Recommendations for good GPS tracker

[Ilovelurchers]

Can anyone recommend a really good, reliable GPS tracker system you have used with your dog, that covers a decent distance (in case of loss/theft), is easy enough to use etc? Obviously not wanting to pay the earth, but cost isn't TOO much of an issue as this will be for my partner's birthday present. (Dog is with him most of the time). It needs to be compatible with iPhone, as that is what he has, and I really want one where you pay fully upfront rather than a monthly subscription, if that is possible? So grateful if anyone can help!

My DDog has a Tractive, it has a live function where I can see where my walker takes him on his lunchtime walk (when I'm 15 miles away in the office 😢)

It's bulkier than I would like, but can't change it now 🤦‍♀️

It works with my iPhone though, and battery life is good on the unit itself

That sounds brilliant, thank you for responding - will have a look! Do you have to pay a subscription, or is it a one off payment?

Just bumping this just in case. Currently I am unsure between Tractive (which is about £60 but does have a monthly subscription) and Pitt Patt (£160 but no subscription).

Still very unsure. Both do have good reviews. But it's a substantial enough investment for me that I wang to be sure I am beggiñg thr right one.....

And other advice gratefully received!

@Ilovelurchers HI OP
Just wondered which you decided on in the end and how you find it? We had a terrifying hour where our 9month cocker girl disappeared in the forest last night so not letting her out of our sight without a tracker now.... Thanks

I would also like to know having lost the dog for an hour

I have the Tractive on the recommendation of someone who has 4 dogs of the same breed as mine who are notorious for poor recall when outside.

I like the live features where I can see where he is when someone else is walking him, and I can even see which part of the garden he is in. It tracks his activity minutes and there’s a leaderboard of local dogs/same breed and worldwide so you can see where your dog ranks which I find fun to look at.

It also tracks his sleep patterns as well as his barking and tells you if his behaviour is outside of his normal routine. There’s an anxiety monitor too which I use when I leave him by himself but it hasn’t flagged up on mine yet as I can see he’s just sleeping with a very occasional waking period.

I charge the battery possibly twice a week if that and it’s charged within 20 minutes or so.

We chose to pay for the unit £50? and a two year subscription upfront £120? We didn’t get the “insurance” of a replacement monitor if it gets lost as it cost an additional £40 and a new monitor is only £50 and what are the chances it would fall off?

I bought the additional collar clips which are like elasticated bungee ties as his collar is an uneven width (sighthound). Very secure but expensive for what they are.

If you look at their website from different platforms it gives you different offers but the “free” or “discounts” costs are hidden in the total so go steady and make sure you aren’t paying more than you need to.

Very occasionally it loses connection when I am away from the dog/house but that’s the only negative I can think of.

We used to use Tractive but it was a bit bulky and pricey. Switched to AirTags (DH’s idea) and they’ve worked great for us.

Tractive has worked well for me, including once recently when my girl fucked off in the woods, ended up a mile away and just stopped and waited for me. If I hadn’t had the tracker I don’t know how I would have found her. Their customer service is also very good.

I do have one of those refer a friend code things if that helps?

https://tractive.com/r/AyS3OC

I've just done extensive research and purchased Tractive x 2 for my scent chasing hounds! They fitted the bill as in I wanted real time tracking and water resistance. Have tried cheaper ones but they don't work consistently.

I considered an AirTag and even bought one to try but then realised even Apple say not recommended for relocating lost pets. Two downsides for us are that you rely on other nearby iPhone users having their “pinging” setting on so the AirTag can be located which was no use to us as we live rurally and many people have this switched off by default anyway. The second downside was the weight of it and it swinging off the dogs collar which was clearly annoying him. The AirTag now earns its keep on the chicken shed keyring.

I thought I'd just add my experience here as we have now been using our new Tractive for our Cocker Spaniel, and it has been brilliant! Gives me great confidence knowing that we can see where she is and the cover has been great, have not found a place yet where it loses signal. Also 2 other features have been really useful - 1. being able to remotely turn the light on when it gets a bit dark on dusk walks, meaning she can stay off the lead for a bit longer and also my husband has been having a wonderful competition (with himself really) trying to keep her at position number 1 as the most exercised dog locally! There is another cocker spaniel local to us that you can see on the leaderboard and they keep just beating him, and then they swap position 1 and 2! She's currently on 9019 minutes of activity this month and she was in kennels for a week at the start of May! So all round I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Tractive.

I'd like a tractive but even the smallest one on my petite miniature poodle would look like she's wearing a bloody sandwich board 🤦🏼‍♀️

Come on tractive...think of the smaller breeds!