Dog trackers

Author
Discussion

the-sharpener

Original Poster:

547 posts

40 months

Monday 30th August 2021
quotequote all
We live somewhere quite rural and tend to let two of the mutts off lead

The recall is quite good but not perfect if they get a deer popping out of a field

It maybe a good idea to get a GPS tracking collar

Any recommendations

S100HP

12,977 posts

174 months

Monday 30th August 2021
quotequote all
Yes. I use a Tractive GPS. It clips onto collar or harness and has an app. Despite the clip looking poor it's robust enough that mines never fallen off in a number of years.

They cost about £45 to purchase then around £40/50 a year for membership to their network, depending on how you pay. You turn the tracker on when you go out and it checks in every few mins, and when you open the app you get an overview of where you've been which looks like this.



If you lose your dog you open the app and choose live tracking. This then activates the tracker to check in, in real time. You can also turn on a light on it, and make it beep so you can hear it.

It's saved me a number of times as my dog has a habit of going after things. It gives me a clue where he is, and where he is going, and if he's heading back to me. It certainly removes a level of worry.

It's not infallible however. In order for it to work you must have mobile phone signal so you can load up the map on your phone and activate the tracker. I have been caught a couple of time by this, but because it's checking in periodically you get a rough idea where they've gone when you do finally get signal.

It's not perfect but having done loads of research I believe it to be the best of the affordable options. The ultimate version is the Garmin one, but it's many hundreds of pounds.

jimbouk

430 posts

201 months

Monday 30th August 2021
quotequote all
Ive been using a Vodafone curve, seems to work well. £25 and a couple of pounds a month sub.

Only criticism is that it dangles around to much on collar and ends up in dogs mouth, so have it on harness, but cant find a mount for it, gaffer tape works perfectly, but hardly elegant!

the-sharpener

Original Poster:

547 posts

40 months

Tuesday 31st August 2021
quotequote all
S100HP said:
Yes. I use a Tractive GPS. It clips onto collar or harness and has an app. Despite the clip looking poor it's robust enough that mines never fallen off in a number of years.

They cost about £45 to purchase then around £40/50 a year for membership to their network, depending on how you pay. You turn the tracker on when you go out and it checks in every few mins, and when you open the app you get an overview of where you've been which looks like this.



If you lose your dog you open the app and choose live tracking. This then activates the tracker to check in, in real time. You can also turn on a light on it, and make it beep so you can hear it.

It's saved me a number of times as my dog has a habit of going after things. It gives me a clue where he is, and where he is going, and if he's heading back to me. It certainly removes a level of worry.

It's not infallible however. In order for it to work you must have mobile phone signal so you can load up the map on your phone and activate the tracker. I have been caught a couple of time by this, but because it's checking in periodically you get a rough idea where they've gone when you do finally get signal.

It's not perfect but having done loads of research I believe it to be the best of the affordable options. The ultimate version is the Garmin one, but it's many hundreds of pounds.
Ah hem

https://help.tractive.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001...

S100HP

12,977 posts

174 months

S100HP

12,977 posts

174 months

Monday 6th September 2021
quotequote all
Had to active taking yesterday as he did a runner.

Once it located him it allows me to see where he went, which was quite a distance, he then stopped and waited.