Can You Use an AirTag to Track Your Dog? Tips + Alternatives

For dogs that like to roam or pups that just get lost in their own minds – and neighborhoods – it can be anxiety-inducing to worry about them whenever they're missing.

While no one wants to lose their pooch, if it's going to happen anyway because you have a furry escape artist, you want some way to be able to track them down.

One of the most popular forms of tracking is the Apple AirTag. In fact, the AirTag is often even marketed as a way to track down lost or stolen goods, including animals that escape. But does it work? Is it a good option, or should you pick something different? Let's talk about it.

What is an AirTag and How Does it Work?

Apple's AirTags are small discs about the size and shape of a poker chip; a little larger than a quarter and a bit thicker to boot. They're very simple devices, with a battery and a circuit board that allows it to connect to nearby iPhone devices, which it can use to ping Apple's servers and broadcast its location.

AirTags are surprisingly elegant in their design. Because they rely on the widespread market share of Apple iPhones in pockets all around us, they don't need heavy-duty batteries, GPS signal monitoring, or active broadcasting technology. They're basically just passive emitters that do a ping phone home when a nearby iPhone detects them.

With a dog, the idea would be to attach the AirTag to their collar alongside their other tags and let Apple do the rest. It's a great way to track down lost items, but is it effective for a moving object, like a lost dog? Well, let's dig a bit deeper into that.

Can You Use an AirTag to Track Your Dog?

Ostensibly, yes. AirTags can be used to track anything they're put on. Attaching it to a small keychain-style mount and putting it on their collar alongside their normal tags just adds one more little thing to jangle around their necks while they're out and about.

AirTags are moderately water-resistant, so if your pooch is playing in puddles, caught out in the rain, dives in the local water fountain, or ends up in a pond or stream, the AirTag will continue to function.

They rely on a single small watch battery to keep them powered, and their battery life is around a year, if not longer. They're entirely passive, too, so you don't need to worry about turning it on before your pooch escapes and runs off.

You might note, though, that I didn't say yes here. I don't think AirTags are a good option for tracking a dog, and there are a few major reasons why.

Why AirTags Aren't the Best Option for Tracking a Dog

There are a handful of very compelling reasons why you probably shouldn't use an AirTag to track your doggo.

They only ping home when an iPhone passes nearby.

This is a pretty big drawback. AirTags are Bluetooth devices, and they're part of the Apple ecosystem. That means two very important things.

• They can only ping home when an iPhone or other Apple device passes within their Bluetooth range, and
• The device that passes nearby needs to have Bluetooth enabled.

In a world where privacy-conscious people are disabling Bluetooth and other forms of tracking, and in a world where only around 28% of smartphone owners have Apple devices, that means a good portion of the people walking by aren't going to be able to interact with your AirTag.

In fact, your pup could walk right up to someone, and the AirTag might not phone home because they don't have an Apple device.

The "passes nearby" part of this is also critical. The range on an AirTag is only around 10 yards at the most, and that's in clear conditions without obstructions. Realistically, the iPhone has to get a lot closer than that to tag the tag.

The location ping can be on a significant delay.

If you were hoping that the AirTag could provide a real-time feed of where your pooch is and has been going, unfortunately, that's not the case.

AirTags only phone home when a device gets close enough, and real-time tracking isn't available. In fact, some people have reported that the AirTag pings can be on as much as a 15-minute delay!

Basically, the AirTag is meant to be a tool for if you accidentally drop a wallet or your keys and want to know where it is in general so you can search for it.

It's not super precise – though it's close enough that you could try to get your dog to come when called from that range – but it's best used for stationary targets. You'd be able to see if your keys got lost on the side of a trail or if they were moved and turned into a nearby lost and found.

Meanwhile, if a phone pings your dog's location, and it doesn't report to you for 15 minutes, you then mobilize and head out to that spot, which takes an additional 10 minutes; your pooch has already been gone for nearly half an hour. It only really works, then, if your doggo was found and stashed away in someone's yard or home while they try to track you down.

They're relatively easily exposed and can be chewed on.

AirTags are just small disc-shaped devices, so they need a mount. For dog tags, that mount is usually a keychain-like hanger, and that's often exposed enough that your pooch could pull it off or chew it up. It depends on how much your dog likes to mess with their tags, but it could be a consideration.

You really need to be an Apple user to make AirTags worthwhile.

While the AirTag relies on the people around you to have iPhones to make it track worth anything, it also requires you to have an Apple device to manage it.

