Tractive Dog 6 review: Is this the best way to keep tabs on your dog?

Losing sight of your dog, even for a second, is enough to send your heart racing. That's exactly why I jumped at the chance to review the Tractive Dog 6 GPS tracker with my energetic Cockapoo, Bella. If your dog loves to wander off exploring or has a reputation as being a bit of an escape artist, this will become a valuable bit of tech in your dog walking kit. It's like a safety net for those "Oh no, where did they go?!" moments.

Tractive is one of the biggest names in the dog GPS tracking world, offering real-time tracking, activity monitoring, and even virtual fences to help keep your pup safe. But is the Tractive Dog 6 really worth it, or is it just another fancy gadget? Bella and I put it to the test, with Bella wearing it consistently for two months, morning, noon and night, during whatever adventures life threw at us both. Does it actually help you keep track of your furry adventurer? Let's find out.

Tractive Dog 6 GPS Tracker review: First impressions

Right out of the box, the Tractive Dog 6 looks sleek and feels super lightweight, which is great because no one wants their pup lugging around a chunky device. However, it does look a little bulky once it’s on. We often wondered if Bella found it uncomfortable to wear, but she didn’t show any obvious signs of distress. She usually scratches at her neck and rolls around on her back when she's wearing something that bothers her, and she didn’t do that. Still, she didn’t look the most comfortable, so if you have a small dog, you might want to consider that.

Setting up the Tractive Dog 6 GPS Tracker

The setup of the Tractive Dog 6 was easy peasy. I downloaded the Tractive app, paired the tracker and set up power-saving zones and virtual fences. The power-saving zones are for stopping the battery from running out so quickly while the virtual fences are designed for the app to recognise that your pooch is in a safe area so you won't get alerts from the app while they're in it.

The app is super user-friendly, and even if you're not completely tech savvy, like my mum, you'll find it easy to navigate the app.

As I was kindly given a Premium subscription to test the Tractive Dog 6 fully, I was able to share details of Bella's tracker with my mum (which is something you can only do with the Premium subscription - more on that later). Bella spends half her time with me and half with my mum so sharing the tracking meant that we could both easily track her whenever she was at either one of our houses.

The only issue I had with the setup was with setting up the power-saving zones at my mum's house. While the Tractive tracker uses GPS to keep tabs on your dog's location, it uses Wi-Fi to identify when your pup is in a safe zone so it saves the battery. My mum's house has a bit of a unique situation in that it's really old with thick walls, so they block Wi-Fi signal travelling from room to room. For this reason, she has two separate routers and connections. The Tractive app would only let me set up one power-saving zone per property, meaning that whenever Bella was in a part of the house not covered by the router connected to the app, the tracker didn't recognise it as "home" as the power-saving zones and virtual fences are two separate things.

Battery life

Tractive says that the Tractive Dog 6 GPS tracker is designed to have a battery life of up to 10 days. I'd have to say this is pretty accurate for when Bella was at my house, as it lasted for well over a week, and I barely had to think about charging it.

For my mum's house, it was a different story. Due to the Wi-Fi issue, the tracker wasn't able to stay in power-saving mode so I had to charge it every other day. This wasn't ideal but still manageable as long as you remember to pop it on the USB charger that comes in the box with the tracker.

If you have a strong Wi-Fi connection, you can expect fantastic battery life but if your house has Wi-Fi dead zones or multiple routers like my mum's just be prepared to charge it more often.

Features

Live tracking and virtual fencing

Of course, the main use of the Tractive Dog 6 is to keep an eye on your pup's whereabouts. The Tractive tracker is equipped with live tracking, which works pretty much in real-time (give or take a minute or two), so you can know exactly where your pup is at all times. You'll also get alerts to your Smartphone when your pup is outside of their virtual fence and investigate where they are.

At my mum's house, the virtual fencing worked great as I was able to set up a large boundary, and every time Bella stepped out of it, I got a notification on my phone right away. As my property is smaller than my mum's, the fence I wanted to set up was smaller, but the Tractive app tells you if that fence is too small, then the alerts won't be as accurate. That was certainly the case in my experience because it kept telling me Bella was out of the safe zone when she was still in it.

I then had to set a larger fence so I wouldn't keep getting notifications, but if Bella did end up escaping from my home, I wouldn't have known until she was almost halfway up my street. There's a field behind my house where Bella and I like to go for walks but sometimes the tracker thought she was back in the safe zone when she wasn't, just because of the proximity to my house. This made me a little nervous because if she was in that area when she wasn't supposed to be, I wouldn't have known.

