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It is 6:00 pm and your dog is nowhere in sight.
You have tried looking for Spot around the house, went looking at the local park, called your neighbors, and even drove around the block.
But your beloved pet is nowhere to be found. Now, this is every pet owner’s worst nightmare.
There are a couple of pet trackers available in the market today whose aim is to make sure you do not go through this experience.
Once you realize that your little buddy is missing, you can just whip out your smartphone and locate them. One of these trackers is the Whistle 3.
Contents (Jump to)
Dimensions and design
The Whistle 3 is very noticeable on your pet’s collar, measuring 1.45 inches wide by 1.82 inches tall and 0.61 inches thick. With its plastic construction, however, it is very light at less than an ounce.
You would also love how understated the design is. The Whistle 3 looks like a little gray box that your dog wears around its neck. The design does not really betray what’s going on inside.
What do all these mean? Your dog will be comfortable wearing the Whistle 3.
Whistle 3 Key Features
The minimalist and simple design hides the fact that there are a lot of things going on inside. The Whistle 3 might look understated, but inside, it has a variety of hardware that allows it to track your dog and that gives you all the features you need. These include:
- Get alerts everywhere. The Whistle 3 is able to send you text, in-app, and e-mail alerts when your dog leaves the designated safe places, giving you the chance to chase after them before they wander too far off.
- Free mobile app. The Whistle 3 uses a free companion app that is specifically designed for the device. It allows you to see your pet’s location, as well as a history of where it went and how long it stayed there. The mobile app also shows you how active your pet was during the day.
- Waterproof. The Whistle 3 is waterproof, rated at IPX7. This means that the device can be submerged in water up to a meter deep for as long as 30 minutes. Your dog can go jump in a lake, play in the rain, or get wet without damaging the Whistle 3.
- Long battery life. The Whistle 3 comes with a rechargeable battery that you can fully charge in two hours. You can get up to seven days of operation with a single charge, but this would largely depend on the strength of your cellular data connection or Wi-Fi signal. Looking for your pet frequently will also cut down on battery life.
- Compatible with iOS and Android devices. The Whistle 3 has mobile apps for Apple devices running iOS 10.0 or higher and Android devices running Lollipop, Marshmallow, Nougat, Oreo, P, or later.
- Accurate pet tracking. The Whistle 3 gives you more accurate location tracking by using both GPS and GLONASS satellite systems. It also uses cell tower data and Wi-Fi to help it come up with a more accurate location for your pets.
- Wi-Fi. Even with its own cellular connectivity, the Whistle 3 also connects to your Wi-Fi network because of two reasons. First is to make the location tracking more accurate, and second is to save on battery. The Whistle 3 will use your Wi-Fi connection to upload data in order to save battery.
- Safe places. Whistle 3 allows you to create safe places or those areas where you know your dog will ordinarily be. It could be your backyard, your office, or the neighborhood park. Once your dog goes out of the safe place, the system will send you an alert and let you know that your pet is out of bounds. You can create multiple safe places in order to lessen the number of alerts you get.
What’s in the box
The Whistle 3 GPS pet Tracker and Activity Monitor comes in a package that also includes the collar attachment, the USB cable, and the quick start guide.
What you would like about the Whistle 3
With Whistle 3, you would get fast and accurate location tracking for your pets. If your dog is within your backyard, the tracker will save battery by using your Wi-Fi network and Bluetooth connection to connect with your smartphone. But in the event that your dog gets lost, you can rely on AT&T’s cellular towers nationwide to help you find it.
The Whistle 3 gives you the ability to set up more than one safe area, unlike most of its competitors, which offer only one safe zone. Whistle 3 uses better geofencing as well.
The Whistle 3 also gives you one of the longest battery running times out there. Competitors often use batteries that last anywhere from 3 to 5 days tops.
What could be better
WiFi Networks: The Whistle 3 only connects to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks.
