Best Apps for Pet Parents: 10 Apps for Vet Records, Lost Pets, Training and Fun

Last updated: October 2026. Prices, plans and features were checked on each app’s own site or store listing in October 2026 and can change without notice.

Best apps for pet parents at a glance

One app per job, every price read off the app’s own site or store listing this month. Two of the ten are ours (Lohji and the Shiloh’s House tag), so weigh those sections accordingly. For the lost-pet side alone, see lost pet apps and tools.

Lohji Best for cartoon avatars and stickers

Lohji is the free companion app from Shiloh’s House, and it does two different things. The playful half turns any photo of your dog or cat, yours or anyone’s, into a 3D, Pixar-style character and casts them as the star of their own animated feature: cinematic mini movies, 4K wallpapers, watch faces, stickers and holographic trading cards, across 100+ themed Lohji Worlds (Rainbow Ice Kingdom, Alien Planet, Wizard School, Pirate Cove). The App Store listing adds that you can dress up your pet and design outfits.

The practical half is the profile behind a Shiloh’s House smart tag (next section); you do not need a tag for the cartoon side. Lohji is free to download on the App Store and Google Play, available in 16 languages, and no subscription is required to start; the App Store listing shows optional in-app purchases (Lohji Coin packs from $2.99, plus Starter, Deluxe and Premium tiers at $1.99, $4.99 and $9.99). Walkthrough: how to turn your pet into a cartoon with AI; every alternative compared: cartoon my pet.

Shiloh’s House smart tag Best lost-pet pick

Our own product, so read this with that in mind. The Shiloh’s House tag is a premium acrylic ID tag with a passive NFC chip inside and your pet’s name, your phone number and your address laser engraved on it as a backup. Whoever finds your pet holds their phone near the tag (iPhone 7 and newer, plus virtually every Android) and your pet’s profile opens in their browser: no app, no account, no fee on the finder’s side. You manage the profile in Lohji: emergency contacts, medical alerts, vaccine and rabies records, travel mode, live directions back to you, a recorded voice note that plays to calm your pet, and backups who can be reached if you cannot. Change your number and the profile updates in seconds.

It is $38 once, with no subscription, no battery and free shipping; setup takes under two minutes (open Lohji, tap “Sync Tag,” enter the claim code). The honest limit: it is an ID tag, not a tracker, so it cannot tell you where your pet is. It tells the person who has found your pet how to reach you, which is the gap a microchip leaves too; see microchip vs smart tag and the full field in best smart pet tags.

PawBoost Best free lost-pet alerts

PawBoost is a lost-and-found service with apps on iOS and Android and a website. Post a lost or found pet and the alert reaches nearby people through local Facebook and Nextdoor communities, email, and PawBoost’s “Rescue Squad” of volunteers, shelter staff, vets and pet lovers signed up for local alerts. Alerting the Rescue Squad is free for pet owners; paid boosts (Facebook ads, Instagram ads, Featured Pet) are optional. PawBoost reports 2,000+ pets posted daily and 2.3 million reported reunions, its own figures. Use it in the same hour you start the steps in the first 60 minutes after a dog goes missing or how to find a lost cat.

Tractive Best for live GPS tracking

Tractive’s DOG 6 tracker clips to a collar and shows your dog on a map in the free Tractive app (iOS and Android), with updates every 3 seconds in live mode. The tracker was $47.40 on sale ($79 list) when we checked, and a subscription is required and priced separately: from $5 a month on a 5-year plan, $9 to $10 a month on 1-year plans. Battery is rated up to 6 days, or up to 2 weeks with Power Saving Zones; the larger DOG 6 XL is rated up to 20 days. We put it against Fi in Fi vs Tractive and against AirTag and Jiobit in best GPS trackers for dogs.

PetDesk Best for vet appointments and refills

PetDesk is a free app (iOS and Android) that acts as the pet-owner side of thousands of veterinary practices’ software. Its listing describes a 24/7 appointment request tool, calendar-synced reminders with custom to-dos, medication refill requests, your pet-care providers in one place, and loyalty points at participating providers; reviews mention viewing vet records and prescriptions once a clinic is connected. The catch is in that last clause: the useful features depend on your vet using PetDesk, so ask your clinic first.

11pets Best for health records

11pets is a pet-care platform with apps on Google Play and the App Store plus a web version, with everything stored in its cloud. Signup is free with no credit card, and a paid subscription (price on its pricing page) adds more than 50 features including medical records, vet visits and unlimited pet seats. The feature we like most: you can invite professionals such as your vet to enter data on your pet without them joining. Users describe reminders when services are due and tracking weight and other measurements.

Rover Best for sitters and walkers

Rover is the marketplace for dog boarding, house sitting, drop-in visits (dogs and cats), doggy day care and dog walking, with dog training listed as new. The app is on iOS and Android (5M+ downloads on Google Play). You pay per booking; every booking is backed by the Rover Guarantee, which includes up to $25,000 reimbursement for eligible vet care, plus 24/7 support from the Rover team. Before a sitter takes your pet anywhere, make sure the tag on the collar reaches you, not just the sitter.

Puppr Best for training

Puppr’s lessons are taught by Sara Carson of The Super Collies, a top-5 finalist on season 12 of America’s Got Talent. The app lists over 100 lessons from basic obedience to advanced tricks, a built-in clicker, a weekly puppy guide, masterclasses (loose leash walking, dog sports, Canine Good Citizen prep) and live chat with trainers. It is free to download with in-app purchases; the listing gives US Premium pricing of $13.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and Premium unlocks live chat, masterclasses and all lessons. Puppr’s own site notes the weekly puppy guide and masterclasses are not currently available on Android.

BringFido Best for travel

BringFido calls itself the world’s leading pet travel site and lists over 500,000 places to stay, play and eat with your dog: hotels, vacation rentals, outdoor restaurants, dog parks, beaches, trails and events, with hotel filters for large dogs, multiple pets and no pet fees. The app is on iOS and Android (the Google Play listing notes it contains ads), and members get BringFido’s lowest hotel rates with no booking fee. Trips are also when pets slip away; the prep in why so many pets get lost during a move applies to travel too.

Chewy Best for supplies, pharmacy and a vet chat

The Chewy app (10M+ downloads on Google Play) is the shopping app most pet parents already have, and it earns its spot for the extras: Autoship delivery you schedule at checkout and change as needed, a pharmacy with prescription and compounded medications, medication refill reminders, and Connect with a Vet, where licensed veterinary teams give advice and a personalized consult report. The app is free; you pay for what you order.

How we chose

One app per job, not ten apps that do the same thing. Every app had to be a current listing on the App Store or Google Play (or a web service with an app) with a price model we could read off the listing; apps whose pricing we could not verify this month were left out. Where a company makes a claim about itself, such as reunion counts, we say so. Our earlier roundup of must-have apps for pet parents is still up; this list is the current one.

Frequently asked questions