Walk tracking

Speaking of walks, the feature I love the most about the Tractive Dog 6 GPS tracker (outside of the actual GPS tracking) is the walk tracking. You can track your walks in real-time, and you can see exactly how long you've been walking directly from your phone lock screen without going into the app. The only catch is that you need to remember to tell the app you're going on a walk because it won't figure it out and start tracking it automatically. The app also saves maps of your previous routes so I can go back and see all the places that Bella and I have explored together.

Health and activity tracking

The Tractive Dog 6 also has health and activity tracking features. Think of it like a Fitbit for dogs as it monitors activity, the amount of sleep your hound gets, and the quality of sleep. You can set the amount of active hours your pooch's breed should have in a day as a target and see if they can reach it. I had worried Bella wasn't getting enough exercise, but it turns out she was smashing her activity goals and exceeding them daily.

I always knew dogs slept a lot, but this tracker made me realise just how much. It even alerts you if there are changes in sleep patterns, which could be a sign of an underlying health issue. I also like that you can see sleep quality and how many times your dog woke up during the night.

Tractive Dog 6 Tracker review: Final verdict

Overall, I'm happy with the Tractive Dog 6. It gives me peace of mind knowing that I can check on Bella’s location and health anytime. The Wi-Fi and battery life issue I experienced at my mum's house is more of a reflection of an older property than the tracker itself, as the battery lasted for ages at mine with a more reliable Wi-Fi connection. In my experience, it loses points for not being able to set up a reliable, small virtual fence, as I would want to be alerted the minute Bella left the front door of my house and not when she was already up the road. However, if you had a larger property, this wouldn't be an issue, as you could have a slightly larger virtual fence.

It is a bit bulky looking so it might not look the most comfortable thing for your dog to wear, but it is actually quite lightweight so it's not as awkward as it looks - I promise!

FAQs

Does Tractive work without Wi-Fi?

The Tractive Dog 6 tracker doesn’t need Wi-Fi to work. It has its own built-in cellular connection that keeps you updated on your pup’s GPS location anytime, anywhere. That said, there’s a handy power-saving zone feature that does use Wi-Fi. When your furry friend is chilling in the safe zone, aka your home, the tracker uses Wi-Fi to conserve its battery.

Just keep in mind that you will need Wi-Fi or mobile data on your phone or tablet to get real-time updates on your dog’s whereabouts through the Tractive app.

Does Tractive GPS work without a subscription?

Unfortunately, the Tractive GPS does need a subscription to work. That’s because the live tracking and unlimited range, the must-haves for keeping tabs on your pup, come with a small fee. Each tracker is fitted with a small SIM card that generates a cellular service, so that’s what you’re paying the fee for. Think of it as a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Does Tractive have a monthly fee?

Yes, Tractive does have a monthly fee, depending on the subscription you choose.

For a basic plan, you can pay £13.50 a month on a rolling contract, or you can pay upfront for a year for £84, which would work out as £7 a month, or two years for £108, which would be the equivalent of paying £4 a month.

For the premium subscription, you have the option of paying for one year, two years or five years upfront. The one-year subscription is £96 (equivalent to £8 a month), the two-year subscription is £120 (equivalent to £5 a month) and the five-year subscription is £240 (equivalent to £4 a month).

What is the difference between basic and premium Tractive?

There are four differences between the basic and premium plans.

The basic plan includes:

• GPS Location Tracking that updates every two-60 minutes

• Unlimited LIVE Tracking that updates every two to three seconds

• Activity and Sleep Monitoring

The premium plan includes the above, plus these additional features:

• Family sharing that lets your friends and family track your pet

• Worldwide coverage in countries where there is 2G or LTE cellular coverage

• 365-day location history so you can see where your pet has been throughout the whole year

• GPS data export

The biggest benefit for me when testing the Tractive Dog 6 GPS tracker on the premium subscription is family sharing. As Bella is shared between me and my mum, it meant that both of us could keep track of her whenever she was at both of our homes.

Is Tractive better than AirTag?

While the Apple AirTag doesn’t require a monthly subscription, it isn’t as accurate as the Tractive. The Tractive Dog 6 Tracker works with GPS so you can track your pooch wherever they go, while the Apple AirTag will show where your pup has been only when they’ve been in contact with another Apple device on the Find My Network. The Tractive trackers offer real-time tracking, so you can always see when your furry friend is on the move. The Tractive trackers also slot nicely onto your dog's collar, but you'd need a specific AirTag dog collar for your pooch to ensure it stays with your pup at all times.

Rosie Floyd is a Senior Home & Pets Product Writer for Take A Break Pets, specialising in all things dogs. She grew up always having at least one dog as part of the family and has experience in owning a variety of breeds, including Labradors, Cockapoos and Yorkshire Terriers.