GPS trackers for dogs?

Any recommendations?

We’ve just taken on a lurcher puppy, and I know that some worrying ‘lost dog’ moments are in my future.

So a GPS tracker seems like a good investment and I wondered if any of you lot have any experiences or hints and tips to share?

(Can you upload your dog’s run to Strava?)

or hints and tips to share?

don’t let it off the lead if you don’t know it’ll come back. ;-)

We’ve just taken on a lurcher puppy, and I know that some worrying ‘lost dog’ moments are in my future

My brother lost their whippet in Epping Forest just before xmas! Still in there by all accounts…

I spent about three hours in the park around fireworks night helping someone look for their dog. Got scared and ran off. So sad. a tracker would have been really helpful

I thought about getting one for my dog but he’s actually pretty good and not that nervous. Plus when I looked into it they all require a monthly subscription so that turned me off the idea. If there was a way of doing it with a fixed one off cost I would have preferred that

The dog that was lost was being walked around sunset and didn’t have a flashing light or any reflective stuff on – that would have been really helpful. The owner also didn’t have a decent torch which would have helped. After that episode I put a few more reflective bits on my dog’s harness, which already has a bit of reflective piping. Also bought a better dog marker light as he often goes for a swim which kills any light that isn’t 100% waterproof, as most dog lights aren’t – he’s killed one already

Thanks for the tip and wink jambo ;)

https://tractive.com/en/pd/gps-tracker-dog Tractive is the one we use.

don’t let it off the lead if you don’t know it’ll come back.

This (minus the wink, as I’m not trying to be funny).

If your dog won’t return reasonably reliably (I’m not talking sheepdog levels of training here, just good, consistent recall), or you’re in a position where any kind of issue with recall would be a problem, the dog should be on a lead.

And an actual lead, not one of those extending horrors.

it was an ironic wink.

I like dogs, dog owners not so much. ;-)

Oh ffs, mods, can you remove this thread please?

I would second the idea that if you don’t have control of a dog, it should not be off a lead. However, there are times this happens, and dogs do escape, especially male ones which get the urge… Having a live tracker on a dog would help in getting it back if it does wander off, and you might find out who the puppies belong to as well. I expect for something which will give you live tracking will be expensive, to get both GPS and a sim access in something robust enough to be on a collar…

Oh ffs, mods, can you remove this thread please?

Just ignore them!

especially male ones which get the urge…

There’s an easy fix for that, too.

I have a Vodaphone Curve, monthly rental isn’t too bad at £2 per month. Not sure if I would 100% recommend it, it doesn’t seem to like trees and can take 10-15 minutes to get a fix (it’s shown my dog to be in the middle of the North Sea or 10 miles away when she’s standing beside me) but I live out in the sticks and could be a distance away from the nearest mast or maybe it’s the chip in the unit as the app always has me in the right place but that presumably uses the phone’s GPS. Seems to work ok once it’s got a fix. I made a little pouch out of an old inner tube to attach it to her collar and the battery lasts a few days

And from the Beeb this very day

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55704418

My dad is very happy with his Tractive tracker. He lives on a sleepy farm in Devon and occasionally his dog heads off to play with the neighbours. You can set a virtual fence which will trigger an alert when the dog crosses it, and it uses any phone network with signal to send tracking data.

Disadvantage – it needs a subscription and you have to be a bit neurotic about charging the battery.

I was going to get one a year ago because we were going to take the hound abroad for the first time, but obviously that hasn’t happened, and liked the idea of the peace of mind.
I’m not really sure what difference it makes if I’m in Scotland or Italy – but just felt like a sensible idea.

I’m going to check out any recommendations too.

And from the Beeb this very day

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55704418

What’s that got to do with a GPS dog tracker?

What’s that got to do with a GPS dog tracker?

Because a GPS tracker wouldn’t have stopped it happening. Better recall, or the presence of mind to put the dog on a leads at the appropriate time if you think there might be a problem with recall might have.

It’s really simple; if your dog is off the lead, you should be able to call it back consistently. I’m not saying perfectly, every time, obviously we’re not all professional dog handlers or competing on one man and his dog. If at any point you’re worried that because your dog’s recall isn’t perfect (and who’s is, bar the above) and it might not come back (like distractions from other animals/food etc) and/or something unfortunate might happen if it doesn’t (like running into a road, or at other dogs, or at other animals, or just off), then it should be on the lead. You should not need a tracker.

And from the Beeb this very day

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55704418

Clearly people shouldn’t be allowed to ride bikes either.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41028321

There are lots of reasons why dogs might get lost which have nothing whatsoever to do with recall.

Bit like saying you shoudln’t have car insurance because if you can’t control your car you shouldn’t be driving…

Shit happens occasionally and having a plan B isn’t a bad idea.

I’m not saying perfectly, every time, obviously

Which is precisely why you might want a dog tracker…

Clearly people shouldn’t be allowed to ride bikes either.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41028321

That’s a quite remarkable non-sequitur, well done

There are lots of reasons why dogs might get lost which have nothing whatsoever to do with recall.

Like?

That’s a few votes for ‘Tractive’ I think, thanks. Will take a look.

