What's the best pet tracker that also lets me monitor basic vitals?

If you want both GPS tracking and basic health/vitals monitoring, the best choice depends on whether you care more about finding your pet or watching health trends.

My pick by situation

• Senior dog, chronic condition, or you specifically want vitals: PetPace. It tracks more physiological measurements than typical GPS collars, including pulse, respiration, temperature, and HRV.PetPace
• Most pet owners who want one device: Tractive. It combines live location, safe zones, activity, sleep, and some vital-sign trends without being primarily a medical monitor.Tractive Help Center
• Escape-prone dog where battery life matters: Fi is worth considering, though its health features are more fitness-oriented than true vitals.Smart Pet Gear Lab

A couple of important caveats:

• Consumer pet trackers generally detect trends rather than diagnose illness; unusual readings should be discussed with a veterinarian.Tractive Help Center+1
• “Vitals” varies a lot: some collars estimate health from activity patterns, while others collect physiological measurements more directly.PetPace

If you tell me dog or cat, age, weight/size, and whether your priority is escape tracking vs health monitoring, I can narrow it to one model.

If you mean GPS location + basic health/vitals in one device, I’d narrow it to two:

• Fi Series 3+ Smart Dog Collar - $228.00 (Chewy)

My shortlist

• Fi Series 3+ — Best if your priority is GPS + long battery life + activity/behavior monitoring. It tracks activity and rest, and the Series 3+ adds AI-based behavior insights such as eating, drinking, barking, licking and scratching. Battery life is rated up to about 3 months.Rebarkable+1
• Tractive DOG 6 — Better if by “basic vitals” you specifically mean heart rate and respiratory-rate trends. It also provides GPS, sleep/activity tracking, health alerts, and bark/scratch monitoring. The tradeoff is substantially shorter battery life—roughly days to a couple of weeks depending on model/use.Smart Pet Gear Lab+1
• PetPace — Worth considering if health monitoring is more important than GPS. It focuses much more heavily on physiological measurements such as heart rate, respiration, temperature, HRV and behavior, but it's less of an all-purpose GPS tracker.Smart Pet Gear Lab

One important distinction: these aren't veterinary diagnostic devices. “Vitals” generally means trends and changes in measurements, which can be useful for noticing something unusual but shouldn't replace a vet's examination.

If you tell me dog or cat, approximate weight, and whether you care more about GPS accuracy, battery life, or health monitoring, I can narrow it down to the most suitable model and current price.

If you want GPS tracking plus actual basic vital-sign monitoring, rather than just steps/activity, the field narrows considerably.

The main options

Current comparisons describe Tractive's newer DOG 6 as offering resting heart-rate and respiratory-rate trends alongside GPS, while PetPace goes substantially further into physiological monitoring.Smart Pet Gear Lab+1

• Fi Series 3+ Smart Dog Collar - $192.70 (Chewy)
• SATELLAI Go Smart GPS Dog Collar - $79.99 (Chewy)

For your specific wording, I'd look hardest at the Tractive DOG 6. It combines a conventional GPS tracker's job—finding your pet—with health data that's more meaningful than simply counting steps. It also supports heart-rate and respiratory-rate monitoring and health alerts.The Verge+1

If by "basic vitals" you specifically mean temperature + heart rate + breathing rate, then PetPace is the more health-focused option; it is much closer to a dedicated pet health monitor, but costs more and isn't as focused on escape/location tracking.Smart Pet Gear Lab+1

One important caveat: these are wellness/monitoring tools, not veterinary diagnostic devices. Changes in heart rate, respiration, temperature, etc. should be treated as prompts to investigate with your vet rather than diagnoses.

If you tell me dog or cat, approximate weight, and whether GPS or health monitoring matters more, I can narrow it to 2–3 specific models and compare the subscription costs, battery life, and actual vitals they measure.

If by “basic vitals” you mean things like heart rate and respiratory rate, I’d pick the Tractive DOG 6 right now.

Fi Series 3+ Smart Dog Collar

$189.00

My picks

🥇 Best overall: Tractive DOG 6

• GPS + live tracking
• Resting heart-rate and respiratory-rate trends
• Activity and sleep monitoring
• Health alerts, plus bark/scratch monitoring
• Relatively inexpensive hardware and subscription
• Works internationally where supported cellular coverage is availablefetchtested.com

The important distinction is that Tractive is now doing more than simply counting steps: its health features include actual heart and breathing-rate trends, which is closer to what I'd consider “basic vitals.”fetchtested.com

🥈 Best if health monitoring matters more than GPS: FitBark GPS

• Strong activity/sleep/behavior monitoring
• Particularly useful for spotting changes in licking, scratching, restlessness, and sleep
• GPS included
• Lightweight and can attach to an existing collarwww.pettrackerlab.com

🥉 Best for battery life: Fi Series 3+

• Excellent GPS/escape protection
• Very long battery life
• Strong activity and sleep tracking
• Newer Series 3+ adds AI behavior/health insights, but its health monitoring is less focused on traditional vitals than Tractive.fetchtested.com

One caveat

None of these should be treated as a medical-grade vital-sign monitor. They're best for spotting changes from your pet's normal baseline and deciding when something deserves a closer look or a vet call.

If you tell me whether this is for a dog or cat, their approximate weight, and whether heart rate/respiration is important or you mainly want activity/sleep, I can narrow it to the best specific model.

Finding a device that combines real-time GPS tracking with actual vital sign monitoring (rather than just general step counts or activity sleep tracking) narrows the field to a few specialized smart collars and biometric tags.

True medical-grade or cardiopulmonary vital tracking requires close contact with the pet's skin/fur, which separates these devices from standard fitness-only gadgets like FitBark or basic location-only tags.[1]

The top options on the market that successfully bridge GPS tracking with basic vital sign monitoring include:

If you want medical-grade precision and don't mind a dedicated collar setup, the PetPace V3.0 is a clinical-grade option . It tracks true vitals including temperature, pulse/heart rate, respiration, HRV (heart rate variability), pain, and stress levels every two minutes. It also features built-in GPS tracking and AI health alerts, making it popular for senior pets, chronic conditions, or post-surgery care. You can explore the hardware and specs via the PetPace Dog Health Monitor V3.0 on Dogs Pawshop.

Tractive is a gold standard for pure, reliable, real-time GPS tracking . While it doesn't do deep-dive clinical ECG or real-time cardiac scans like Invoxia or PetPace, its updated app integrates general wellness monitoring, sleep tracking, and behavior change alerts to flag early signs of distress or unusual activity patterns. It’s rugged, waterproof, and budget-friendly compared to medical collars. You can view retail and subscription options via the Tractive Smart Dog GPS Tracker at Petco.[1][2][3]

To help narrow down which of these fits best, could you tell me:

• What species and breed/size is your pet?
• Are you looking to track vitals for general wellness/fitness or to monitor a specific medical condition (like a heart murmur or recovery)?