Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post. I was sent the PAJ PET Finder 4G GPS tracker for dogs to review free of charge, but words and pictures are mine. See more information here.
It’s no surprise then that GPS trackers for dogs are – from what I’ve gleaned from a brief stroll around the park – increasing in popularity as they become more affordable.
Being unused to having a dog off the lead (my last dog was a menace for chasing squirrels!), I often worry when Izzy goes out of my sight into the woods – primarily that she may be stealing a small child’s lunch, but also that she may run off following something exciting and get lost. She has many fine qualities but she’s not the sharpest.
Izzy and I were sent a PAJ PET Finder 4G GPS dog tracker to review; these have a full RRP of £49.99 but you can currently buy one for under £35. (Note that this does not include the fee for the Finder Portal).
The PAJ PET Finder 4G GPS dog tracker is a small gadget which attaches to your dogs collar or harness, and transmits a signal via the integrated sim card so that its location can be seen at any time via the online portal or smartphone app.
The tracker is waterproof and weighs 48g but it’s quite bulky. For medium to large sized dogs this is fine, but it may be too heavy for small or toy dogs (like the ones on foufoupuppies) to wear. It is not recommended for dogs under 4kg.
Setting up the PAJ PET Finder 4G GPS tracker
It’s very easy to set up the PAJ PET Finder 4G GPS tracker; it comes with the sim card already inserted so you just need to charge it up, activate it online at the Finder Portal, and turn it on.
The PAJ PET Finder 4G GPS tracker comes with Velcro fastenings so it can be easily attached your dog’s collar. We didn’t have any problems with it coming off.
It is charged via a USB cable (supplied). I have personally found that the battery lasts approximately two days on a full charge when it is connected to the home WiFi for much of the day, and then I charge it overnight. The website claims that it can last up to five days when near a home router, and 9 hours of continuous use.
The PAJ Finder Portal: What does it do?
PAJ GPS is one of the leading European brand in GPS tracker devices. Their finder portal – which is accessible via the web or on a handy mobile app – makes it easy to track your GPS Easy Finder from wherever you are.
Setting up an account can be done via the Finder Portal website or via the PAJ Portal app, which means you can track your Finder from anywhere. Note that to use the tracker you need to pay a monthly subscription for the sim card to be active, and the cost of this varies depending on how long you sign up for; costing £5.99 for a single month, £54.99 for a year or £89.99 for two years.
Once you have signed up, the PAJ Finder Portal tracker app or website is very easy to navigate and use.
It shows you where your GPS tracker currently is (to within a building or two), as well as where it has been. You can also see where you are – although for some reason my phone’s location wasn’t always shown correctly. I don’t know whether this is down to the app, or whether my is phone to blame, so will reserve judgement on that!
Using the app, you can analyse your pet’s travel time, stop points and speed variation during the route. It stores routes for a year so you can check back to see where your dog has been. You can set alarms to go off on the device remotely via the portal which you can train your dog to use as a signal to come back to you if they happen to stray too far. It also has a light on it, which you can turn on remotely if you are out walking in the dark.
The PAJ Finder Portal notifications
It will let you know when the tracker has been shocked/shaken (if you chose to receive notifications), when the battery is low and needs recharging, when the tracker is travelling above a certain speed or enters/leaves a certain area (geofence, which you can set). You can set up alerts to your device for all of these.
I quite enjoyed the the ‘shaken’ alerts as they confirmed my suspicions that Izzy doesn’t actually do anything but sleep while I’m not there. It also goes off when she lets out a heavy sigh (because her life is very hard). I’ll probably turn them off to be honest, but they could be useful in some circumstances.
NB I’ve taken the above screenshots from the web-based portal, although the app works really well and means if you’re out and about and lose sight of them, you can know which direction to go in to find them.
PAJ PET Finder 4G GPS tracker for dogs review: Conclusion
If you have a dog that likes to wander, they’re often off-lead or perhaps you have dog walkers and want to be nosey and find out where your pup gets to during the day, then the PAJ PET Finder 4G GPS dog tracker is fairly cheap way to have peace of mind. It doesn’t bother the dog, and apart from remembering to charge it there are few downsides.
It currently costs £34.99, with a year of the PAJ Finder Portal costing £54.99. You can find out more on the website here.
