Comprehensive Review of the Best Dog GPS Trackers for Rural Areas

Responsible pet owners are constantly seeking innovative solutions to ensure the safety of their beloved four-legged companions. Especially in rural areas, dog GPS trackers have become indispensable tools, providing pet owners with real-time information about their dogs' whereabouts. From daily neighborhood walks to adventurous hikes, and from preventing wildlife attacks to the potential nightmare of a dog running away, these scenarios highlight the crucial role of GPS trackers in ensuring pet safety.

With numerous dog trackers on the market, how do you choose one suitable for rural areas? We understand that the biggest challenge in rural or remote areas is the unstable or even nonexistent mobile phone signal. This renders 99% of dog trackers on the market ineffective in rural areas, making real-time tracking of dogs impossible and, consequently, failing to ensure their safety. Therefore, it's essential to choose a dog tracker that can work independently of cell signals to meet the need for real-time dog tracking in rural or remote areas.

This article evaluates two mainstream dog trackers that operate without relying on cell signals, namely the Aorkuler Dog Tracker Pro and Garmin Astro430. The aim is to assist readers in selecting a suitable dog GPS tracker for rural or remote areas.

1. Review of Aorkuler Dog Tracker Pro Controller + Tracker Set

Key Features: Real-time tracking, Sound Alarm, Light Alarm

IP67 Waterproof

Tracking Range: Up to 3.5 miles

Applicable Dogs: Companion dogs

Price: $249.99 USD

Real User Reviews

--- AlanM:

Our one year old mixed breed puppy recently got lost in Great Smokey Mountains National Park, just outside Asheville in Western North Carolina. Fortunately, after nearly 4 stressful hours were were very, very lucky to find him. He was exhausted and nearly ready to collapse. When we got back we immediately started looking for a dog tracker. There is virtually no cell service where we hike ,so we needed a GPS tracker that doesn't use a cell phone, wifi, or app. We found that options are extremely limited and most cost $500, $1,000 or more. We were excited to finally find Aorkuler's much more reasonably priced GPS Dog Tracker, Real-Time Tracking Device. When it arrived, I was happy to see that the unit that attaches to the collar is actually pretty small (many others have huge, uncomfortable looking collar units. I charged both the collar unit and the hand held units per the easy to follow directions. But, if something is affordable, but doesn't work, it isn't worth anything. We were still not sure how well it actually worked so next, the big test. My wife took Lego, our puppy, for a healthy walk (on a leash) in our rural area, and I stayed outside in our yard with the handheld unit. It worked impressively well! They were gone for nearly an hour and I was consistently able to tell what direction they were in and how far away they were! I hope we never need to use the Aorkuler system in the wild, but if we do, I'm confident we will find the little pup!

---       thenigeman:

After many months and over $1000 spent on elaborate systems (and their monthly cell service fees), the Aorkuler tracker and controller combo really works. Inspired by the no BS but super informative video with a young lady in her rural environment, I decided with it being such a small outlay, to risk it. In our rural NC mountainous environment, where cell signals can almost disappear, deer can intercept our daily walks and one of our pooches just cannot resist a good chase. Immediately the tracker is giving me her position. I even foolishly lost the first one so after offering me a heavily discounted price, they supplied another. Cheap and effective!

2. Review of Garmin Astro430 Controller + T5 Collar Set

Features: Real-time tracking, 2.5-second ping update rate with near-to-real-time location tracking, simultaneous tracking of up to 20 hunting dogs

IP67 Waterproof

Tracking Range: Up to 9 miles

Applicable Dogs: Hunting dogs

Price: $668.99 USD + Subscription fee

Real User Reviews

--- Perry：

Never had any issues with it. I let my dogs off leash when alone in the woods in New Mexico. Even if the signal is lost due to which side of the mountain I'm on, as soon as walk back to the same side it picks right up.

--- richard：

our 14 year old great pyrenees' back legs have been getting weaker and weaker for some time. we live in the Iowa countryside where there are many rainwater drainage ditches winding their way through the earth, and I've been concerned for awhile now that our dog jasmine would get into one and not be able to get out. today it happened - she is often gone for awhile from the front door of our country tri-plex, but when a couple of hours go by I begin to worry a bit that her back legs have given out somewhere and she can't get up to make it home. today she was gone long enough that I got out the base unit to the garmin astro 320 dog gps unit that I bought in january of this year, along with a second collar, so I can have a battery charged collar on her 24 hours a day, and turned it on and keyed it to the collar she had on at the time. the unit drew a line from where I was in exactly the right direction to where she was, about 300-400' from the tri-plex, stuck in a ditch in mud and cold water, and she could not get up by herself to get out of it. I could not see her until I was about 8' from her, and who knows how long it would have taken me to find her without the gps.

I pulled the toyota 4-runner up to within about 20' of where she was, grabbed a handful of hair on each side of her butt, lifted her up and supported her while she walked out of the ditch to the toyota, got her inside and safe - legs have partially recovered by now, several hours later, but it will be a day or so before she is more or less back to what passes for normal for her.

A good investment, indeed. thanks again.

3. Conclusion

Additionally, in our investigation of dog GPS trackers available on the market, we discovered that some cellular network-based dog trackers, despite claiming usability in the countryside without phone signal, may not truly offer real-time tracking. Upon closer examination of their product descriptions, it was found that these trackers record GPS location information locally when in areas without phone signal. Only when the dog owner reconnects the GPS tracker to the internet can they retrieve the previously recorded information. This does not provide genuine real-time tracking, rendering it impractical for tracking dogs in areas with unstable phone signals, such as rural regions.

Therefore, as responsible stewards of pet well-being, investing in a reliable dog GPS tracker for rural or remote areas is not just a choice but a commitment to the safety and freedom of one's beloved canine companion. When selecting a dog tracker, it is crucial to ensure that the device can operate independently of cellular signals and offer real-time tracking for your dog. This way, even in rural or remote areas with unstable phone signals, the device can provide enhanced safety protection for your dog.