Nina is a 9 - year - old doggy from South Carolina who we adopted last March . She is also a runner . One evening , a hebdomad into her time with us , she wandered off for two days , gross out us out quite a number .
She shoot aside again about a month ago . gratefully a passerby picked her up and take her for a ride , finally returning her when we post about her on Facebook . She ’s a wonderful footling dog , but apparently , she ’s a ramblin ’ girl .
WhenAirTagscame out a few workweek ago , I thought I had a result . An always - on tracking gadget that can pinpoint Nina with relative truth sounded like a gravy — something , even with all its defect , that would rent me follow Nina during her next trip . I decided it was time to track my diminutive , furry fugitive from justice .
Photo: John Biggs/Gizmodo
How to Attach An AirTag To Your Dog
frank owners have dreamt of something like the AirTag for years . hound GPS solutionshave always been wonky and too large for most frankfurter , and the need for constant recharging is often a dealbreaker . Nina ’s neck opening is too small to comfortably wear most of the GPS solutions . But AirTags do n’t come with any accessary , and Apple ’s AirTag key band and loop are n’t exactly made for pets . So I need to figure something else out .
My first stop was Etsy , where I determine this littleAirTag bearer for $ 12 . It ’s essentially a fictile loop with a obliterable ring . It came in a few daylight and I put it on poor Nina , much to her consternation .
The tag end worked , but it was n’t quite what I wanted . After all , it was pulling her collar down too much and the shred was still too big for her smol consistence .
Photo: John Biggs/Gizmodo (In-House Art)
3D-Printing an AirTag Dog Tag
I checked Etsy for another resolution . The next detail that issue forth up was thisclever attachable tagthat stayed moneyed to the collar . Then I noticed that the tag I had purchase was probably 3D printed , so I cash in one’s chips on Thingiverse to ascertain a possible answer .
The first one I bump was this“low profile”model that clipped around the collar . I print it in draught way , which intend it was thin enough to erupt if I require to get the AirTag out of it . It ’s lucky that I did this because once the AirTag is in was in there , it was almost insufferable to get out .
This shred was much more comfortable but had a fateful defect : The prong were too wide for Nina ’s small collar . I opened TinkerCAD , the only 3D - modeling programme I do n’t suck at , and catch to work .
Photo: John Biggs/Gizmodo (In-House Art)
If you ’re a professional 3D modeler , I excuse for what I ’m about to show you . It ’s a genuine overplus . That said , I added little nubbin to the prong to make them slightly more compact .
I forgot to add some credit card to close up the tumid gap that would make the tag to slide around on her neckband , but by the time I agnize I ’d be in worry with this solution , I was already printing the aim .
Now I have two solutions for finding Nina in the wild . I will probably perplex with the Etsy - bought tag end for now as it seems like the most secure , but with a turn of tinkering , I ’m certain I could get this 3D publish model to shape by rights . It is , in little , an embarrassment of high - tech wealth .
Photo: Thingiverse
If you really desire to adjudicate my 3-D - printed AirTag dog rag , you could download it from myThingiverse . you may alsodownload and print a tagsimilar to the one I bought , but I come up the one from Etsy to be of far mellow quality than anything I could get out of my older Makerbot .
In the end , I doubt Nina will ever force us to quiz the AirTag tag , as she ’s quite comfortable these day put down on the sofa , her bottom , our bottom , and our girl ’s bed . But when her toe set forth to itch and her legs get to wanderin ’ , we ’ll be ready .
UPDATE – A kind reader sent me a3D model for a rebuilt AirTag bearer designed with my doggie in mind ! Thanks , Patrick !
Image: John Biggs/Gizmodo
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