Pet Tracking Collars

Pet tracking collars are must-have devices if you want to quickly locate your lost dog or cat. If your pet has ever gone missing then having some kind of tracking collar on them can mean finding them in just a few minutes versus finding them in hours, days, or even weeks.

Currently there are primarily two types of technologies that are used with pet tracking collars. Global Positioning System (GPS) and radio frequency (RF). There are pros and cons for each type of technology.

GPS tracking collars use the same technology that you find in car navigation systems, cell phones, and personal travel navigation devices that people often use when hiking or participating in the popular treasure-hunting past time called geocaching.

A GPS pet tracking collar will use 4 or more of the 27 publically available positioning satellites to calculate it's position. Once the tracking collar's position is known, it will then communicate that data to some external receiver.

There are several ways in the which the position data could be communicated. It could be sent via the cell phone network directly to your cell phone in the form of a text message. Or it could be sent to a third party receiver which in turn will uploads the data to a website so that your pet's position can be tracked over in internet in real time. Another way the pet tracking collar location data can be transmitted is via a simple radio frequency transmission to a hand-held receiver.

The advantage of GPS systems is that you can get relatively pinpoint position data in real time.

The biggest disadvantage of GPS tracking collars with today's technology is that the transmitter power tends to be relatively heavy so that it would not be feasible for use with either very small dogs or cats. Larger dogs tend not to have a problem with GPS systems, though, since they can easily carry the weight of all the electronics.

However, the technology is getting smaller all the time and relatively lightweight GPS tracking devices are making their way to the consumer marketplace.

The other disadvantage to a GPS tracking collar that transmits it's location data via the cellular phone networks is that it costs a monthly fee to use the network. However, with many cellular phone plans including unlimited text messaging that cost concern may be somewhat mitigated.

RF tracking collars also come in several technology configurations.

Long range RF tracking systems use telemetry and often have hefty power requirements. These systems are often used with hunting dogs where the dogs may be several miles away from their owners. You can distinguish these long range telemetry tracking systems by the large multi-prong antennas used on the receivers.

Like the GPS tracking collars, these long range RF tracking collars are better suited for larger dogs that can manage the collar weight.

Short range RF tracking collars use low power transmitters which make them better suited for small dogs and even cats since the lower power requirements needs only a small battery to operate. While the lighter weight makes them feasible for the smaller pets, it also means that their range is rather limited.

Usually these short range RF pet tracking collars only work for a few hundred yards. This is usually not a problem for cats since their wandering range tends to be less than larger pets.

The advantage of RF systems is usually a lower operating cost since they do not have any associated monthly fees like some GPS tracking systems.

The biggest disadvantage of RF tracking collars is that they only provide directional data and not exact positioning like the GPS systems.

In either case, having a GPS pet tracking collar or an RF radio pet tracking collar can be a life saver for your pet cat or dog.