It all seems like pet-ownership has gone all digital on us, doesn’t it? It started with the QR readers for your beloved pet’s collars, and now we’ve gone into the realms of GPS tracking collars to help keep your cats and dogs safe.

What do you think? Is this an idea that you would entertain?

We’ve had this discussion with a couple of our fellow pet sitters and we’ve all agreed that it seems like a perfectly smart idea. In theory, if you were to ever lose your pet, with just the click of a button you could see where they were hiding and then go out and go get them…

Of course, as you would expect, it’s a pretty expensive bit of kit. Can you really put a price on the safety of your furry friends though? Just imagine the devastation that would face your family if they were to ever disappear, never to be seen again. Could you have that conversation with your five year old daughter?

You can look at spending around £50-£100 on this bit of kit, depending on where you get it from. It’s a tiny little tracking device that attaches to your cats existing collar. It’s actually no bigger than a name tag would be. The handset that you use to locate the critter if it ever gets loose is only about credit card sized and it actually works really well. Then again, for that price, you would expect it to, right?

There are a number of devices that you can choose from. Some have software that works with smart phone apps or programs on your computer. Some have a series of warning beeps on a small device – beeping more frequently and a different colour when you are getting close. All of which are designed to fit a purpose and if you have a pet that has a nasty habit of running away every five minutes, this isn’t a bad idea.

Now if only they could invent one to keep your kids out of trouble and life would be perfect…

You can locate your pet to pretty much pinpoint accuracy – in most cases to within around five metres of where your pet actually is. You can also set alerts with some of the model that we’ve seen, and these will alert you when the pet goes out of a certain range… That’s a great idea, isn’t it? You would then be alerted every time the pup leaves your yard, for example.

Some of the GPS tracking devices that we’ve spotted online give you a route master tool so that you can tell whether or not your pet is getting enough exercise. It might even be wise you noting down the route you take and how long it is – you might be losing weight at the same time!

At the end of it all, going digital probably isn’t a bad idea. Most people have smart phones these days anyway, and knowing where your pet is with the touch of a button is probably the smartest idea to come about in recent years. The question is – how much would you be willing to pay to ensure the protection of your pet?

Photo provided by Keattikorn / Freedigitalphotos.net