GPS and Fitness Trackers for Dogs

A GPS trackers for dogs are quickly becoming all the rage! These trackers attach to your dogs collar and connect to cell towers to broadcast your dogs location in real time to your phone. Within the devices app you can set a safe zone for your dog. Each company varies slightly in how this works, but you will be notified if your dog leaves the safe area. Most collars require some kind of subscription and the collars range in price, some being very expensive close to $1,000 and some coming in at less than $50. GPS collars are great if you have a dog that is an escape artist or if you just want extra peace of mind knowing you will be able to locate your dog if they get lost. 

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On top of the GPS tracking capabilities of the collars, they all also function as fitness trackers as well. This is where the collars and companies really start to differ in the features they offer. Some trackers like the ones from Tracktive only track activity minutes and sleep, while companies like Whistle track activity, sleep, scratching, licking, drinking, and eating. Fi collars and Halo collars also have collars on the market, but they are some of the more expensive options on the market. 

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We personally have experience with Whistle go explore and Tracktive XL Adventure GPS Collars.

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Whistle has the most features of the two collars. There is much more health information in the app. You can even ask a vet questions. We would not recommend this collar for an extremely active dog, especially if they like to swim. Our lab mix killed two trackers in about two years. Water seems to be this trackers downfall. They claim that the tracker is water prof to a certain depth, but both of our Whistles died after our dog went swimming. For two of our other dogs that are a little less extreme the trackers have been going strong for about three years now. With Whistle, you can easily track multiple dogs, set multiple safe zones, and connect with other family members. The trackers battery lasts about two weeks depending on the activity level of the dog. This tacker is middle of the road in terms of price coming in at $150.