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Pet owners are often looking for new and better ways to protect their pets, including finding ways to track their pet’s location. That’s why using AirTag on a collar is one option that pet owners have considered.
On Reddit, a discussion about success rates of using AirTag to locate lost dogs pet owners debate whether AirTag is beneficial for pets or not. Some users say they love using it; others warn against them.
To answer these popular questions about using an AirTag for pets, we spoke with two experts to find out everything you need to know about tracking your dog or cat. It turns out that pet professionals believe that AirTags are not only unreliable, but can also be a health hazard.
What is AirTag?
Apple AirTags are created to help track your personal belongings by using a “secure Bluetooth signal that can be detected by nearby devices in the Find Me network,” according to Apple.
Small devices, which are $29 per daythey are often used on suitcases, purses, backpacks and key rings. Apple’s website makes no mention of using AirTags on pets… probably for good reason.
Read more: Best Apple AirTag Accessories in 2024
Why you shouldn’t use AirTag to track your pet
While AirTags may seem like a convenient and relatively inexpensive way to track your furry friends, experts advise against it.
If AirTags are attached to a pet’s collar, there’s a chance it could lead to a medical emergency, he says Dr. Shannon Vawtermedical director and veterinarian at Thrive Pet Healthcare Wedgewood in Nashville, Tennessee.
“There’s a battery in there, and if a dog or a cat swallows this – so what several articles and reports in our veterinary journals where people report that this has happened – then we have to do an operation called a gastrostomy or an enterotomy and go fishing,” says Water, adding that the battery is dangerous because if it gets started “it corrodes or open with that acid in there, it’s going to make a hole through their GI tract.”
Water says emergency surgery to remove an AirTag could run between $2,000 and $5,000, adding that dogs are more likely to chew or eat an AirTag, but cats could also be at risk of doing so.
There’s another reason experts warn against them: their tracking limitations.
“AirTag has very limited tracking capabilities and accuracy in rural areas, exactly where you’re most likely to need it,” he says Maleki Burke, founder of Snootiful Houndthe company that created the escape-proof harnesses for dogs. Because AirTags depend on nearby Apple devices, Burke says if your pet gets lost in a rural area, the location may not be accurate or available.
“This is especially problematic if you’re trying to track a dog that has wandered away from populated areas,” he says.
Expert advice: Better ways to track your pet
Both Wawter and Burke recommend that the first line of action to keep your pet safe is microchipping. A microchip is a small, permanent chip that is equivalent to the size of a grain of rice and it is embedded in the pet. According to Pavlici Advisormicrochips for dogs cost between $25 and $60. If you adopt your pet from a shelter, there is a chance that they will be pre-chipped, and the shelter will give you a microchip identification number during the adoption process.
“Any pet can get a microchip at any age, and it’s not much bigger than a vaccine needle,” Water says. “We do it all the time with distraction, like we give them some cheese or some peanut butter and they don’t even know they’re getting it.”
When someone finds a lost pet and brings it to an animal shelter or vet’s office, the pet is scanned for a microchip. The microchips contain the pet’s information and the owner’s personal information so they can be quickly matched. If you would like to update your pet’s microchip information, visit Search the American Animal Hospital Association Microchip Registry. Enter your pet’s microchip ID to find where it’s enrolled, then request an update on all the necessary information.
A microchip is great for someone who finds your pet, but you may still want to pair it with a device that can actively track them. This is where a GPS collar can come in handy.
“Say your dog gets loose, chances are, in the short term, it won’t go very far,” says Burke, who personally uses a GPS tracker Traction for your dog. “If you have GPS on them and you can track them, you can bring them back in minutes.”
Like many GPS collars, the Tractive requires a monthly subscription. Basic plan it’s $13 per month or $8 per month if you sign up for a one-year subscription.
Vawter says he also recommends a GPS tracker over an AirTag because they’re usually flat and built into the collar, rather than hanging from the collar.
“They are very large, so it would be difficult to eat them or bite into them,” she says. “The other thing is that they rely on satellites, not people’s phones or Bluetooth.” The only negative thing about GPS – and that’s why I still want a microchip – is that GPS has a battery and it’s short-lived.”
Wawter also says that if your pet continues to run away, talk to your vet to find the root cause of why it’s happening in the first place.
The bottom line
AirTags are great for your keys and other personal items, but there are safer and more secure ways to track your pets.
“Make sure your dog is microchipped,” says Burke. “But also, if you’re worried about your dog running away, just get a GPS. Peace of mind is worth its weight in gold.”
