Dog Collars with GPS: What It Is and How It Works?

Trying to find a lost pet is a painful process. But, fortunately, GPS technology has been invented, which helps people track the location of not only a bicycle or a smartphone, but also their pets. A dog GPS tracker collar is the best way to keep track of your pet.

What Is a GPS Tracking Dog Collar and How Does It Work?

Why do you need a dog collar with GPS tracking if you can walk with them without letting them off the leash? This type of collar will give the animal the opportunity to run and play in freedom without fear of losing your pet. When you go hunting, hiking or just walking with your pet and you lose sight of it, the GPS tracker built into the collar can send live information about the location of the pet to the owner's smartphone or laptop. Today this technology is often used not only by ordinary dog ​​owners, but also by professionals, hunters and even scientists.

How Does the GPS Collar for Dogs Work?

The GPS tracker in the collar works by connecting to satellites and transmitting location coordinates to the mobile application, which will be displayed on the smartphone if an internet connection is available. Some dog collars combine GPS with radio signals to transmit information to the intended receiver. Most integrate GPS with communications networks (LBS) by sending information to your computer or mobile device. Therefore, for a successful search, the dog must be within the coverage area of ​​your network. You can see the movement history reported by the device to see where your dog has gone. Some of the GPS dog tracker collars even send an alert to your phone when your four-legged friend leaves a pre-set area (geo-fence, geo-zone, or virtual fence). To successfully use this accessory, you will need to install special software on a smartphone or laptop, but in other cases there may be a transmitter (remote control) in the kit where you can view all the necessary information. There are models that provide tracking for an animal and work with a smartphone and remote control.

What to Look for When Choosing the Best Dog Collar with GPS?

When choosing a dog GPS tracker collar, you should pay attention to the accessory features such as battery life, connectivity, form factor, as well as some of the additional features that the tracker offers.

Battery Life

The battery is an important part of the gadget and it can cause a real problem if it dies while you are trying to track your pet. Battery life depends on the following factors:

• Signal frequency for transmission of location data.
• Battery capacity.
• Distance to receiver.

When buying a GPS tracking dog collar, pay attention to the battery life range both at rest and during data transfer. And, of course, you need to ensure that the GPS tag is always charged before going for a walk with your pet.

Communication Types in GPS Collars

Basically, the new collar models use A-GPS technology. This type of technology improves the time it takes to actually find your dog after turning on the device. Conventional GPS only uses satellite signals, which usually take about 30 seconds, but can take up to 12 minutes in areas where open-air transmission is limited.

A-GPS also depends on network resources. It only takes a second in good conditions and two to three minutes in bad conditions: which makes a big difference when tracking your lost dog.

A-GPS also allows you to locate your pet indoors. If your pet is within four walls, the collar sensor is unlikely to receive a regular GPS signal. Therefore, if your dog is in someone's house, simple GPS will not help you find it. A-GPS will probably do the trick, although it's usually limited to areas where your cell phone receives reception.

WAAS-GPS is a wide range system. It has better accuracy than standard GPS. But whereas the latter detects your dog within 9 meters, WAAS will do so within 3 meters. In fixing the position, WAAS is not as fast as A-GPS.

Additional Functions in GPS Dog Collars

A GPS dog collar may have a number of additional features in addition to tracking your pet's location.

• Wiretapping function. Ability to listen to the environment around the dog.
• Ability to give pet commands.
• Installation of geo-fence. If the previously set zone is violated by the animal, the owner will receive a notification. A dedicated GPS dog collar app can be used for this.
• Bark sensor. The owner will be notified if the dog barks.
• SOS call. If the animal is found by other people, pressing the SOS button on the collar allows you to send the owner the location of the pet.
• Monitoring pet activity. How many steps and distance covered in a day, week, month or year.
• Two-way audio. Allows you to hear and talk to your pet.
• Remote control. Allows you to send vibration signals to the collar, which are recognized by the dog as specific commands.
• Camera. Allows you to monitor the location, allowing the owner to see what is happening around and who is nearby.
• SIM card. A tracker for dogs with a SIM card allows you to send an SMS to your smartphone with a link to Google Maps with the coordinates of the animal's location. To do this, you need to make a call to the SIM card number in the collar.
• Touchscreen. Allows you to make beacon settings right in the device itself
• Anti-theft. When the dog is in the car and moves at a fast speed, the gadget will notify the owner about it.

Dog Tracking GPS Collars: Shape, Weight and Limitations

The collar tracking collar can become too heavy for a small dog or, for example, a cat. More specifically, a 300-gram tracker will become an unbearable burden for a 1-kilogram dog but will be better for a dog weighing 20 or more kg. The body must be strong so that when hitting a stone or concrete floor, the gadget does not split. Most of the collar trackers are not designed to be immersed in water, only rain and accidental splash protection. If your dog is swimming, you need to take special precautions to protect USB ports or electronic components. However, you can find a special GPS collar for hunting dogs. It is sealed and waterproof. Tracker attachment also plays an important role. If the dog is shaking itself, jumping, rubbing against the ground or rustling in nearby bushes, may fall off and be lost. And in this case, you will only find the tracker, not the pet. Consider the permissible ambient temperature when using the collar in your environment. After all, if the temperature is too low or too high, the GPS navigator for dogsfor dogs can have a shorter battery life or the device may fail altogether..

Summary

1. The tracker should be placed in a sturdy case and secured to the collar.
2. It is necessary to take into account the size of the animal: the smaller it is, the smaller and lighter the GPS tracker should be.
3. For an active pet, it is better to choose a GPS tracker with continuous monitoring mode.
4. For an animal that walks slowly, a GPS tracker with an interval monitoring mode is suitable.
5. There must be protection against moisture and dust - then weather conditions will not affect the operation of the device.
6. The tracker must be able to withstand low and high temperatures.
7. To work with a GPS tracker, you need to install a mobile application to use a virtual map and other functions.
8. For maximum positioning accuracy, it is better to have a GPS tracker that is positioned by A-GPS and LBS.

With love to your dogs, DogRook!