Choosing the right GPS tracking collar for your dog
How do GPS dog collars work?
There are a couple of different types of GPS dog collar. The most common version will use an embedded SIM card (like your mobile phone), and will use a combination of 2G, Wifi (when available) and GPS to monitor the location of your dog. These versions usually come with a monthly subscription fee to use the service (which varies, but it’s usually around £3 to £5 per month). The benefit of this type of tracking collar is the almost unlimited range and realtime tracking.
The other kind of GPS collar doesn’t use 2G, so won’t require a subscription. Instead, it essentially leashes to your mobile phone (when out and about, or your Wifi when at home), which means the effective range is much more limited (1 to 2 miles in urban areas, 3 to 5 in more rural areas). However, this means that the device isn’t restricted by 2G coverage, which is great for those who take their dogs out on long walks in more remote areas or mountains.
How long do the batteries in GPS trackers last?
It varies depending on the model and how heavily you are using the device. The SIM versions generally have a good average battery life of a few days, up to a week. Other models may have a much shorter battery life (half a day or so), but can be recharged when out and about.
What other features to dog GPS trackers have?
Again, it’s very dependant on the individual models of tracker.
However, there are some common features that come in most as standard. For example, all will have an accompanying app to view your dog’s location and will even let you to set up a “virtual fence” – i.e. ringfence an area on the map to trigger an alert on your phone if your dog passes through the boundary. This could be useful if your dogs have the habit of escaping from your back garden or running off when at the park.
Some trackers will have LED lights on them that can be activated if you’re looking for your dog in the dark, and others even have two-way audio transmission to allow you to talk to your dog. This might be useful if you have a nervous dog and want to reassure them when you’re not at home.
These devices also have similar activity monitoring to most health apps on mobile phones. They’ll be able to tell you how active your dog has been throughout the day (and you can even see if they’ve nipped over to the neighbours for that second breakfast you didn’t know about!).
The Best GPS Tracking Collars for Dogs
We’ve shortlisted some of the best GPS trackers available just now
Wenect Dogs 2 Tractive GPS Tracker for Dogs Petfon GPS Tracker Snawen GPS Tracker for Dogs Pawfit 2
Price: ££ (check)
Range: Unlimited (2G Coverage)
Battery Life: 2 to 4 Days
Additional Costs: From £3.50 per month
1. Weenect Dogs 2
The Weenect Dogs 2 is an excellent mid-market GPS tracker for your dog. As one of the most popular GPS trackers on the market right now, you can’t go wrong.
It’s a SIM enabled tracking collar, which means you will need to pay a small monthly fee for the service, but for that the tracking device works worldwide and gives you real time positioning of your dog. The mobile app has three different tracking modes (map, compass or radar), which make it easy to find your dog if they run off during a walk.
The collar attachment has a built in ringer and vibrating features, which can be configured to help you train your dog (for example, you can set it to ring at the dog’s mealtimes). This can come in handy if they run off too – you can trigger the ringer and entice them home with the prospect of an unscheduled meal!
- No distance limit and real time GPS tracking.
- Built-in training aid – set your dog’s tracking collar to ring at mealtimes to help train them.
- Runaway alert – you’ll get a notification on your phone if your dog runs away.
Our verdict…
This is a really great GPS tracking collar for most general dog owner uses. It will help you keep track of your dog, find them if they run away and has a few training features too. All coming in at a great price too!
Price: ££ (check)
Range: Unlimited (2G Coverage)
Battery Life: 2 to 5 Days
Additional Costs: From £3.33 per month
2. Tractive GPS Tracker for Dogs
The GPS tracker from Tractive is another really good product on the market just now. Again, it’s priced in the mid-market range and requires a small monthly subscription in exchange for real time tracking and the ability to use it worldwide.
There are a few other great features though – you can create “virtual fences” around your home or regular walking routes, which means your dog can be free to wander on its own without you worrying. If they stray too far, then the app will trigger an alert and you can bring them back. The app also has a location history, so you can snoop on where your dog has been running off to!
