Here’s How a Dog Tracking Chip GPS Can Save Your Pet’s Life!

No tails wagging when you arrived home? About one in every three pets will get lost once in their lives. This includes our precious pooch. In fact, around 10 million dogs and cats are going missing or stolen every year in the U.S. Of this number, 15% easily get reunited with their owners due to tags, microchips, and GPS locators. This just proves that dog tracking chip GPS plays a vital role in the safety of your dog. Remember, the risk of injuries and harm escalates as the dog stays missing. You need to act fast to locate the dog.

Remember, every hour is critical when you’re searching for a missing dog. Without any device to track its path, you’ll have to cover a larger ground. Who knows, it could be the whole neighborhood or the vast woods. It’s mind-racking and a total dilemma for helpless owners.

Why dogs get lost

There are a lot of reasons why dogs get lost. Each pooch will have its story: some will land on shelters, others on vet clinics, while others remain lost. Here are some of the common and frightening reasons why your pooch goes missing:

Escape routes

Many dog breeds are master escapists. In addition, canines are built to roam and they will explore the surroundings with every chance they get. If you leave them alone at home, the anxiety and boredom can trigger digging under the fence or chewing on the gate.

Some dogs won’t even have to do this. For instance, very low fences, jumping platforms, picking simple locks, and the likes will give them the freedom to wander.

Chasing something

Dogs that have strong noses and instinct to hunt will go after a rabbit, squirrel or just about anything that moves. This prey drive can send them running into the woods or around the neighborhood. And when they got too far, some dogs will lose their way back home. It may take days before they can make it back or for some, they just continuously roam until someone finds them.

Boredom

Many herding breeds are born to move. In other words, if you keep the pooches trapped in your yard without enough exercise and playtime, they will find ways to be entertained. They can chew through the fence, window nets, and thin cages.

If your dog exhibits this behavior, make sure that you walk the pooch before you go to work. Leave the canine with toys and other sources of entertainment.

Frightening sounds

Doggos hate firecrackers, thunder, and any loud sounds. As an effort to escape these, they will run away. And like chasing a moving object, they will lose their path back to their owners. In fact, there’s a 60% increase in lost pets every year from July 4th to 6th.

The loud fireworks, big crowds, and flickering lights can confuse a dog. And in the midst of the celebration, a dog owner can easily lose track of his or her pet. With this, it’s important to create a safe zone for your dog when you anticipate such disturbing situations.

In a nutshell, here are the reasons why dogs run away:

Searching for a lost dog

Your chance of finding your lost dog is 90% in the first 24 hours. However, this will spiral down to 60% in the succeeding periods. Searching for a lost dog becomes harder in rural settings with vast woodlands and large gaps between neighborhoods.

What do the statistics say about missing dogs? Similarly, here’s what the First National Lost Pet Survey found out:

14% of domesticated dogs are getting lost

6% of lost dogs are found on animal shelters

93% of reported cases of lost dogs are reunited with their owners

15% of lost dogs get reunited to their owners through tags, collars, microchips, or dog tracking chip GPS.

However, dog owners can be spared from the emotional distress of searching for lost dogs if they utilize devices that will help identify and locate their pet.

How a dog GPS tracker chip works

Dog trackers are external devices that you can mount on your pet’s collar. To track the dog, it contains a GPS chip that will transmit the location of the pooch to the smartphone or handheld device of the owner. Usually, these trackers utilize cellular GPS technology to locate the dog wherever in the country.

A GPS dog tracker chip is the most common nowadays as it tends to cheaper, long-lasting, and durable. Most GPS trackers use waterproof containers together with the battery and other parts.

Since this is a battery-powered device, owners have to keep track of its charge. The good thing is that most GPS trackers nowadays can last for days, say a week, in continuous operation.

If ever your dog got lost and the tracker went off, you can still use the last direction as the starting point for the search. This will slash the time you’ll waste on figuring out the path of your pooch.

However, take note that pet GPS isn’t the same with microchips. Unlike GPS trackers, microchips are implants beneath the skin of your doggo. This is a chip as small as a grain of rice which contains your contact information and other details that will help identify your dog.

Benefits of using a dog tracker chip

The leading benefit of pet GPS devices is it allows you to track your dog’s whereabouts if you’re at work, in vacation, or running errands. In addition, here are more of the wonderful benefits of investing in this device:

It can save your pet’s life. Your dog is a curious being. Sometimes, its wanderlust can bring him to harmful places. By tracking your dog’s activities and path, you can check if there’s possible harm that can get on its way.

Setting safe zones. Too busy to keep an eye on the radar? Most dog tracking chip GPS devices nowadays will allow you to set up safe zones using a Wi-Fi connection. When your dog gets past this, you will receive an email or SMS notification.

Finding your dog. If ever your doggo got lost, you can easily track its location using the GPS device. However, it’s important to remember that this device requires an open sky view to accurately project your pet’s location. Nevertheless, it limits the area where you’re going to search.