Requires Subscription: You would also need to pay anywhere from $6.95 to $9.95 per month for the subscription plan. There is no way for you to use the tracker without subscribing. This might turn some people off. Whistle says that it needs the cellular network of AT&T to be able to pinpoint your dog’s locations when your pet wanders out of Wi-Fi range. And even if you are okay with having to subscribe to use the product, you would also need to get a separate subscription for each Whistle 3 you have for each of your pets. So if you have five dogs at home, you will be spending up to $50 a month to have them all tracked.
Only Basic Pet Activity Tracking: One of the features of the Whistle 3 is that it tracks your pet’s activities to give you an idea if your dog is getting enough exercise. The problem is that it uses very basic activity tracking, using the distance traveled by your pet and then counting the calories burned from there. The problem arises when you drive with your pet in the car. The tracker will think that your pet is walking, and this means that the activity tracking is more than a little off. There is also no way for you to pause the activity tracking.
Battery Longevity: Moreover, there are issues with the battery since trying to locate your pet will seriously shorten battery life.
Information Storage Beyond 24 Hours: Also, the information only stays for the past 24 hours. You will not be able to see tracking data beyond a 24-hour period.
Alternatives to the Whistle 3
There are several competitors for the Whistle 3.
First, you have the Paw Tracker, which uses GPS satellites to track your pet’s location. It also relies on cellular towers to send location data back to your cell phone. Like the Whistle 3, you need to pay $10 per month for the Paw Tracker cellular service. However, the Paw Tracker offers lower rates if you pay for a yearly subscription and if you want to track more than one pet. The more pets you have, the more affordable the monthly fee becomes. For instance, you only need to pay $9 each for two pets, and only $7 each for more than seven pets.
The Paw Tracker also serves as an activity tracker and you can view your pets’ daily activity history on the Whistle app.
The Paw Tracker, however, only offers up to five days of battery life and costs $99.95, which is $20 more than the Whistle 3.
Other pet trackers you can check out include the Gibi Pet GPS tracker, which sells for $99.99, and the Pod 3 GPS Tracker, which is great for those who want to splurge. The Pod 3 tracker sells for $129.
You can also go with smart dog collars, which is great for those who worry about attachable pet trackers potentially falling off. One is the Link AKC smart dog collar, which not only locates your pets via GPS, but also keeps a log of vet records, sends temperature alerts, and does other functions. This smart collar allows you to learn more about your pets and it comes in two varieties, the LINK AKC Smart Collar Classic and the Link Sport. Both sell for $99.
Other products you can check out include the Tractive GPS Tracker and Nuzzle. And if you have hunting dogs, or want to keep track of a lot of dogs, you can get the Garmin Astro 320 T5 Dog GPS Bundle.
If your pet is prone to getting sick or if you want to diagnose what’s wrong with your pet, you can get Pet Pace. Pet Pace is not necessarily a pet tracker, but it does monitor your pet’s vital signs and other health metrics. It will then alert you if there are signs of health problems so that you can go to the vet to have it checked out.
How does the Whistle 3 compare to other pet trackers like the Link AKC? Read here!
Final Say on the Whistle 3
There are several other alternatives out there, but the Whistle 3 has a more attractive price and better battery life and features.
It does come with a considerable amount of monthly subscription fee, but if you think about your beloved pets getting lost, even paying up to $10 per month is rather worth it.
Where to Buy the Whistle 3
I have two go-to stops for the Whistle 3:
- Order Direct via Whistle Here: Sometimes they run promos exclusively on their site. It’s also generally preferable if you need to get support to go directly to the brand.
- Order via Amazon Here: Amazon is – of course – also a great option to consider for ease of use (and if you have Prime membership).
Read here about other GPS pet trackers:
Patrick Sinclair is a geek; make no mistake about that. He runs All Home Robotics in his spare time so he doesn’t have to think about his depressing cubicle and it gives him an excuse to buy expensive gadgets to review!
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