Report Highlights Danger of Using AirTags for Tracking Dogs

[boston04and07]

AirTags also give off high amounts of EMF (you can get an EMF reader to confirm for yourself) which I believe is also why they say not to attach them to "living things" (dogs, kids, etc.)

The total amount of energy in a button battery averaged out over a year os going to generate about nothing, even at 100% efficiency juice--->RF. While everyone else is frying their gonads with their smartphones.

You know, I have wondered about this.

I’m sure this will sound very dumb to people who actually know more about how these work, and I wholeheartedly admit I haven’t a clue. But - what is the risk of having something like an AirTag on a pet regarding whatever signals the thing emits? I have a cat who’s an escape artist but completely incapable of taking care of himself if he ever got outside. I have no worries about him swallowing it - he barely eats his actual cat food and I think it would be too large for him anyway. However, I was worried about whatever these things emit making him sick over time. Is this totally dumb or actually a thing to be concerned about?

Because if there’s no reasonable risk, then omg, it would be an amazing thing to have for peace of mind.

 

[AgeOfSpiracles]

Dogs. So useful and also so utterly useless.

 

[imola.zhp]

Wow, ingesting electronics is bad? What a story!

 

[burtx]

The anti-tracking beep.

I attached one to my dog's collar and it was great at first but when I went out of town it started beeping after a couple days. So, if you do attach one maybe transfer it over to whomever the dog is staying with.

I've since switched to Fi (a kind of Fitbit collar with GPS) and it works really well. There is a yearly fee though.

I'll keep my AirTags for suitcases, backpacks, etc. for which they are amazing.

 

[RightMACatU]

Just reminded me of a saying: garbage in, garbage out!
Kidding...
We all know that what would come out can be very useful for the yard

 

[martinX]

Report highlights stupidity of dogs.

 

[MAcNIAC]

N

No different than other gadgets. My friend is a vet and the stuff that comes out of dogs tummy after surgery will make tags with batteries look like kids play. I would be more worried about my dog eating a chocolate or sugar free stuff, which is very toxic for dogs. I don’t use tags for dogs.

i am afraid youve missed the point - button batteries are very dangerous if swallowed. i cant say it any simpler

 

[TechnoMonk]

i am afraid youve missed the point - button batteries are very dangerous if swallowed. i cant say it any simpler

I didn’t miss anything. Dogs swallow much more toxic stuff than batteries. Grapes and xylitol( sugar free) can kill your dog much sooner than a battery which doesn’t come out.

 

[MAcNIAC]

I didn’t miss anything. Dogs swallow much more toxic stuff than batteries. Grapes and xylitol( sugar free) can kill your dog much sooner than a battery which doesn’t come out.

did you watch the bbc video? i am a paediatric anesthesiologist. i have seen children just like that. we treat button battery ingestions with the utmost urgency.

i’m not interested in whether their are things that can be worse. of course there are -thats not the point - the point is that button batteries are dangerous.

 

[TechnoMonk]

did you watch the bbc video? i am a paediatric anesthesiologist. i have seen children just like that. we treat button battery ingestions with the utmost urgency.

i’m not interested in whether their are things that can be worse. of course there are -thats not the point - the point is that button batteries are dangerous.

We are not talking about children. I have seen Dogs with kidney and liver failures after eating human edible stuff, far worse than any battery would do to them, I grew up with dogs, and have veternarians in my family. I would love to see your research specifically on what is toxic to dogs, and to what degree.
I am not saying Batteries arent harmful, just putting things in perspective over fearmongering.

 

[lordhamster]

Yes. This. Thanks for posting. I came by myself to correct the misinformation everyone including macrumors seem to be operating under.

The fact is, that if an animal or human swallows an unsealed button battery they will very likely suffer severe internal damage due to the battery short circuiting NOT due to caustic substances that may be leaking.

AirTags open extremely easily and after that it's very bad news for the dog.

For those who must use AirTags attached to or around pets or young children, consider nothing less than the Elevation Labs TagVault range which is very much better sealed and in the case of the TagVault Pet, very securely attached to the collar.

AirTag Dog Collar Mount

The most secure & comfortable AirTag pet collar mount. IP69 waterproof, dogs can swim with it. Works with any width collar or harness. Durable composite construction + CNC machined stainless hardware. Unbreakable ballistic Nylon6 polyamide backplate. Fits dogs and cats over about 10lbs...

www.elevationlab.com

Bought several Tagvaults after this article first came out which I got yesterday. Got 1 Tagvault "pet" and one regular one designed for backpacks. As far as I can tell, there is zero difference between the models. It seems to be a nice product and definitely is better than the flimsy silicon airtag holder I was using on my dog's collar previously.

That said, I was never that concerned as my dog doesn't eat anything that doesn't contain meat or cheese.

 

[snarton]

I have a Chipolo One Spot on my dog's collar. It has a hole in it for key rings, so it hangs on her collar alongside her tags.

 

[wilkyconsultants]

How do we know these articles aren't being written by ChatGPT?

run the article through https://www.zerogpt.com/

 

[Chriss_m]

This complaint is completely farcical. Dogs eating things is not novel nor is it specific to, or caused by, an AirTag.