Recommend a dog tracking collar

[lwt]

In anticipation of getting a rescue dog soon, can I get recommendations for a good tracking collar or device please. Ideally to work in a rural farming area where 4g is mostly there but not always. Any experiences of ones to avoid?

[gotoPzero]

Dogtra user in another life. Always reliable and robust enough too.

This was before apps and stuff like that though, so things have probably improved.

[TGCOTF-dewey]

Rural area here...we use tractive, which is regarded as the best on our rescue.

It really does rely on your phone signal TBH.

More effective is getting a Labrador as well. He'll go find the rescue and lead him back. So I'd recommend a lab or a Collie.

[NoTreadLeft]

Wasn't impressed by Tractive - our JRT got through 4 of them in 2 years. The app was good but the hardware is fragile (but looks cool), the GPS signal was always poor, the mobile signal was very patchy and the noise/alarm feature (which can be extremely useful) was so quiet as to be pretty much useless.

We switched to PawFit 18 months ago and it's been much better. Pretty much indestructible so far, the alarm is much louder and it seems to be better at locking-on to both GPS & mobile signals.

[Junglebert]

We use Pawfit on our two Spinone, it works really well. The current ones are 4g so work in much more places than the older 2g ones. The app is good, the units are durable, I wouldn’t be without them now.

[Charlie1986]

Pawfit for our 2 GWP’s withstands there rough play and also withstands the water for when they swim

[lwt]

Thanks all, had not come across pawfit.

[Actual]

TGCOTF-dewey said:

More effective is getting a Labrador as well. He'll go find the rescue and lead him back. So I'd recommend a lab or a Collie.

Our Welsh Terrier roamed all over the woods the only way to get him back was get our Schnauzer to start barking.

[MK3 Dan]

Another vote for Pawfit here, great bit of kit.

A few years old now and no problems at all with it and never had a signal problem yet.

[dhutch]

Another previous 'Tractive' user.

It's not perfect realtime tracking like a shared location on a smartphone, and the battery needing charging every four days or so gets boring fast. However while we never had to use it in anger, I'm confident it would be good enough to make all the difference trying to local a lost pet, which as the end of the day is what you want.

Customer service and website are fine.

Then we got enough trust in the dog to stop using it.

[bogie]

Pawfit here, works well, seems very accurate. I thought the battery life would be better, but then im sure the unit would be much bigger, still charge it every 4 days or so with 30-60 mins use per day.

[wax lyrical]

'Pit Pat' here. High upfront cost but no subscription. Very good product.

[Lefty]

We use Pawfit 4g here and it works really well. Got 3 of them, think it’s £120 each for a 3 year subscription.

[AmazingGrace]

Play hide and seek with your dog as often as possible, building it into a reward system to start off with. Very soon your dog will enjoy the game of finding you.
Been doing this for years with my boxer and even diving into thick bushes some distance away, she always finds me.
It makes them much more attentive to where you are, and virtually eliminates the worry of losing your dog.