Peace of mind. You can now let your dog wander on the yard or a farm knowing that you have a way to find him. Still, practicing caution will make the device more effective.

Should you buy one for your dog?

If you want to increase the security of your pet, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t buy one. Besides, it’s an external device that’s 100% harmless. All you have to do is charge it, mount it on your dog’s collar, and monitor the transmission through the phone app. Some trackers come with a handheld device where you can monitor multiple dogs.

You might be asking, when is the best time to use a dog tracker chip? Well, it’s definitely not after you lost your pet. Use a GPS tracker if…

Your dog has a history of escaping and running away

Your dog has been stolen before

You let your dog roam in the yard

There will be fireworks and thunderstorms

You live in a large neighborhood where dogs have been lost

Even if you don’t fall to any of these, nothing beats the peace of mind GPS trackers could bring. I’ve used it to my pooches and I can go to work peacefully knowing that I have an eye on them.

What to look for a dog GPS tracker

There are many pet GPS trackers available in the market nowadays. However, not all of them are diamonds. I suggest that you look for a device that uses cellular service as this offers a countrywide coverage. Some would even work abroad once you updated your network provider.

These are the staples you should look for:

The right size. A dog tracking chip GPS comes in different sizes so make sure that you purchase one that suits your pet. Don’t purchase a large unit for small dogs as this can impede their head movement.

Wide coverage. Most GPS trackers with monthly fees will have a country-wide coverage. This way, you can still track your dog even if it got transported as long as the pooch is wearing the device.

Battery life. Topnotch units can last for up to seven days of continuous use. It’s best to look for a device with removable batteries so you won’t have to unmount the entire device from the collar.

Durability. Always look for a waterproof and weatherproof casing. Your dog will be exposed to different outdoor elements which can put the GPS tracker to the test.

Real-time tracking. You may want to opt for a device that transmits the real-time location of your pet. Also, invest in a unit that allows you to set safe zones and perimeter limits.

Top 2 Dog GPS Trackers – Reviewed!

Looking for the best GPS trackers for your pooch? Here are two options that earned my thumbs up:

Whistle 3 GPS Pet Tracker

Whistle is one of the most recognizable brands in the dog tracker chip industry. They currently offer the Whistle 3, a GPS locator and activity tracker that works in AT&T’s cellular technology. With a monthly fee starting at $6.95, you can now monitor your dog’s activities through your smartphone.

Since this works in AT&T, you can count on nationwide coverage. So regardless if you’re in a different state, you can check your dog’s location in real time.

You can set safe zones using Whistle 3 where you will receive SMS, email, or app notifications when the pooch gets out of the perimeter. With this, you need a Wi-Fi connection to set the safe zones. You can review your pet’s trips in the past 24 hours by using the app connected to the collar tracker.

Aside from keeping your dog on the grid, you can also use the Whistle 3 to set health goals for your pooch. You can track their rest periods, calories burned, and distance covered.

Moreover, Whistle has a battery life of up to 7 days but it will be affected by the cellular coverage and Wi-Fi usage. Charging will only take 2 hours.

PROS

✔️Nationwide tracking

✔️Waterproof and long-lasting build

✔️Long battery life

✔️Ability to set goals for your dog

CONS

❌Expensive monthly fee

❌Requires open sky view for optimal tracking

❌Best for large dog breeds only

Tractive 3G Dog GPS Tracker

If you find the Whistle 3 expensive, you can try the Tractive 3G dog tracker chip. Like the Whistle, it’s a subscription-based tracker but with a cheaper fee starting at $5 per month. Basically, it works just the same with Whistle with real-time monitoring, safe zones, and 24-hour trip reviews.

But the biggest benefit to the Tractive 3G is its worldwide coverage. Moreover, this tracker works in over 150 countries. You just call the Tractive customer support and they will set up the connection. The brand will contact your network provider to integrate the GPS technology on your mobile phone.

To add, Tractive doesn’t have any range limit which is a big plus for me who constantly travels. However, since Tractive uses cellular towers of different networks, they will charge a small annual fee. This is just a small thing for convenience.

The Tractive 3G has a maximum battery life of five days for every two-hour charge.  Also, you can mount the device on the collar of your dog. This dog tracking chip GPS is best for nine-pound dogs since the case tends to run larger on smaller breeds.

PROS

✔️Worldwide coverage in over 150 countries

✔️Works across cellular networks

✔️A virtual fence that serve as safe zones

✔️More affordable monthly fees

✔️Tractive arranges the network connection for you

CONS

❌Too large for small breeds

❌It takes time to navigate around the app

❌May underperform on areas with very thick vegetation

A dog tracking chip GPS won’t just save your dog’s life; it will also give you peace of mind. These benefits are worth the expensive monthly fees. The next time your doggo wanders off, you’ll thank yourself for investing in this device.