My sister just uses apple air-tags on her cats. Lots of people do.
Our wee Lakeland terrier is quite good at recall but can occasionally get hooked on a scent when we're out, when that happens he's off and the chase begins, just mulling over any experiences of ''pet trackers'' that are small enough for his collar and send locations direct to android phones, sure there's tons advertised on eBay but the ''collective experience'' is highly valued.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
My sister just uses apple air-tags on her cats. Lots of people do.
We bought this one for the MIL she uses it every day and very happy with it.
Tractive GPS Dog Tracker. Live... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08M6H28...p_mob_ap_share
I’d consider:
1. Whether you want your dog collared when not under your control (for example, if there’s a strangulation risk in the environment it’s working); and
2. The potential ingestion hazard of any kit (for example, when many vets don’t recommend AirTags)
Unfortunately, the best / safest solution might be working towards better recall and earlier restraint if there’s a risk of the dog not being under your control. All depends on your circumstances of course. Good luck!
We tried Pitpat but found it too slow to update. Our Pointer was often hundreds of meters away by the time Pitpat updated. Assume the other GPS/cellular trackers are hampered in much the same way?
We resorted to old-tech - a bell on her harness tells us where she is even if she's dived off into the woods.
I have indeed heard that from some users (I don't use any tracker myself). I would not be surprised if the problem was generalised
The AirTag, beyond the potential of being swallowed, depends on being within range of an iPhone, itself with a signal (I know that because in one of my many brain farts I tried an AirTag on Kanji in the Lake District (Eastern side of Coniston Lake) and while OK on EE it's a virtually dead zone for O2.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
We use Live360 for the MIL and Tractive for the dog. It does have a subscription but works very well. Alerts if they leave a designated 'safe' area, live tracking when you want it and it hooks onto the WiFi when in range to save the battery. We've just got a puppy so I'll be getting her one as soon as she's allowed to wander a bit.
I used a Vodafone Curve tracker for a bit. Was good for peace of mind. I think the subscription was £2.99 a month. My only slight gripe was that the update rate wasn't like an iPhone 'find my friends' type device, but this might have been a compromise with the Curve to maximise battery life.
Duplicated
Last edited by John Wall; 16th February 2024 at 09:46.
I've looked into these.
Potpat told me their device probably wouldn’t work in my location. .
Take into consideration phone coverage in your area.
We’re quite rural and if your phone can’t get a signal the collar won’t.
My understanding with AirTags is they update location by grabbing location updates from other iphones.
Unless somebody with an iPhone is running alongside your dog it’s not going to update.
The ones that have a sim seem to be the best results but the subscription makes them much dearer.
Pitpat offer a full refund. So you can try it out to see how well it works for you.
I appreciate that your Lakeland is too small but, coverage dependent, a colleague suggested an old iPhone with a pay-as-you-go sim in the pocket of a lightweight dog utility vest.
Hey presto, free find my dog tracking, for iPhone user.
Question: Do other phones offer find my phone functionality ?
Last edited by John Wall; 16th February 2024 at 09:47.
We’ve used Tractive trackers for 2 cats for the last 5 years.
They work very well, just have to make sure that the batteries are charged up.
It gives a history, activity index, and has a live track mode. Helped me find one cat that had got in a panic and hid in a barn about 4 miles from the house.
https://tractive.com
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I tried a Tractive on my dog but phone signal is so poor where I walk him (fells in the Lake District) that is was pointless. Think they're a great idea if you're somewhere with a good signal so check this first (as stated above).