Tractive Dog GPS review

Ever since I moved out to a rural neighborhood, I seldomly put my dogs on leashes. We have several acres where they can safely run around, and they both have solid recall. Plus, if I'm being honest, it's just inconvenient to have them leashed as I'm trying to do yard work or tend to our chickens, so I just let them do their own thing.

While I trust them to come when I call, there have been a few times when I've "lost" my younger dog, Ace. Of the two, he's more prone to getting into mischief, and he's gotten locked in the barn a few times. When it happens, I pretty much go into panic mode, thinking he ran away or, worse, someone took him out of our yard. So to give myself peace of mind, I outfitted him with the Tractive Dog GPS Collar.

With its GPS tracking skills, this little gadget allows me to quickly pinpoint Ace's location at any time—whether he's locked in the greenhouse or wandering in the back field—and it collects a variety of other health data, too. Here's what I thought of this smart dog collar after testing it for several weeks. $35 at Amazon

What is the Tractive GPS Tracker?

• Dimensions: 2.8 x 1.1 x 0.6 inches
• Weight: 1.23 ounces
• Waterproof Rating: IPX7
• Range: Unlimited
• Collar Compatibility: Up to 1.1 inches in width

Tractive is a smart GPS tracker that's designed to be attached to your pet's collar. It can be used with both dogs and cats, and it comes in two sizes—the regular option, which is around 3 inches long and suitable for animals over 8 pounds (this is the version I tested), and an XL option for dogs over 40 pounds.

The Tractive GPS uses a few different methods to keep tabs on your pet. When they're at home, it connects to your Wi-Fi network, but when you're out exploring, it's able to use AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile LTE networks to pinpoint your dog's location. It can also use GPS satellites, and there's no range on the collar, so it can find your pet no matter how far they've wandered.

That said, the Tractive collar does require a monthly subscription for operation, and there are a few options to choose from. The basic plan costs $13 per month for a month-to-month plan, but it drops to $8 per month if you pay for a year upfront. There's also a premium plan, which gives you access to family sharing, worldwide coverage, GPS data export, and 365-day location history, but you have to sign up for an annual plan that costs $9 per month. There's also an optional Tractive Care plan for an additional $2 per month, which will replace your tracker if it's ever lost, broken, or stolen.

What we like about Tractive

It captures a lot of useful information 

When I first opened up the Tractive app, I was amazed at how much data the tracker collects. There are four main tabs within the app, including the GPS map, location history, wellness tracking, and pet profile. The map shows your pet's location—in its default mode, the location will update every few minutes, but you can switch it to Live mode for updates every 2-3 seconds.

One of my favorite features is actually the location history map, which details where your pet has been during a set time period using both a heat map and movement lines. I actually want to try this feature on my outdoor cat, who occasionally will disappear for a few days—I want to know where he goes!

The wellness insights collected by Tractive are also super cool. It shows how many minutes of activity your dog gets, as well as the number of calories burned, and you can set wellness goals to meet, as well. There are also sleep insights, including daytime sleeping, nighttime sleeping, and calm time, and it even tracks your dog's sleep phases during the night and any interruptions.

Finally, in your pet's profile, you can add pictures and info about your pet, and you earn fun activity badges as they meet certain milestones. There's also a local leaderboard that shows you how your pet's activity compares to other Tractive users. (Not to brag, but Ace is #33 in our area, and that's even counting the days I've forgotten to put his collar on.)

The battery life is longer than average

I dislike when smart collars need to be charged every day or two, forcing you to take your pet's collar off for several hours, so I was happy to find that the Tractive battery often lasted for more than a week. The brand says the battery will last for up to seven days per charge, but ours generally lasted more than that—often 10 to 12 days.

The longer battery life is likely because I set up a Power Saving Zone around our house. It's basically a geofence, and when your dog is inside it, the tracker automatically connects to your Wi-Fi network. While it's in this mode, the tracker will still keep tabs on your dog's activity level, but it won't be tracking their GPS location. It definitely seemed to extend the battery life, which I appreciated!

The tracker is really durable

My dogs aren't gentle on their collars, and we've actually broken and lost a few tracking modules in the past. However, the Tractive was able to handle everything Ace threw at it. While wearing the tracker, he went swimming, played in our sprinkler, rolled in chicken poop (and subsequently got hosed off), dug holes, and much, much more. Through it all, the tracker didn't have any problems, and it stayed firmly in place on his collar. It didn't even get dirty or stained, despite Ace's best efforts. Overall, it seems like a really durable option, which is perfect if you have highly active, slightly rambunctious dogs like mine. 

What we don't like

The GPS accuracy isn't perfect, especially in the woods

Over the course of testing, I used the GPS feature several times to help me pinpoint Ace's location. Truthfully, I didn't find the default setting to be very useful—because it only updates every few minutes, Ace was often nowhere near the reported location in the app. In one instance, I had lost track of him in our large field, and while the app showed him to the left of me, he came running from the right when I called.

The Live GPS tracking is better—with a few caveats. It often takes a minute or two to connect, but it showed an accurate path of where he was running around in the field. However, it's accuracy definitely waned a bit when we went into the woods, likely due to the tree cover. The updates took a little longer to register on the map, as well. It still showed me his rough location, but I'd say there was around a 20 foot area of discrepancy. The one nice thing is that the app can sense when it's somewhat inaccurate—when you turn on the Location Accuracy feature, it will tell you how far off the reported position might be.

The tracker can get tangled in long hair

While the Tractive's rubber clip did a great job keeping the tracker secure on Ace's collar, it also occasionally snagged on his fur. Ace has a long coat and very thick hair around his chest, and there were a few times when his hair got wrapped up in the rubber material. I noticed because he was scratching at it, so it was likely causing a bit of discomfort. If you have a long-haired dog, you may want to take this into consideration. 

Should you buy the Tractive Dog GPS Collar?

It's a solid choice for keeping tabs on your dog.

After several weeks of testing, there's a lot that I liked about the Tractive Dog GPS Collar. It has a long-lasting battery life—one of my top priorities when selecting this type of device---and collects tons of useful data throughout the day, including information about your dog's location, activity, and sleep habits. Plus, it's durable enough that I didn't have to worry about my dog breaking it when he was being particularly rambunctious.

When it comes to the Tractive's tracking abilities, I'd say they're about average. The accuracy was spot-on when my dog was in a clear, unobstructed area, but it did suffer a bit when he went into the woods and the trees got in the way. Still, the tracker was usually accurate within 20 feet or so, and the Live tracking mode provides an updated location every 2 or 3 seconds, letting you see where your dog is headed.

You'll also want to keep in mind that Tractive requires a subscription for operation (which is fairly standard among GPS trackers). It's $13 per month for the basic plan if you want to be billed on a monthly basis, but you can save a little money if you opt into a long-term contract, such as one or two years.

$35 at Amazon

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