If you’re actively monitoring your dog’s fitness, then is a great choice as the app includes fitness information so you can benchmark just how active they have been.
- No distance limit and real time GPS tracking.
- Create “virtual fences” which trigger alerts if your dog leaves the boundaries.
- Fitness monitoring information built into the app.
Our verdict…
This is a great tracker as it covers all of the bases well, and also comes with some great little features that most dog owners will find useful.
3. Petfon GPS Tracker
The Petfon GPS Tracker is different from the others in this guide, as it doesn’t require a monthly subscription or SIM card. Instead, it uses your mobile phone, Wifi, Bluetooth and GPS. The downside from this is that the range is limited to a few miles, but the product is designed for dog owners who might go out on longer walks (full day or multi-day hikes) in rural areas.
The tracker has LED lights which can be activated so you can keep an eye on your dog in the dark, or find them if they get lost. It also allows you to store voice commands in the unit, which can also be triggered to communicate with your dog at distance.
Although the battery life is shorter than other GPS trackers, it does come with a charging box which can recharge the tracker multiple times. So if you’re away for a weekend’s camping trip or hike through the wilderness, you can keep it charged no problem.
- Works anywhere even without mobile phone reception.
- Set up virtual fences, store voice commands in the collar and other features.
- Tracker has built in lights.
Our verdict…
This is definitely one for more outdoors-focused dog owners. It will work in places where there’s no mobile phone signal and while obstacles such as dense woods or hills might reduce the effective range at times, it’s still more than enough to give your dog some freedom and you some peace of mind while you’re out and about.
Price: ££ (check)
Range: Unlimited (2G Coverage)
Battery Life: 2 to 7 Days
Additional Costs: None (non SIM card provided though)
4. Snawen GPS Tracker Collar
The Snawen GPS Tracker Collar is the lowest priced in this guide, but is a solid product and great for dog owners who don’t necessarily need all the bells and whistles of more elaborate trackers. Like many of the others, it uses a SIM card to access 2G, but that’s not provided and there’s no monthly fee as a result.
The app allows you to set “virtual fences” to indicate safe zones for your dog, and get a notification if your canine friend decides to venture further. You can also see historical data from your dog’s previous adventures so you can get an idea of where they’ve been.
This is a full, adjustable collar rather than an attachable device, and is waterproof and comes with step counter so you know how far your dog has walked.
- No distance limit and real time GPS tracking.
- Define a “virtual fence” and get alerts when your dog leaves the area.
- Historical route data – see where your dog has been over the past few months.
Our verdict…
This is a no-frills GPS collar for dogs and will do everything that many dog owners want it to. A good price for the peace of mind that it brings.
Price: ££ (check)
Range: Unlimited (2G Coverage)
Battery Life: Up to 6 Days
Additional Costs: From £3.50 per month
5. Pawfit 2
The Pawfit 2 is a lovely, feature-rich GPS tracker and combination activity monitor for dogs. It uses a SIM card for 2G access, so there’s a small monthly subscription, and like the others this means you have no real distance limit and real time GPS tracking.
The collar attachment has a few great features – if your dog gets lost, anyone can press the button on it and the tag will use text-to-speech technology to communicate your dog’s ID so you can get them back. It will also actively monitor the temperature around your dog and alert you to any changes, as well as notifying you if anyone tries to tamper with the collar. Combined with the standard “virtual fence” feature, this offers you a lot of reassurance that your dog is safe.
The app will monitor your dog’s steps, calories burned, activity and rest, and offer you recommendations for improvements based on your dog’s breed and weight.
- No distance limit and real time GPS tracking.
- Combination GPS tracker and activity monitor.
- ID tag on the collar can be pressed to play an audio recording of your pet’s ID.
Our verdict…
This is a much more feature-rich combination of GPS tracking collar and activity monitor. The security features on the collar and app are great to reassure dog owners that their pets are safe. Given it’s priced similarly to other mid-market products, it’s a great deal!
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