Searching through the various options for getting a new dog tracker, our old dog had a simple one from Vodafone but they have discontinued the service. Our 9 month old lab gets regular long walks off the leads in wooded areas, and whilst his recall is very good and he always doubles back at when he takes a different path to me etc. There is a chance we will get separated so I'm looking at a new tracker - the Garmin ones don't have any single track discount and are very dear, so looking at tractive etc and a monthly sub.
Don't want to have a conversation about dogs on leads, he is only let off in appropriate areas, is respectful of other walkers/dogs and comes back to me for getting his lead on when I call him.
If you use one, does it perform as expected etc?
TIA
We used Tractive for a few years.
It was OK, biggest problem was lack of phone signal but we are in rural Perthshire so that was to be expected. GPS is limited in tree cover, especially if the unit was hanging under his neck. After the second 3 year subscription expired we decided not to bother any more as he's always on the lead anyway - too many things to chase around here!
For me the best use of it was I could see when Mrs Elbrus was nearly back home so I could get the kettle on for a cup of tea when she walked through the door.
I’ve looked at a few of these and have come to the conclusion they’re a bit crap. I reckon you’d be better off with an old iPhone on a minimal smarty contract stuffed into a roughwear harness. £5 a month for a data only contract for pretty much everything that tractive offer. Plus you can run Strava on it and they can get some KOMs.
Tractive user here - it's good and entirely GPS driven I believe. Occasionally it can take a while to connect to the satellite but this means it would work even in the middle of nowhere. The trouble is if you're out and about and using your phone with the Tractive app, your phone needs a signal, as Boriselbrus says. No problem in Worcester.
They improved the tracker mount (the first one we had dropped off regularly and it turned into a great way of tracking where the dog had been when it fell off) but we had it on her harness rather than collar - she only wore it when we were out for a walk.
There is a bluetooth function which means that as long as the dog is within range you get a direction indicator.
It was a surprise when we bought it; the upfront cost of about £45 for the tracker was immediately followed by about £200 for 24 months GPS contract, rather than a subscription (not even sure a subscription was offered, maybe they do now?).
My dad uses Tractive on his dogs (farm in deepest Dartmoor) and is generally pretty happy with it. Not sure how it’ll survive the 2G switch-off though.
We used a Tractive for the first couple of years for our cocker, off the lead walks daily in a wooded area as a bit of security.
To be honest we thankfully never had to use it in anger as she never wandered too far and recall was/is pretty solid.
I did however have some issues with the app randomly forgetting passwords, not entirely sure if it was the app at fault or something else but would have been quite stressful trying to resolve a password issue while your dog is running off.
@BlobOnAStick GPS is one way (it's just a clock signal and an identifier), tractive still needs a phone signal to send its location. Depending on what arrangement they have with phone providers they may be able to tart themselves onto anyone like Doro dementia trackers. These use a Finnish mobile provider and so are constantly roaming in the UK and therefore able to use anyone's mobile signal.
@hot_fiat we've a few old iPhones but not sure how we would attach to the dog collar/harness securely without it being annoying?
We've just got a pit pat GPS one after our dog did a runner. No monthly costs and it seems to work pretty well. Cost £130 I think and we can track her on our phones via the app. It seems to just latch onto whatever phone signal is best and apparently works in Europe as well.
Hopefully we don't actually need it....
Bearing in mind the name it's a crying shame that SPOT don't offer a dog specific tracking device
Tried a PitPat for a while, but it didn't locate well and would randomly get stuck charging at 60 or 80%. It eventually just stopped charging altogether after just over a year.
So now trying a Pawfit. Tracking and app is better and haven't had any weird issues, but has only been a few months so can't speak to longevity. Battery life doesn't seem to be quite as good (but still a 'once a week' level of charging)
Pawfit user here. No complaints. Battery lasts a few days, longer if you either turn it off when not needed or don't live in a house with three foot thick stone walls.
There is a new version since hours.
Pawfit user here. No complaints. Battery lasts a few days, longer if you either turn it off when not needed or don't live in a house with three foot thick stone walls.
Pawfit here too - works really well, UK-based. Ours broke after a heavy 14 months in ponds, streams and muddy fields - replaced in 24hrs no questions asked. Bit of a deal on them at the moment https://www.pawfit.com/product/pawfit-3.html and the subscription is pretty reasonable IMO. Money back on both the device and the subscription if you're not happy - I did use it for the cat one as our none of our cats could hack a collar.
We've had a Pitpat for about 2 years. Generally it's been pretty good for us.
It cost us about £100 as we got a discount when we registered our pup with Identibase (for the ID Chip).
He's a working line Lab, so not too prone to disappearing- but can't half shift if he wants to and can be out of sight in seconds if he hits the turbo-boost when he gets the scent of a hare. And is v good coming back to a whistle. So it's just a bit of insurance really, if we're away from our usual haunts, on holiday etc.
Think of it as
- the tracker communicates to a server
- you communicate with the same server (not directly to the dog's tracker - at leas/ not mostly. I slightly simplify)
The tracker has GPS, and sends its position back to the company's servers via 'Internet of things' (IoT) protocols rather than needing a 4g or 5g signal - so only needs enough connection to squirt a tiny package of data rather than what you need for normal comms or Internet etc. I read the company has deals with 2 mobile networks on IoT transmission so increases the chance of having coverage.
You do need Internet signal on your phone to use the app to see where you and the dog is. But I suppose if things went REALLY wrong, someone else wirh the app/login (eg Mrs at home) can see where the pup is, even if I can't.
We usually only recharge every couple of weeks. We don't 'live track' much - it's just there and would start to track if I had to. It takes a couple of minutes to get connected / get live tracking from 'zero' in the woods. If we had an escapologist dog I'd have it tracking from when we left the house and accept more frequent charging.
Ours started having the charging problems same as Tenuous describes after about 20 months. Out of warranty. We got a replacement at half price from them, ie about £70l all quite easy to deal with. All good again.
If you're in really rural or wild places it may not work, eg I'd not hold my breath if half way across Rannoch Moor. But it's been pretty good for us - and actually better that I expected when I played with it in the Cairngorms.
Would I buy another if / when we get another Landcruiser pooch ? Yes.
cheers, decided to go for the pitpat as it has a 42 day free return period if we don't get on with it 👍🏼
Can I put one on a DofE group? Would it be cheaper that the trackers for outdoor groups?
Don't worry. I won't put it round the neck! Ha.
