AirTag as dog tracker?

It’s time for a dog-tech review.

The Apple AirTag is one of the most popular electronical devices in the world.

It’s a small round device that is designed to help people find pretty much anything.

It’s used mostly by people to track their wallets, bags and suitcases. But what about dogs?

Can you use it to make sure that your dog doesn’t get lost?
Well, Apple says NO.

AirTag price vs other trackers

Depending on where you live, the AirTag costs anywhere between 25-40$, which is a lot cheaper than what you would normally have to pay for a dog tracker.

There is no subscription fee for it, you just have to change the coin battery within in once a year. Coin battery pack only costs a few bucks.

To hold the tracker on your dog, you’re also going to have to get something - you can get an AirTag holder, but we would rather recommend getting a Keepaws collar for it, which costs 34$, if you use our code PPS.

The main difference between GPS and AirTag

GPS devices normally work like mini-phones.

They get their own GPS location, and then they use a mobile network to message it to the GPS device’s website, and then you can read that location there. That is why they need to have a subscription - to pay for the mobile network.

Apple AirTags however don’t work like this.

First things first, AirTags only work with Apple phones and iPads. You need to have one, for it to even start in the first place.

AirTags are nothing more than small bluetooth devices that scream out your dog’s name. All of the work that is done, is done by other people’s iPhones.

The strangers’ iPhones hear your AirTag, and then the phone will get it’s GPS signal and send it to Apple’s find my website.

This is both good and bad.

Good, again, because you don’t need to pay for any kind of mobile network subscription. Bad, because the signal is only updated, when the AirTag is near an Apple device.

If your dog runs to the woods, then there is no way to get a signal from an AirTag there, but with an actual GPS device, it is possible.

Not a pet product, per say…

So, one problem you might have with the device is the woods problem.

But that still is not a deal breaker - even real GPS devices don’t have a 24/7 location of your dog.

The real reason, why Apple doesn’t promote this as a dog device, is it’s durability.

Not to say that it’s built cheaply - it’s just built to withstand dogs and dog environments.

It’s built more to be stylish and compact, rather than robust and durable.

Dogs can definitely chew through this thing easily, for example.

That is why Apple can’t say that it’s for dogs - because if you’re not mindful, the device or your dog might get damaged. And that’s enough for Apple to prevent any kind of liability.

Should you use the AirTag as a pet tracker?

We think yes!
As long as you are mindful of it being a small electrical device and careful not to let your dog do anything to it.

If you can prevent your dog from chewing on it, swallowing it and going into the sea with it, then it should be fine to use.

Here’s what we recommend:

1. Get a Keepaws collar (Discount Code: PPS)

2. Get the cheapest GPS tracker - Tractive (Use our link to get 30% off)

3. Get an AirTag

4. Get a QR code tag - ByteTag (Discount Code: PPS15)

And here’s why:

A Keepaws collar can hold everything you need to track your dog.

To handle the problem of no Apple tracking in the woods, you can get a GPS device. The cheapest we know is Tractive which costs around 5$ a month.

But GPS devices are not perfect and their battery runs out. Apple Airtags are the perfect backup for that. It also doubles the safety, if they are both on.

If somebody catches your dog before you, then it’s best if they get as much information about your dog as possible - starting from your phone number all the way up to allergy information and medical information. QR code pet tags are the best for that, here’s our ByteTag profile, which people can see if they catch our dog: https://www.bytetag.co/tag/SJmqt

And finally, a regular basic dog tag is also there, in case all GPS’s fail and the people catching your dog don’t know how QR codes fail. Thankfully, the Keepaws collar comes with a free engraved dog tag. So again, we recommend getting the collar.

And then, you can be almost 100% certain that your dog will be safe, even if something were to happen.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments if you are planning on trying it, or if you’ve already tried it and have some thoughts.

Thank you so much and safe walks with your dog!