Do dog GPS trackers work in regional Australia?+
Only where there is mobile coverage. The tracker finds itself by satellite anywhere, but it reports to your phone over the mobile network, so a dog in a black spot is located and not reported until it walks back into signal. 4G thins out fast outside towns, so check the carrier coverage map for the paddocks, beach and bush your dog roams. The no-subscription pick uses LTE-M and NB-IoT, which have their own maps. On a large property choose the long-battery tracker and conservative power settings.
How heavy a tracker can a small dog or cat wear?+
A 30 to 40 g tracker is fine from about 4 kg, so a cavoodle, a jack russell or a small staffy carries a standard unit. Under 4 kg, a chihuahua, a toy poodle or a cat, look for under 30 g: the cat-sized mini here is around 25 g and the lightest dog tracker is under 18 g. The lighter unit has a smaller battery and charges more often. Whatever the weight, check the clip fits the collar, because a thin cat collar will not hold a dog clip.
Do I need a subscription for a dog GPS tracker?+
For six of the seven here, yes. The tracker has a SIM inside and the plan pays for its data, so without a plan it does nothing. Plans are monthly or yearly and change often, so check the brand's current plan before buying; some trackers here include the first year, after which it renews. The one exception is the no-subscription tracker, which builds a lifetime SIM into the up-front price. Over several years that can work out cheaper, as long as you keep the same tracker.
Can I track two dogs, or a dog and a cat, on one plan?+
Usually each tracker needs its own plan, so a two-dog household budgets for two. Life360 is the exception in this list: its listing says the plan tiers by the number of pets, with the base tier covering up to two, so a dog and a cat can share one plan on two trackers. PitPat needs no plan at all, so a second dog is only the cost of a second device. Tractive and Pawfit run one plan per tracker, though both put every pet in the one app.
Will a GPS tracker stop my dog escaping?+
No. A tracker shows where the dog went and a virtual fence alerts you when it leaves, but nothing on the collar holds the dog in. Escape control is fencing, latching gates, desexing and exercise, as the RSPCA advises; a tracker is the backup for the day the gate is left open. Set the virtual fence wider than the yard so a dog patrolling the fence line does not trigger it all day, and keep the microchip details current, because a tracker can be flat when it matters.
How long does a dog GPS tracker battery last?+
Read the claim as a best case. The dog trackers here claim one to two weeks, the cat-sized mini two days, the large-dog unit up to six weeks, and all shorten sharply in live mode, which reads the GPS every few seconds. Owners across brands report that a power saving zone on the home wifi gets a tracker close to its claim. Keep the charger by the door and charge on a set night so the tracker is never flat on the morning the dog bolts.
Is a Bluetooth tag good enough instead of a GPS tracker?+
Not for a dog that runs. A Bluetooth tag has no GPS or SIM: it reports a position only when someone's phone passes within about 10 metres, which works in a busy suburb and fails in a paddock, on a beach or in bush. It is fine as a backup on an indoor cat or a dog that never leaves the yard. For a dog that bolts, digs out or roams a property, only a tracker with its own GPS and mobile connection shows where the dog is right now.
