7 Pet Tags and Trackers that Help Bring Lost Dogs (and Cats) Safely Home

A collar ID tag, the tried-and-true standard. When someone finds a lost dog trotting down the sidewalk, the first thing they do is reach under their chin for an ID tag so they can call the owner or give the wayward pup a lift home. A dog goes from lost to found as simply as that! Engraved metal or plastic tags are available online (buy two so you have a backup), or there’s probably a tag-engraving machine at a nearby pet store or animal shelter. Tags aren’t too expensive as a one-time purchase, but costs can rack up if your dog is a Houdini who sheds collars or breaks tags monthly. If your pooch lacks ID because they’ve lost yet another tag, you can get a pack of 5 laminated Jiffy Tags online for less than $10, and you’ll always have a replacement on hand.

Customized collars.  If your dog is naked of ID because you dislike the jingle-jangle of metal tags, a collar embroidered with your contact information is bright, attractive…and quiet. In a pinch, you can even write your phone number on your dog’s current collar with permanent marker. This works best on light-colored collars and needs to be refreshed quite often, because the marker fades. There are even some niche products that hold the tags together, keeping them quiet.

Slide-on ID tags are another simple and quiet identification option. The custom engraved tag slides onto your dog’s collar and lies flat where it won’t jangle against your dog’s rabies or license tag.

Microchips are magical when it comes to reconnecting lost pets with their homes. These tiny transponders, only slightly larger than a grain of rice, contain a scannable registration number and the contact for the microchip’s registry service. Microchips are easily inserted under the skin between a pet’s shoulder blades by a trained technician or vet, and no anesthesia is needed. Some people mistakenly believe that chip will track a pet if they become lost. They don’t – and we’ll discuss real trackers in a moment. Instead, think of a microchip as a tiny invisible ID tag that is almost impossible for your pet to lose or for someone else to remove. If a Good Samaritan finds your lost dog, they can stop by most any veterinarian or animal shelter to have them scanned for a chip and start the process of getting your dog safely home. If an animal control officer picks up your dog, or someone finds your dog and tries to keep him as their own pet, sooner or later that chip should get scanned. More and more animal professionals scan pets as part of every routine exam.

Microchips are invaluable, but they are unfortunately prone to human forgetfulness. Pet parents often fail to register the chip of a newly adopted pet or forget to update their address and phone number online when they move. But as more and more pet lovers chip their pets, the number of fantastic happy-ending stories are increasing, including Ritz the cat, who was returned to his pet parents after sixteen long years!

A digital ID is a “smart” tag for your dog’s collar with a QR code that can be scanned using the finder’s smartphone. The code links to your pet’s personal online profile. Not only does it store your pet’s photo, emergency contacts, and vaccination info, if a stranger finds your lost dog, when they scan the code, they are put in touch with an operator who will contact you right away. Some smart tags, like PetHub Solutions, have services that range in cost from free to premium. The benefit of a digital tag is that it not only helps get a lost dog home, it also keeps the pet’s info all in one place where it's immediately available to share with a veterinarian or other member of your pet’s inner circle.

Personal property trackers, like the Tile or AirTag, were developed to help you find misplaced keychains, purses, laptop bags, and other non-furry personal property. But they can also be helpful to keep track of your pet in a pinch. The Tile tag can be detected if it’s within a few hundred feet of your smartphone, using Bluetooth technology. You’ll also get a location message if your Tile-wearing pup wanders within range of a person who has their Tile app open to the public on their smartphone. The AirTag uses Bluetooth and “ultra wideband” for added accuracy. Both tags (plus other brands like the Chipolo) have a ringer, so if your dog has been snoozing behind the couch for an hour, you can find them in their hiding spot by ringing their tag, instead of heading out to search the neighborhood. Because of their limited range and the fact that they are Android (Tile) and iPhone (AirTag) specific, property trackers are helpful, but by no means perfect, for tracking pets.

Here's a tip! Some property trackers have a smooth plastic surface with room enough to write your phone number with permanent marker, so your tiny tech tag can also serve as a standard dog ID tag.

Pet tracker collars and tags could have an entire article of their own! There are many to choose from, and they vary widely in cost, technology, and tracking range. Some use cellular service, GPS, ultra-wideband, Bluetooth technology (or a combination of several) to track a pet who ventures out of your sight.

• There are highly sensitive and pricey GPS tracking collars developed for temporary wear to keep tabs on hunting dogs, but the large size of the device and the antenna aren’t suitable for companion canines to wear 24/7.
• Tracking technology is getting tinier! GPS and cellular trackers like Fi, or Whistle, or Link, or Tractive  are far more compact. However, they may still be ungainly for a toy-sized dog or a cat to have tucked under their chin.
• There are also a number of tiny-sized trackers that are more suitable for your collar-trained pocket-sized pup or cat. Some utilize GPS and others use only Bluetooth, and their range will vary based on the type of tech packed in their tiny size.