Bit like saying you shoudln’t have car insurance because if you can’t control your car you shouldn’t be driving…

Alright, okay, fair enough, I’ll soften my ‘internet argument’ stance. As a backup when stuff goes wrong, because not everything is predictable, I get it, they might, might have a place.

Shit happens occasionally and having a plan B isn’t a bad idea.

It does, but a tracker should be plan F at highest, behind plans A) good recall training, B) reading the situation and environment properly before letting the dog off the lead, C) not letting it off the lead if there are any concerns, D) keep doing B), and finally E) calling it back and putting it on the lead should any concerns/distractions arise (early, before the dog notices them).

We have these lights on harnesses, red on left and green on right (because…well) Really bright and makes spotting them easy in the dark.

https://www.innerwolf.co.uk/the-beacon.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAgJWABhArEiwAmNVTB7BHG78mlLf4MQya-XdOx9a5AmLAHXhZC2Y3DJhvO_ZUNIB3H5izURoCvBMQAvD_BwE

From day 1 work on recall. Both of ours are rescue and first few weeks in a secure field, we walked 10m (then increasing) apart with treats and did recall the whole walk, basically dog running from one to other. With bits of letting them do their own thing. Spaniel is instant recall now the pointerX is good but not as good as i would like (which is….instant and not hesitation).

Like?

Like dog gets attacked by another dog & you need to drop the lead for safety’s sake.
Like dog sniffs at a tree for a few seconds, then misinterprets where owner is and runs off in the wrong direction.
Like dog is suddenly scared by a firework and bolts.
Like things which rarely happen, but which if you could anticipate, wouldn’t lead to losing the dog.
The issue about the cyclist is that one news event doesn’t prove a point.

For recall you’ll need what we refer to as “Dog Crack”.

Plain version

More addictive version go down to Baked Liver Treats. (Warning 30 minutes boiling with garlic to start).

Warning any other dog in the vicinity with a working nose may come and ask for samples!

Like dog is suddenly scared by a firework and bolts.

My dogs done this a few times, once didnt go far found her hiding under some cars once, another time she ran home.

We’ve just taken on a lurcher puppy, and I know that some worrying ‘lost dog’ moments are in my future.

They can get very far away very fast!

They can get very far away very fast!

She already can, at 9 weeks old :)

I would love to track our cat on his long meanders…but that Amazon option looks a tad bulky.
We think he goes on three circuits: across the local churchyard, over the gardens opposite and into apple orchards, or over our back garden and on to playing fields.
To be able to track and trace could be fascinating 🧐

Hi.

I have been using a TRACTIVE dog tracker… they are very very good, the small battery last 2 days, and there is a bigger tracker option.

@dorsetknob…

Here is a link where you can get 15% off 

One of the neat things is the doggy equivalent of strava, it only measures hours put walking, but me an Oscar the dog are determined to beat “Barker” from down the lane in this months leader board.

The unit is about £50, and the data subscription is about £90 for two years.

They say it can be used on cats. When I get back into scouting, I am going to stick it in the pack of a scout on the Duke of Edinburgh expedition, so I can find the navigationally untalented fools.

Only on STW can you ask a technical question and get moral judgement as an answer. More idiots to add to my list of trolls.

We use findster duo. https://getfindster.com/
There is no subscription it works on gps and radio comms with a unit that is bluetooth connected to your phone.
It has been excellent when deep in the woods and the dog disappears off after some wildlife.

That dog crack thing sounds ace, but WARNING dogs should not eat garlic so leave that out.
https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/garlic/

She already can, at 9 weeks old

By 6 months old she’ll already be pretty much twice as fast as almost every dog she meets too!

That dog crack thing sounds ace, but WARNING dogs should not eat garlic so leave that out.
https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/garlic/

I always find it incredible that a dog can eat an entire rabbit in one go with a dessert course of its own poo, yet be killed off by a raisin or clove of garlic.

Well the dosage depends on size, but we had a medium dog who had a whole shallot out of a stew and died of hemaolyis , it was horrible. The dog broke into a bin bag to get it, leftovers.
We also know a dog that ate some american import peanut butter that was full of xylitol. Also sadly died.
On the other hand ours steals chocolate all the bloody time and hasn’t croaked yet. But he is 37kg so the dose required based on mcg/kg is quite a few bars of Green and Blacks.

@5plusn8
whats the range like on the findster duo?
I like the lack of subscription but its kinda pointless if you need to be close to the hound in the first place for it to work.

Daughter called me on Sunday in bits as dickhead had ran off, he was playing with another dog and just ran off in the wrong direction (he is an idiot). was found barking at himself just around the corner but it a bit of a worry, 1st time its happened.

I had no difficulty tracking my dog from 3miles away. He didn’t go any further. But we did have line of sight. I have lost him when I could hear him only 4-500m away but he was over the brow of a hill.
Its radio so line of sight is important.

nice one, thanks.

I always find it incredible that a dog can eat an entire rabbit in one go with a dessert course of its own poo, yet be killed off by a raisin or clove of garlic.

What about a human eating yew fruit jam or tarts yet the lethal dose 50 (the mass that causes death 50% of the time) of almost all of the rest of the plant is .5g per kg fruit stones possible less.

Also bought a better dog marker light as he often goes for a swim which kills any light that isn’t 100% waterproof, as most dog lights aren’t – he’s killed one already

what light did you get then…link?