Worried About Losing Your Dog Or Cat? Here Are 5 Consumer Reports Approved GPS Trackers

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While we have little doubt that our dogs absolutely adore us, their natural inquisitiveness means they can be easily distracted by their surroundings, prompting them to wander off or run away without warning. A curious canine might venture off during a daily walk or slip out of the yard late at night, sending you on an anxious search for your beloved pet. Cats, on the other hand, are more independent and often roam on their own, but what if they don't return home as expected?

Sadly, we're not quite at the stage where a pet can tell us where it's off to. Until then, a tracker attached its collar offers a practical solution. Using GPS and cellular signals to relay location data to an app on your phone, a tracker does what it ought to: show you the precise whereabouts of your pet on a map so you can locate them if they go missing. Some of these devices even double as a fitness tracker so you can ensure that your four-legged friend is getting enough exercise.

Consumer Reports (CR), an independent, nonprofit organization that offers unbiased reviews of tested products, recommends several trackers designed to help you monitor your pet's whereabouts. To find the best ones, CR conducted lab tests while also trying them on a dog (a 45-pound sheepadoodle called Luna) to evaluate tracking ability as well as how easy they are to set up and use.

Tractive's GPS Dog LTE emerged with the best score among the five trackers tested by CR. While Tractive has come out with a new iteration called the Dog 6, the review lauded the LTE for its compact, light, and sturdy build, adding that it's "especially easy" to set up and use, and should fit on small dogs and even cats, too. If your pet goes on walkies (by itself!), you can activate the live mode, which geolocates the device every few seconds, the shortest frequency of all the models here.

Tractive's LTE tracker offers escape alerts for when your pet leaves a designated safe zone, and also includes an LED that lights up to help you find your dog in the dark. CR suggested the light was a bit dim, but reviews of the new Dog 6 device claim Tractive has made it much brighter. It can also emit a sound to help you locate your pet nearby, though reviews of both the Dog LTE and Dog 6 device suggest it's a little on the quiet side.

If you're interested in Tractive's dog tracker, we'd recommend going for the latest Dog 6 model. On Amazon, it gets a 3.9/5 rating from just over 3,000 reviews, with 60% giving it 5 stars. The Tractive Dog 6 costs $79 — the best price among all of the CR's tested trackers — and offers a one-year subscription plan for $144 ($12 a month), two years for $204 ($8.50 a month), or $360 ($6 a month) for five years 

Also highly rated on CR's list is the Fi Series 2, though, here, we're going to focus on the very latest iteration of the device, the Fi Series 3+. First up, Fi's tracker device offers impressive battery life (around 10 weeks in independent testing), a slim, waterproof design, and an enhanced app. Reviewers praise its improved GPS tracking and accurate escape alerts. The device also includes an LED light that can be activated for night searches. However, it lacks an audible location function, so you won't be able to remotely trigger a sound to help you locate your dog. 

Activity, sleep, and AI-powered behavior monitoring (barking, licking, and scratching) also help you to keep an eye on your pet's well-being. Apple Watch integration allows you to monitor everything from your smartwatch, while multi-person access lets you share the device's tracking information with trusted people.

On Amazon, the device has a 3.8/5 rating from just over 470 reviews, with 61% giving it five stars. Customers praised its functionality and ease of use, though some expressed concerns about location accuracy. The Fi Series 3+ costs $129 for the device, along with a subscription of $99 for six months, $189 for one year, or $339 for two years.

Link's pet tracker is another option highlighted by CR. The waterproof device and portable device offers a range of features, including 24/7 GPS tracking, real-time location updates, escape alerts, and designated safe-zone monitoring. Beyond tracking, Link's device also keeps an eye on your pet's health and fitness, monitoring their activity, steps, distance, calories, and sleep. You can even set personalized exercise goals and get wellness insights. The app splits the moving time in minutes into walking and running, useful if you're keen to ensure your pet is getting enough vigorous exercise. It also measures the ambient temperature around your pet and sends an alert to your phone if it exceeds certain limits.

CR found that it carries out tracking tasks "competently," while also praising the brightness of the device's light, making it easy to find your dog in the dark. Notably, although the device can play a tone to help you locate a lost pet, it seems that it's mainly for training, allowing owners to teach dogs to associate the sound with commands such as returning when called. The Link pet tracker costs $149 for the device, plus the service plan that costs either $9.99 a month, $99 a year, or $186 for two years. And once you've got yourself a pet tracker, if you have a dog, you can check out these other dog-focused gadgets that could make life easier for you and your canine companion.