dogboston

[Brian Henderson] Lately, I’ve been surprised to find the number of Dog GPS (global positioning satellite) receivers on the market. The marketing pitch is that you can strap on these devices to your dog, and if and when the dog gets lost, you can go to your computer and track the dog like a detective with a homing device secretly embedded on the suspect.

Now, I’m all for technology advances and things which can save me time and make me more efficient. But personally, with these doggie GPS devices, I cannot see the point.

Major drawback #1:

If my dog is off leash, I am usually nearby and in a fenced-in area. My dogs listen to me, but… one of my dogs has a serious squirrel problem, so I never take them to a place where I think they might get extremely tempted to run off a random direction.

Major drawback #2:

Let’s say my dog DOES escape. Where am I going? I am going to run like a madman through the neighborhood until I find my dog. I am going to yell things like “Cheese!” and “Food!” and of course the dog’s name (Emma or Tula)

Major drawback #3:

Again, let’s say the dog escapes, and my panicked run around the neighborhood ends up fruitless. Now, if the dog is sporting one of these collars I could run to my computer and start tracking. But hopefully the batteries are fully-charged. Most of them run for about 5 days max and unless you charged it on the day of the escape (how would you be able to plan that?), then you probably have far less than 5 days on battery time.

On the other side, I guess there are a few legitimate reasons for the product though.

1. If you are traveling, and maybe you want to micro-manage your dog’s movement from afar. Watch him move from the couch to the kitchen. Doesn’t seem like a smart way to spend your money.
2. Maybe you use an electronic fence and aren’t sure your dog won’t bust through “the force field.” But then, why even have an electronic fence if you aren’t sure it will work?
3. Hunting dogs. Maybe there’s a case where a dog can be far from owner and you want to know where your dog tracked a bird. Doesn’t apply to me – I’m not even sure I’d know how to acquire a gun nor do I hunt.
4. The most interesting reasons to use a device like this, is to monitor other family members. Maybe kids. I could see nervous parents dropping a doggie GPS in the car to see where their kids are hanging out. Sneaky but parents watch their kids internet behavior too, don’t they?

In Summary, Dog GPS is a Bad Idea

It’s a bad idea, and it’s sad to see some local companies fell into the trap of making unnecessary products for “dog safety.” Owners should make sure their dogs are secure before letting them run off-leash. If your backyard is fenced-in and has a gate, make sure the gate is latched and locked. For extra precaution, get the microchip embedded in your dog because there have been stories of long-lost dog returned to owners after microchip positive identification.

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