Amazon wants to help keep track of your dog.

The company showed off a new pet tracking device, called Fetch, at its event in Seattle on 25 September. The device itself is pretty simple; just attach it to your dog's collar and then set up a geofence around your yard. If your furry friend tries to make a break for it, you'll get a notification to go track them down. The low-bandwidth protocol behind Fetch is perhaps more interesting.

The device uses a new Sidewalk wireless standard, which was introduced alongside Fetch at the event. Sidewalk lets low-power devices communicate from further away using a low frequency. The positives are that this also allows secure auto-updates for things smart lights, weather sensors, and pet trackers. Amazo hopes it will allow for extended battery life, too.

The one downside is that a device like Fetch is a little more dependent on its popularity. The more people around you using Fetch means you'll be able to track your pet from further away. Amazon said Sidewalk works at a distance of 500 metres, however, so just a handful of people could be using a Fetch device, and it would be enough to track your pet from miles away.

Amazon is releasing the new Sidewalk wireless standard to developers now, but you'll have to wait to get the Fetch pet tracker, as it won't be released until 2020.