Never lose the dog again. Track your pet using Windows Vista!

It happens all the time: one minute your dog is happily lazing in the garden, the next he’s over the fence and chasing next door’s cat across town. He might fi nd his own way back but, then again, he might not. It’s a worry for owners, but it’s a worry that can be avoided with a pet tracking collar. As GPS gets more sophisticated, and more widespread, such devices – initially designed for the hunting market – are becoming easier to get hold of and less expensive, too.

The collar is worn around your dog’s neck like any other, but comes with a small transmitter that pinpoints its exact location. A typical device weighs the same as a biscuit and is quite compact, so it shouldn’t bother your dog at all. At the moment, though, they’re possibly still a little too bulky for cats.

The majority of pet tracking devices available at present won’t work in the UK, except for Geolocalise’s Trace Dog, which is available in Europe and the US. The Trace Dog device uses GPS technology to tell Geolocalise where your pet is in a variety of ways. One such way is by sending a text to your mobile phone. If you’ve got picture texting (MMS) on your phone, you can get a picture message that shows where your dog is on a map. Alternatively, you can request a normal SMS text, which tells you what street he’s on and in what city.

Web search

Another way to track down your dog’s whereabouts is to log on to the Trace Dog web site (www. trace dog.fr). This also gives you the option of zooming out of the map to compare his position to yours, or zooming in and studying his location in more detail.

Any of these measures should only be necessary if your dog wanders off while you’re out and about, as Trace Dog actually prevents you losing your dog in the fi rst place. Its Geofencing option enables you to set up a virtual electronic boundary around your pooch, so if he leaves the confi nes of your property Trace Dog will alert you before he scarpers too far.

Should your dog still manage to embark on a Littlest Hobo-style adventure, it’s highly possible he’ll end up rolling around in mud or going for a swim. Handily, the company claims the collar is waterproof, though whether that means it can endure a heavy shower or a dip in a river remains to be seen.

In theory, you could use this device for more than fi nding your dog. You could hide it in your car, so that if it gets stolen you can track its location. In the end, though, when pet tracking devices become the size of a postage stamp, it’ll be the cat-owning population that pushes up demand. After all, you can’t keep a moggy on a lead!

Follow the paw prints

The Trace Dog receiver currently costs about £270, Silver membership costs £9 per month and Gold membership costs £11 per month. There’s a minimum 12-month membership. For more information, head to their website.

How to locate your canine’s whereabouts with the Geolocalise Trace Dog

1. You're collared

Attach the Trace Dog receiver securely to your dog’s collar on the front of his neck and test that you can pick up its transmitting signals.

2. Fence him in

Set up a virtual electronic perimeter around your home and if your dog decides to wander outside of this you’ll be alerted by phone.

3. Making a run for it

If you’re taking the dog for a walk and it does a disappearing act, you can send an alarm to Trace Dog via your mobile and immediately receive a picture or text message of your dog’s location.

4. Online Tracking

You can log into the Trace Dog web site via your PC and see exactly where your dog is roaming on a scale map.