Our furry friends can bring us the most joy in life, but equally leave you running around in your dressing gown with a torch and bag of treats at 3 am when they go missing. If your dog escapes they don’t think about the worry and panic they cause you, but simply see it as an opportunity to run around like a loon and sniff everything within a 2-mile radius.

The Marco Polo Pet Tracker has been created for the unruliest sized dogs - you know, the ones who think they are Great Danes but barely come up to your ankles (but are most likely hanging off them none-the-less) - but is fine for large dogs too. It is also suitable for cats, although, ultimately, they will be the ones deciding if its suitable for them in the standard cat way.

The Advanced Single Pet Tracking System comes with: a hand-held locator, one Advanced Pet Tracking tag, one ballistic nylon collar holder, a plug-in charger and cable used for locator and tag recharging, user reference manual, quick start guide, and 10 pcs. pet button ID labels. The tracker sits in the collar holder and attaches to the pets existing collar with a length of 7 inches or more. When the tracker is switched on a little red-light begins to flash to indicate its active and some of this light leaks out, which could potentially annoy the animal.

When you need to locate your pet, you switch on the handheld device and press the appropriate numbered tag (you can have up to three separate tags) and the scanner will begin to search. When it has picked up a signal it will tell you how strong it is in percentage and an arrow will point you in the direction of the collar. Set up is simple: you much ensure both the tag and locator are fully charged and the tag is switched ‘on’ - you have the option of up to four programmable safety zones that your pet is allowed in. The Tag is waterproof, it is secured with Velcro and one charge will last up to 45days and requires zero subscription fees. 

I would rather see a stiff popper or some other closure system as Velcro can be torn open when your pet is running through bushes. Having a handheld locator rather than an app is more awkward in that you must have the device on you and it is rather bulky; it won’t fit comfortably in your back pocket, but on the plus side it is totally self-contained, so it will work anywhere (no need for phone signal, GPS or data usage).

We had a few test runs playing hide and seek around the block and it was hit and miss: sometimes it would take a few attempts of resetting the locator before it would pick up a signal; on large flat areas it worked much better, however built-up areas are more difficult due to the arrow - if it is off even a few degrees, you will go wondering off in the wrong direction. Worst of all sometimes it just wouldn’t connect, and it’s this unreliability that makes the large price tag unjustifiable. I’d say it works 75% of the time.

If you have bags of money and live in an area with rubbish phone signal, this maybe your best and only option. However, an app and tag is probably just as reliable and a lot cheaper! RRP $234.95

3.5 out of 5

Buy now

Pros

Lightweight collar

Self-contained (no WiFi, subscription, data, GPS needed)

Easy to use

45day battery life

Up to 3 trackers on one device

Suitable even on small dogs and cats

Discrete

% and directional arrows

Cons

Unreliable connectivity

Large locator

Expensive

Velcro not the most secure