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Oli has been wearing his Whistle tracker for almost a year now, so I thought it would be appropriate to write up a little review.
Overall, I'm very happy with Whistle. I use it mostly for peace of mind, as my dog doesn't really do off-leash stuff because of his size and where we hike. He also (knock on wood) is not an escape artist, and has come back quickly any time he has gotten out. My family enjoys the peace of mind of being able to track our hikes and outings, as well, since it can be assumed Oli's location is my location. It actually gives me a little peace of mind that we would be able to be found if we were to get lost/in trouble and not be able to reach help, too. And it definitely gives me peace of mind when I am traveling that my family could easily locate him if he were to get lost.
The activity tracking portion of it is great, too. You can set a daily goal, and it helps me see how much exercise my dog is getting, and pushes me to get more active with him. I also now know exactly how much exercise he needs a day to be sane in the house (~75 minutes). I can also track the distance of our walks/hikes, and it gives an estimate of how many calories he has burned throughout the day based on size and activity.
The App: The app is easy to use and fun to use. You make an account, enter some information about your dog (age, weight, etc) and upload a picture (optional). When you open the app, it shows the location of your dog on a map on the main/home screen. Typically this will be "home". You can set safe places in the app, like Home and other places you may visit frequently with your dog. For us, it's Home, The Barn, and Liz's House, for example. Underneath the map it shows your pets activity for that day on a timeline, and overall active minutes for the day are displayed.
Battery life: I get the alert that his Whistle needs to be charged (pops up on my phone, and I get an email) when the battery is at 30% or below. This is roughly every 10-14 days, depending on how much I've been using the app.
Tracking ability: I have never had an issue getting my dog's location. Luckily, he hasn't gotten loose/lost since we got this, but we HAVE gotten lost on hikes (together) and I am able to use this to pinpoint our location, and use the map to figure out how to get us back to the car, or at least the nearest road. I've never had it take more than 30 seconds to update location. When you go to tracking mode, like if your dog is lost, it will automatically update location every 30 seconds until you go out of lost dog mode.
False alarms: We have had one false alarm in which the app reported Oliver had gotten out and then returned home. Now, I can't totally prove that this was a false alarm. I was at school, and my sister let the dogs out a few times, but doesn't remember if he was outside at the time I got the alert. I didn't notice the alert until about an hour after I received it, but when I called home it was confirmed he was there. The app said he had run a straight line about a half mile away from the house and back, and was only gone for 5 minutes. It seems HIGHLY unlikely he actually got out...but maybe he did. I still consider it a false alarm.
PROS:
-Peace of mind!
-Activity tracking
-Quick and accurate tracking
-Did I say peace of mind?
CONS:
-Size: Oliver is 15lbs and I feel that it's a little cumbersome on him. People use it on smaller dogs/cats, but I would love if it was a little smaller. When/if they come out with a smaller one, I will probably purchase it.
-Price: Compared to other GPS trackers, Whistle isn't super expensive. I believe it can be purchased on amazon for under $80. It was more when I bought it. There is also a monthly subscription cost of $9.99/month, or a slightly discounted price if you pay for the year upfront. For me, the peace of mind is worth the cost.
-People automatically assume it is a shock collar, since it kind of resembles one. I now tell people it's a "doggy fitbit" when they ask if it's a shock collar or seem to be eyeing it.
Overall, I'm very happy with Whistle. I use it mostly for peace of mind, as my dog doesn't really do off-leash stuff because of his size and where we hike. He also (knock on wood) is not an escape artist, and has come back quickly any time he has gotten out. My family enjoys the peace of mind of being able to track our hikes and outings, as well, since it can be assumed Oli's location is my location. It actually gives me a little peace of mind that we would be able to be found if we were to get lost/in trouble and not be able to reach help, too. And it definitely gives me peace of mind when I am traveling that my family could easily locate him if he were to get lost.
The activity tracking portion of it is great, too. You can set a daily goal, and it helps me see how much exercise my dog is getting, and pushes me to get more active with him. I also now know exactly how much exercise he needs a day to be sane in the house (~75 minutes). I can also track the distance of our walks/hikes, and it gives an estimate of how many calories he has burned throughout the day based on size and activity.
The App: The app is easy to use and fun to use. You make an account, enter some information about your dog (age, weight, etc) and upload a picture (optional). When you open the app, it shows the location of your dog on a map on the main/home screen. Typically this will be "home". You can set safe places in the app, like Home and other places you may visit frequently with your dog. For us, it's Home, The Barn, and Liz's House, for example. Underneath the map it shows your pets activity for that day on a timeline, and overall active minutes for the day are displayed.
Battery life: I get the alert that his Whistle needs to be charged (pops up on my phone, and I get an email) when the battery is at 30% or below. This is roughly every 10-14 days, depending on how much I've been using the app.
Tracking ability: I have never had an issue getting my dog's location. Luckily, he hasn't gotten loose/lost since we got this, but we HAVE gotten lost on hikes (together) and I am able to use this to pinpoint our location, and use the map to figure out how to get us back to the car, or at least the nearest road. I've never had it take more than 30 seconds to update location. When you go to tracking mode, like if your dog is lost, it will automatically update location every 30 seconds until you go out of lost dog mode.
False alarms: We have had one false alarm in which the app reported Oliver had gotten out and then returned home. Now, I can't totally prove that this was a false alarm. I was at school, and my sister let the dogs out a few times, but doesn't remember if he was outside at the time I got the alert. I didn't notice the alert until about an hour after I received it, but when I called home it was confirmed he was there. The app said he had run a straight line about a half mile away from the house and back, and was only gone for 5 minutes. It seems HIGHLY unlikely he actually got out...but maybe he did. I still consider it a false alarm.
PROS:
-Peace of mind!
-Activity tracking
-Quick and accurate tracking
-Did I say peace of mind?
CONS:
-Size: Oliver is 15lbs and I feel that it's a little cumbersome on him. People use it on smaller dogs/cats, but I would love if it was a little smaller. When/if they come out with a smaller one, I will probably purchase it.
-Price: Compared to other GPS trackers, Whistle isn't super expensive. I believe it can be purchased on amazon for under $80. It was more when I bought it. There is also a monthly subscription cost of $9.99/month, or a slightly discounted price if you pay for the year upfront. For me, the peace of mind is worth the cost.
-People automatically assume it is a shock collar, since it kind of resembles one. I now tell people it's a "doggy fitbit" when they ask if it's a shock collar or seem to be eyeing it.
