Many of us have busy lives so it is important at times that we get a little help with some of those household tasks that might be getting neglected. In both the suburban and city world it is common for people to hire a gardner to keep grass mowed and trees from growing over to a neighbor’s yard, or a house cleaner to give those blinds a good dusting and floors a good deep cleaning. Many of these jobs have accountability built right into them. For example, it is pretty obvious if a lawn care company or house cleaning person did not show up and do their job. Unfortunately, not all hired help can be easily checked for accountability. This is the case with people who are a little too busy and therefore hire dog walkers to get their furry loved ones some exercise. However, with the help of small portable GPS trackers pet owners are offered a new way to make certain their pooches are getting walked while also knowing exactly where the dog walker went during that outing!
Live GPS Tracking: How It Works For Dog Walking
GPS monitoring devices have evolved to the point where they are small, affordable, portable and easy to use. This evolution in tracking technology has really opened up the doors to new applications such as monitoring a dog walker. How it could help a pet owner is really nothing more than a 3 part process.
- The pet owner requests that a dog walker carry a small GPS unit in their pocket while walking the pooch.
- When the dog walker takes the pooch for an outing the live locational data is transmitted to a website.
- The pet owner goes online with their cell phone, tablet or computer and can see where their pooch is walking!
Pet owners are not only given real time access to where their pet is at any point in time, but they can also review historical data of what paths or trails a dog walker took their pooch!
Accountability is important in every aspect of business and determining how good or bad a job hired help is doing. Before the introduction of small, on-the-go live GPS tracking devices, those people who hired dog walkers had no way to know with confidence if a) their dog was actually walked and b) how far the dog walker took the pet. GPS monitoring offers a new method of observation and accountability that has changed the way many businesses conduct operations and now the satellite technology is going to the dogs by helping pet owners!
Dog GPS Tracking
GPS dog tracking systems were something Angela heard about when she took her pet chihuahua Buttons to the local dog park on a Saturday afternoon. Angela was never really too worried that anything would happen to Buttons because he was a very obedient dog and all his information was up to date. She even had a fenced in backyard so he could run around and play in the grass without having to be supervised. However, the next weekend she went to the dog park she heard a frightful story about how a little Yorkshire terrier named Gusto dug underneath a side-yard fence and was then stolen by a man in a red truck. The thought of something like that happening to her puppy was scary. Therefore, she decided to do a little research on GPS dog tracking systems.
It did not take very long for Angela to begin finding some useful information on GPS tracking system equipment that was suitable for her dog Buttons. In fact, she was surprised to see that their were a multiple options available on the market for dog tracking devices. The first thing she learned in her search was that any real-time tracking unit would require a monthly service fee. A GPS tracking company representative explained to her that essentially all pet monitoring devices are receivers that record data, but real-time tracking systems also have a module designed to transmit the recorded data over a wireless network. The module takes the recorded GPS information and sends it via cellular tower communication where the data can then be easily accessed from any location.
Dog GPS Tracking Shortcomings
Once she learned how dog GPS tracking systems worked she then learned that they had some shortcomings. Some of those shortcomings were:
- The battery in the dog GPS tracking system or collar needed to be recharged on a nightly basis because battery life was so weak.
- If the dog was lost in a field or some other area that had poor cellular coverage then the dog GPS tracking system would not be able to effectively transmit location.
- Inaccurate positions or no position at all would be transmitted if the coverage was weak. Many of the companies manufacturing the dog GPS tracking collars were not industry leaders in the field of GPS technology.
Choosing A GPS Dog Tracking Device
After careful thought about her financial situation and some of the shortcomings of dog GPS tracking systems, Angela decided that she would take additional measures to protect her puppy, but would not invest in a tracking system. She put chicken wire along the bottom of her fence so Buttons couldn’t escape through a crack, purchased a harness to place around the dog’s body, rather than a simple collar around the neck, and vowed never to leave her puppy unsupervised unless he was in his crate.