Tractive Pet Tracker Review

Reviewed by Hannah Chan

Not just a fitness tracker for dogs….it is so much more!
This handy little device is so easy to set up, just download the app to your phone and pop in the unique code. Then make sure your unit is fully charged by attaching it to the handy USB charger.

When it first arrived I had a small issue getting onto the system with my code, however their customer service department was excellent and sorted it out for me right away, they were very polite and genuinely checked in on us afterwards to make sure we were happy it was all set up. I love this more personal approach to customer service and love that there’s an actual person there reading and replying. I love it when a company gets customer service right.

With our dog the extra weight on his collar didn’t bother him at all. He didn’t seem to even notice it was there and even though he is a very bouncy lab, who is also tearing around the fields, so far the tracker has never fallen off which is fantastic as he is also in and out of rivers and streams.

With the cat however, it took him a couple of days to get used to the extra weight on his collar. So we clipped the bracket which holds the tracker on first, then after a couple of days we added the tracker and let him get used to it indoors. The cat hadn’t ever been outdoors before, so was really interesting to know that with it being all new for him, we could see where he was and then it gave us peace of mind that if he didn’t arrive home, we might know where to find him because of the handy GPS. After the week it was really amazing to see where he had been, really easy, colour coded lines show you where they have been tracked and the longer they stay there, the line becomes more red. Also, the tracker hasn’t come off yet either! Which means that I don’t have to worry about it going missing.

There are different levels of subscription, the shortest being £6.99 per month, but the price drops the longer the plan, so pay for 2 years on basic it becomes £3.75 a month. There is also a premium plan with lots of extra features.

There are a couple of bugs which can be sorted and tweaked. For example if out in an area where the signal is low, it is less accurate whilst out, but shows up when home. Handy if you want to see how far you have been, but if you’ve lost your dog you really need that signal to find it. When Dug had the “zoomies” as dogs often do, he ran up and down the length of the house but if the tracker were to be believed he was doing laps of the cul de sac! It is a little glitchy when the animal is going at some speed in one area alone. I am wondering though after looking at the website, if the level of accuracy depends on whether you are using the basic or premium subscription. We were using the basic so would be really interested to see the difference. There is also a newer model out, so perhaps that is more accurate too.
Also on occasion, Steve the cat was sat in the dining room but suddenly our phones would beep with a notification telling us that Steve had left the boundary and was in fact a mile down the road… he hadn’t left the room. Hopefully though this will resolve itself with updates. However saying that I love the idea of being able to set up a *virtual fence* because this means I am notified if my pet leaves the home area. A fab feature.

It is perfect for if you have a pet who likes to wander, as you always know where it is also the peace of mind which comes with if it ran off on a walk, you’d be able to locate where it as without searching other areas and wasting time. We love it because I can track how much work my dog has done in the day easily. We are training him to be an assistance dog, and it’s very easy to forget how long we’ve been out or how much ground we have covered whilst concentrating on interactions and socialising. So having the app which shows me how much we’ve walked and how much exercise we have done is an amazing visual cue to knowing when we’ve had enough! Also knowing how to build it up, I find it also helps me to remember where we need to go again to work on certain things.

As well as a handy heat map which shows where my cat or dog have spent the most time or a spot they return to, it keeps a history so you can bring up routes from specific dates and times. Very handy for comparisons or with regards to the cat who’d never been outdoors, handy to watch how confident he is becoming with the new area he had to explore. You can watch his territory grow that little bit each day.  There is also a map, which is great if you don’t know the area you are in and want to check the best route back to the car!

I love how easy it is to set up, how fast it is to charge, how lovely, neat and tidy it looks and I love how well the customer service dealt with my queries with set up! Yes it needs a little accuracy tweaking and the battery could last a little longer on bit walks, but otherwise I think it’s a fabulous addition to our walks. The website is really user friendly too!

Another thing which I found awesome was that they use the Tractive pet trackers on the new Amazon Prime original The Pack.
You can find the trackers for sale on Amazon here https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Tractive-Activity-Tracker-Waterproof-unlimited and then choose your desired subscription when you download the app and add your pet. The model I have is currently £39.99 with the newer model coming in at £44.99.

I give the tracker 4 out of 5 stars. This is purely because of the financial commitment going forward if you want to trial the software. I couldn’t see a reduced money or free trial to see if you liked it before committing, I feel if you purchase the unit then maybe a trial of the software would be a good idea. Otherwise it’s a fantastic bit of kit.

Rating: 4/5

RRP: £39.99

This product can be purchased from Tractive here.