Bark Badge / HeyBuddy review
Sadly, millions of dogs run away from their homes / owners every year.
Whether it’s because they don’t know how to be off-leash, or they get scared of loud city noises and run away, or because they simply go wondering and get lost - there are many random reasons why dogs could lose their way back home. Nobody ever thinks it will happen to their dog… until it does.
Bark Badge is a new product on the market, which aims to solve exactly this product.
It has been around since 2020, and it has been growing and evolving ever since.
It’s a “smart” dog tag that you can put on your dog’s collar.
It’s purpose is that when your dog gets lost, then strangers will have plenty of information to take care of your dog and ultimately, get your dog back to you.
If you want to order one, remember to apply our discount code “PPS” to get the discount.
Let’s talk about how much it costs and how it works.
Price and quality
We bought one Bark Badge with our own money for a total of 23.76 (Price) + 12.76 (Shipping) = 36.15$.
It’s completely possible that you don’t need to pay as much - shipping to Northern Europe isn’t cheap.
We got the purple one, but there’s a total of 11 different styles to choose from.
A big plus to the badge, is that there is no monthly charge. You just buy it once and you can use it forever!
The quality if the badge surprisingly good! It looks cute and is well built.
The cute design is also one of the main reasons we got one. If you think this badge looks cute and you’re willing to play 30 bucks for it, then we think you’ll definitely be satisfied with how it looks and feels.
How does it work?
The Bark Badge has two things in it: a picture of a QR code and a NFC chip.
When you first get the badge, then you need to open the Bark Badge app and scan the code in to register the device.
You can then create a Profile for your dog and put the badge on your dog’s collar.
Then, when your dog runs away and a stranger scans the code manually, then the stranger can open the profile to contact you, and at the same time, you’ll see where the stranger is located.
Here is our Bark Badge’s QR code for example.
You can try playing the role of the stranger. Imagine you found our dog and this is the Bark Badge that was on her.
Try opening your phone’s camera and scan the QR code.
You should be able to open our Bark Badge profile and see our information.
If you buy a Bark Badge then you’ll get to create a profile page for your dog as well.
An important note is that there is no GPS functionality inside the device. The only way you’ll be able to find your dog, is if somebody actually scans the QR code and contacts you through the page.
So, in simple terms, the badge is nothing more than a fancy way for you to give people a link to your social media page, so that people can contact you, when they catch your dog.
Is it worth it?
Now for the main question… is it actually worth your time and money?
Well, yes and no…
There’s nothing wrong with the Bark Badge itself per se, but it’s nothing super amazing either.
At the end of the day, it’s simply a one step up from a basic, static dog tag.
It’s totally possible that someone finds your dog, looks at your Bark Badge profile and brings your dog back to you. But because it doesn’t have live GPS in it, you’ll still rely on other people catching your dog first.
Let’s compare it to other options you might have…
Here’s why Bark Badge is better and worse than other options…
| Aspect | Regular Tag |
|---|---|
| Price | ~10€ |
| Affiliate Link | Amazon |
| Why BB better |
|
| Why BB is worse |
|
| Aspect | Apple AirTag |
|---|---|
| Price | ~40€ + 1 battery yearly |
| Affiliate Link | Amazon (AirTag) Amazon (AirTag holder) |
| Why BB better |
|
| Why BB is worse |
|
| Aspect | GPS (Tractive) |
|---|---|
| Price | ~50€ + 5€ monthly |
| Affiliate Link | Tractive.com |
| Why BB better |
|
| Why BB is worse |
|
So in the end, I’d say that the best way to look at Bark Badge is to ask yourself:
Do I like the way that it looks?
What do I need? Does this cover my worries, or am I willing to pay more to get actual GPS tracking?
If you like it, then by all means, try it out!
Anything you can do to make sure your dog is just a little bit safer, is a good thing for you and your dog.
If you do decide to get it, remember that you can use our code PPS to get it a bit cheaper.
And if you need more tracking, then check out our review on our favourite GPS tracker: Tractive.
