tractive GPS Dog Tracker, Market leader, Worldwide real-time location tracking, Escape Alerts, Monitor Activity & Get Health Alerts, White

My tracker arrived last week so I decided to give it a go in the secure offlead paddock we hire so our houdini dog can get to run around.I was impressed with how easy to set up the tracker was. I had a few moments when setting it up on both my iPad and iPhone where it thought I was trying to register the tracker again but once I clicked on the right bit it was all fine.The field we used for its first outing is quite open but rural so I wondered how it would cope with phone signal. It did very well, connecting as soon as we got out of the van and remaining connected throughout the hours walk. I set it to live track for 60 minutes and it kept up no problem. It got down to 85% battery life over the 60 minute period but set to track normally that wouldn’t be an issue. Live tracking really is only necessary if you are actively looking for your dog and in their vicinity.Whilst I was distracted with one of my other dogs Chance took the opportunity to test out how securely it attaches to the collar by rolling in something right on top of the tracker. He caked it in mud and looked very pleased with himself. The tracker was actually hard to get off his collar when we got home to clean it so I’m confident it won’t fall off unless the connectors get brittle. It cleaned up fine using the most function on the hose the water proofing seems to be ok. (Picture attached of the hooligan shaking after his roll. You can see the mud on the tracker 🙄).Charging it is simple with no need to remove it from their collar or harness to plug it in.All in all I am happy so far.

Very good piece of kit with an app that works. Good battery life and robust structure with clips that do not break.

Had the Tractive Dog 4 for a couple of weeks and so far it does mostly what it says on the tin. But not completely.We live in a rural area and our beagle likes to chase after the scents of hares. So after a recent spell of going missing for over 2 hours (not for the first time), we took the plunge to invest in a tracker.Yesterday, she took off again after a scent or two, and went way out of sight. For about 70-80% of the time she was away, the Tractive gave excellent accuracy (in live mode) as to her position. Luckily on this occasion, I could see her down on low land from my position at the top of the slope. I was able to relax, knowing where she was. However, for some of the time, the Tractive lost gps signal, which was a bit worrying. The unhelpful error message from the app telling me to try again, making sure there is a good signal, was infuriating. How the heck am I supposed to influence the gps signal from the tracker in the middle of a field?!The Tractive is miles and miles better than the Vodafone curve I’d tried previously, which just didn’t work.Tractive appears waterproof as ours has already been dragged through wet, muddy patches and seems none the worse for it.The app is fairly user friendly and has good functionality.If you’re expecting everything to be 100% reliable and instantaneous, then you’ll be disappointed with any tracker, I’d say. If you can tolerate that signals sometimes get lost and it can take a couple of minutes to get them back, then this is a good device.Our dog doesn’t seem to mind wearing the Tractive on her collar and whilst it’s not tiny, it’s shape makes it fairly unobtrusive.The light and the buzzer, at first seem like a great idea, but in practice, I don’t think would be very effective. They can take ages to react to you switching them on and the light is too dim to be of much use and the sound volume is too low to hear from anything but a few metres away.All in all I’m very happy I bought the Tractive, but it’s not perfect.

I use the device in case my dog runs off and I need to find it. So far I have not had to use it in an emergency, but I have often tested the device by finding the dog when my wife takes it out for a walk. The tracking is reliable and accurate. (I have not yet used it in a very remote area.) The app is very easy to use, showing your location and the dog's location very clearly. When you want to, the app turns the device to "Live" mode, where you will get a location every few seconds. The rest of the time, the location is reported every minute or two. The device has a small light which can be turned on from the app. It's a small light - to keep the battery drain low - it is not intended to replace a high-visibility flashing collar, but it helps find the dog in bushes at night.The device itself is small and light. It is easy to attach and remove to a collar, and the dog doesn't seem to notice it. It's secured with a rubber clip. I suspect the clip will eventually wear out after repeated use, but you can buy new clips from the Tractive store. The clip has four fasteners, so it one breaks, the others will keep the device secure. If you are very unlucky, I can imagine situations where the device might get caught on something and be pulled off, but that seems extremely unlikely and I can't see a solution without making the device harder to remove when you want to. Incidentally, mine has been in sea water will no ill-effects.The battery lasts for a few days. The manufacturers claim six days if you don't use "Live" mode often. That's possible, but you will want to keep it charged in case you need it. I charge mine every two or three days.Note that the device is effectively a miniature mobile phone. As well as buying the device, you also need to subscribe to the service. Check the company's website for current prices.I'm very pleased with it so far. There are cheaper alternatives, but this one seems to have been carefully designed for practical reliability.