Technology is making it easier and easier to find lost dogs with the advent of GPS dog collars and the Apple AirTag. But what if your dog gets loose and they aren’t wearing their collars? Having your dog microchipped might not bring them home as fast as GPS tracking, but it is highly effective if your dog goes stray and is picked up by animal control or a good citizen.
The American Veterinary Medical Association conducted a study from August 2007 to March 2008 on the effectiveness of microchipping in stray dogs and cats. Fifty-three shelters reported taking in a total of 7,704 stray dogs and cats. Of that number, over four thousand had microchips. The success rate for dogs being reunited with their owners because of being chipped was 74 percent. Those that were unable to be reunited with their owners were a result of the original information in the chip being outdated. While GPS collars are amazing, I highly recommend you chip your dogs, as collars can be torn off. Some dogs, like mine, also do not wear collars while at home.
Microchips are small and easy to inject into the dog. They are only activated when a microchip scanner is used to try and find the chip. You can get your dog microchipped at any vet appointment, and the procedure does not require your dog to be sedated. The chip is injected via a hypodermic syringe. Your vet will then instruct you to register your contact information with the chip’s manufacturer. If you don’t update the information, the vet clinic that provided the chip will be the contact. Some microchips are also now capable of providing your dog’s body temperature. Chipping your dog takes no time at all, and there are very rarely any side effects.
GPS collars are amazing. There are several brands, but the two brands that are the highest rated are Fi and the Apple AirTag. The highest rated is the company Fi, whose GPS collar also monitors activity level, gives escape alerts, is waterproof, and has an LED light for nighttime walking. All of the features are monitored via a downloaded app. Fi does require that you sign up for a membership to their software, which ranges from $99 for six months to $189 for a year.
Apple AirTags are also highly rated. I was excited to see that they now offer a keychain-style attachment to a dog collar so that you can hook the AirTag to a martingale-style collar instead of being forced to use a buckle collar if you don’t typically use them. What is great about the AirTag is that when it is put into “lost mode,” its technology is designed to use the millions of iPhones around it to send its signal to you. When the AirTag is put into lost mode, the device can connect to those phones anonymously and alert you to where your pet is.
Spending the money on a GPS dog collar can be worth it if your dog is an escape artist. It may alleviate the worry about your dog being safe. Add a little extra “just in case” insurance by making sure they are microchipped as well.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net.
Heidi Clayton started Four On the Floor Dog Training to provide positive, reward-based dog training in South Jersey. She breeds, trains and shows bull terriers under the SoraBully’s Bull Terriers kennel name. Email questions to heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net or learn more at https://fouronthefloordogtraining.net