The AirTag will automatically ping and beep if it doesn't detect its home network in a couple of days, and if you don't have any Apple devices for it to sync to, it's going to cause those problems constantly. This is a common question, and people on Reddit have even suggested opening up and removing the buzzer just to get it to stop.

You can track an AirTag using just an Apple account on their website, but that doesn't get around the phone-home device limitations. So, while you can technically use it without an Apple device, it becomes a massive hassle.

That's a lot of drawbacks! So, if AirTags are out, what other choices can you try?

What Alternative Tracking Options Do You Have?

First, let's talk about another option that doesn't do what you want, and that's the Ring Pet Tag. Ring is almost as prevalent as Apple, so having something that connects to Ring devices would be handy, right?

Well, it's even worse in this case. The Ring Pet Tag is actually just a piece of metal with a QR code on it that alerts your Ring app if it's scanned. That means someone needs to find your dog, scan the code, and ping Ring to let you know.

So… why not just have a tag with a phone number on it? Same deal, except instead of funneling the info through Ring, they just call you directly. The only reason to avoid it, really, is privacy; if you don't want people to have your phone number, you might not want your dog to have it, either. Who knows who they're sharing it with, right?

There's no real tracking on the Ring tag, so don't even consider it.

Now, let's talk about some of the real options available to you.

Option 1: Tractive's Dog Tracker

Tractive is one of the leading brands of dog tracker in the world today. The tracker is a relatively large plastic box that attaches securely to a collar, without dangling or leaving itself exposed to chewing (unless your pooch can get their collar off, but at that point, all bets are off.)

The Tractive tracker has a few benefits. For one thing, you can set a home zone and get automatic alerts if your dog roams outside of that home zone.

You can let them out in the yard unsupervised and be secure in the knowledge that if they escape, you'll be notified right away.

Tractive also has real-time GPS tracking, so if your dog gets lost, you can see the path they take, the place they are, and the direction they're moving.

It makes it way easier to track them down. And, since it's GPS-powered, it doesn't rely on nearby Apple phones or other specific devices or people.

There are a few downsides to Tractive, though.

• You have to pay a subscription fee. It's relatively inexpensive, ranging from $5 to $13 per month depending on the kind of package you buy, but any subscription fee is a fee.
• It requires decent cell service in the area. GPS trackers like Tractive use cell service to phone home, so coverage can be spotty in rural areas or areas where cell service is disrupted.
• Since it's an active tracker, you have to charge the battery a lot more often. The small version for smaller dogs has a tiny battery and needs charging about once a week, whereas the larger version for big bois can last up to a month between charges.
• It may be limited to the US. You have to pay for a premium plan to access their tracking outside of the US, so keep that in mind.

Overall, Tractive is generally considered one of the best, but they aren't the only option.

Option 2: Jiobit Trackers

Another option is the Jiobit tracker. These are tags similar to an AirTag in form factor, but they have GPS real-time tracking and geofencing the same way as the Tractive, and even has a full history of where your pet has been.

Jiobit isn't just designed for dogs, though. It's actually a general-purpose tracker, and has a bunch of features your dog is unlikely to use, like an alert button to call for help. It can also connect to local open internet signals!

Otherwise, Jiobit has a fairly high initial buy-in at $130 for the device, and a subscription fee ranging from $9 to $15 per month. It does have a lot of different accessories and connection options, though, so it's easily customized to the best way to attach it to your pooch.

Option 3: Fi Collars

The Fi collar is similar to both Tractive and Jiobit, except it's much smaller and is built directly into the collar itself. That means it's one less thing to have to attach to an already-laden collar, though it's not as useful if you're using a different collar for fashion or sentimental reasons.

It's also reportedly better than Tractive or Jiobit at using actual satellites and not just cell service to track locations. I can't verify whether it's outright better or not, but it does claim to have a longer range.

The collar itself is $100 and the subscription starts at $20 per month. It also has a one-time activation fee of another $20.

Other Options

There are other GPS trackers available as well. For example, the PitPat tracker is a little smaller than Tractive, a bit more expensive, and limited entirely to the UK. It's a pretty good tracker, as far as I know, but since it's only available in the UK, it's not part of the main list.

You can also consider something like Link, which is a combination tracker and training tool. It facilitates training by allowing you to use noises or buzzing to assist with training activities.

There's also the Halo collar, which is the most fully featured out of everything on this list, but it costs way, way more. The basic collar is $600, and the membership is $10 per month after that.

I'm sure I've only scratched the surface of the options available, so here's where I turn it over to you. What is your favorite dog tracker? Let me know in the comments!

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