SAN ANTONIO – When Gromit, the Markert family pet dashed out the door one evening, his people weren’t too concerned. But he was gone for three weeks.
“The longer he was gone, the more worried I got,” said owner Jacob Markert.
Now Gromit is sporting an electronic tracking device. It keeps a round-the-clock running tab on his whereabouts by using a combination of GPS and cellular signals.
Consumer Reports tested pet trackers to see how easy they are to use and how well they track your precious pet.
“You create a safe zone on a map on your smartphone app, and every time the dog leaves that zone, it alerts you on your smartphone,” said Consumer Reports’ Scott Medintz.
Medintz did some real-life testing by tracking his dog, Luna, for several weeks.
“So far, she’s never run away for a long period of time, but if she did, I know that I’d be able to figure out where she is,” he said.
Consumer Reports recommends choosing a device that uses both GPS and cell service. That means you’ll pay for a subscription plan, but it gives you extra tracking range.
Many trackers also offer a lost or live mode feature that updates your pet’s location more frequently if it wanders out of the safe zone.
Consumer Reports named the Tractive GPS Dog LTE a best buy. It’s $50 for the device plus $84 for the first year of service.
It’s also light enough for a cat to wear.