There is a specific, sickening moment that every dog owner knows. You call, and nothing comes back. The field is empty. Thirty seconds pass, which feel like ten minutes.
Most of the time they reappear, tail wagging, entirely unbothered. But it's that half-minute that sells GPS trackers. Before you buy one, though, there's something important to understand: a GPS tracker is not a microchip, and a microchip is not a GPS tracker.
The most important thing on this page
Your pet's microchip cannot be used to find them. A microchip is a passive RFID tag — no battery, no transmitter. It does nothing until a vet or rescue centre scans it and looks you up on a database. It is an identification device that reunites you with a pet someone has already found.
A GPS tracker is an active device with a battery and a SIM card. It reports its own location to your phone in real time. It is a location device that helps you find a pet nobody has found yet. You want both — they do completely different jobs. Since June 2024, microchipping is a legal requirement for cats in England as well as dogs, so most UK pets are chipped. The tracker is the part most people are missing.
Do you actually need one?
Strong case: a dog with poor recall or a strong prey drive (sighthounds, spaniels, terriers, huskies); walking off-lead in open country; a cat with outdoor access; a pet with a history of escaping; an anxious or noise-phobic dog — bonfire night and New Year's Eve are the two biggest days of the year for lost dogs in the UK.
Weaker case: a small, elderly or lead-only dog in an urban area with a secure garden, or an indoor-only cat. If that's you, save your money.
The five things to check before you buy
1. Is there a subscription? (Almost always yes.)
A GPS tracker needs a mobile data connection, which means a SIM, which means someone pays for the data — typically £3–£8/month in the UK. Check before you buy, and factor the running cost in. A cheap tracker with a £7/month plan can cost more over three years than an expensive one with a £3 plan.
2. Battery life, in the real world
Manufacturer claims are made in standby. In live-tracking mode — the mode you'll actually need — the battery drains far faster. Assume roughly half the headline figure.
3. Live tracking versus location pings
Location pings update every few minutes — fine for “roughly where is my cat today?”, useless when your dog is running through woodland. Live tracking updates every few seconds and lets you follow them like a moving dot. That's the feature you're actually buying.
4. Waterproofing
Look for an IP67 rating as a minimum. IP65 (splash-resistant only) is not enough for a real dog in a real British winter.
5. Size, weight and a safety collar
The collar and everything on it should stay under about 2% of your pet's bodyweight. For cats, the tracker must be on a quick-release safety collar that breaks away if it snags. A lost tracker is a far better outcome than a lost cat.
If you're in the market, our G12 GPS tracker covers live tracking, IP67 waterproofing and geofence alerts, and is light enough for larger cats as well as dogs.
The features that actually earn their keep
Geofencing: draw a safe zone on the map and get an instant alert the moment your pet crosses out of it. For escape artists, this is the single most useful feature. Light and sound: a remotely triggered LED and buzzer closes the last few metres in a dark hedgerow at eleven at night.
If your pet goes missing
- Search the immediate area first, thoroughly. Frightened animals hide close by.
- Call your microchip database and flag the pet as missing.
- Ring local vets and rescue centres.
- Post on local Facebook groups and Nextdoor and the national lost-pet registers.
- Leave something that smells of home outside — their bed, a worn item of clothing, their litter tray.
The bottom line
A GPS tracker won't stop your dog running or your cat wandering. What it does is turn the worst hour of your life into an inconvenient twenty minutes. If you have a recall-optimistic spaniel, an outdoor cat, or a firework-phobic dog, it's one of the few pet purchases that could genuinely save their life. Whatever you decide: keep the microchip details up to date — it's free, takes five minutes, and out-of-date chip records are one of the most common reasons found pets don't make it home.
Have a look at our travel and safety range →
Microchipping is a legal requirement for dogs and, since June 2024, cats in England. Keep your contact details current on the database — a chip with an old phone number is a chip that can't do its job.