GPS pet tracking is becoming a very popular item in the pet community. With prices starting at less than $100, they have become within reach of almost everyone’s budget.
Although chip implants have been around for some time now, they still require a trip to the vet. When the pet is lost you must depend on someone to find your stray pet, take the time to take the pet to a facility that has a chip scanner and finally the facility much contact you to enable you to retrieve your lost pet. A very time-consuming process and in many cases tragedy befalls your pet before being found.
With the GPS pet tracking system, you are notified if your pet leaves the area and you can get directions to your pet‘s current location. Little time passes and the ending is a happy one.
There are basically two types of GPS pet tracking system. Both types of the system involve placing an electronically enhanced collar on your pet. The collar contains a GPS receiver and some type of transmitter.
The first type of pet tracking device involves a fee-based subscription which, when you access their web site, will allow you to either track the pet’s position in real time or query the system which will show the pets current location.
This type of GPS tracker allows the user to set up what is normally referred to as a “geo-fence or virtual fence”. This is an area, in which, the pet is allowed to roam. Should the pet leave this electronic area, the service is automatically alerted and they, in turn, notify the owner either by text message, email, phone or all three methods. The owner may then log on to the web site and track their pet’s location enabling them to retrieve the lost pet. As these geo fence areas are electronic and stored in memory, they may be erased and recreated as often as needed.
The range on this type of system is normally for the entire United Kingdom. Battery life is usually 3 to 5 days depending on how many times the collar is queried. The device will also normally alert you when the battery is running low.
Cost for this type of service varies greatly and you will want to check the various payment plans available. You can probably plan on somewhere between $10 to $20 per month with an annual contract required. Check the “early termination” clause as many providers have a substantial penalty for early termination. Make sure you also check the coverage map for the service. Most services advertise that they cover the entire United States however they normally have several blank areas where service is not available.
The second type of system involves a handheld GPS device which will communicate with the pet’s electronically enhanced collar. With this type of system the collar in normally always on and transmitting.
Many of these systems also let you set up a “geo-fence” in which your pet may roam without sending an alert. Should the pet roam outside the electronic fence, the unit will give an audible sound alerting the owner to the situation. The handheld device will then show either the location of the pet or the direction and distance to the pet allowing the owner to retrieve their pet.
The range of this type of system is limited and most operate within a 1 to 3-mile range. Battery life will vary, however, some systems advertise battery life up to 30 hours. Most units come with rechargeable batteries.
The obvious advantage to this type of system is that there are NO Fee’s. If you can live with the range restriction you can save a lot of money over the life of your pet.
