags can be found here and can be bought in packs of 1 for £35 or a 4 pack for £119

Can a GPSBob tracking device be used for tracking your dog?

Whilst GPSBob tracking devices we’re mainly designed for tracking vehicles and people, we do have many customers using our tracking devices to keep tabs on their pets too.

Below you’ll find information about the best GPS trackers available from GPSBob for tracking your own dog.

GL320MG

The GPSBob GL320MG tracking device is a great option for dog tracking due to it’s small size and long-lasting battery.

The device is small and lightweight and can be easily attached to a dog collar without too much hassle.

The battery will last between 5-7 days and will give live location updates every 30 seconds which can be seen on our easy-to-use tracking app and web browser software.

Pebble Personal Tracker

Another great option from GPSBob is our Pebble tracker.

Again this unit is small and lightweight and is easily attached to your dogs collar.

The battery will last between 5-7 days before charging is required and will update location information every 30 seconds.

Both GPSBob units mentioned above come free for life with our powerful Home Plan tracking app and web-based software and come preloaded with enough GPS tracking data on the sim card to last upwards of 5 years without needing a top-up. Best of all, we don’t tie you into any contracts or subscriptions and there are no monthly fees to pay.

For dog owners wanting to track their beloved dogs, geofences are a great way to set up boundaries that when the tracker goes outside of these fences will send your app an alert to let you know. Our Home Plan software and app don’t include geo-fences, however, you can easily upgrade to our Professional Plan app and software for only £30 per year, per device to unlock this feature.

Using a tracker from GPSBob for tracking your dog will also give you the added benefit of being able to use the tracker for your vehicle too. When not in use for your pet, you could put this in the car or in a motorhome for example and enjoy the benefits of GPS tracking there too.