For dog owners, keeping their dogs safe is a top priority. As a result, a variety of dog trackers are available on the market to assist them. However, choosing the right tracker can be a challenge for many dog owners.
We purchased Tractive, Whistle, Garmin, and Aorkuler dog trackers based on their different types and popularity.
Since most dog lovers live in rural areas with unstable cellular signals or like to take their dogs on hikes in the wild, this test will be performed in a rural park. In the end, we will determine the best dog tracker for rural areas based on our evaluation.
1. Comfort of the Tracker
The main character in this test work is the Beagle Scout, an energetic dog. We fitted him with each of the four dog trackers and recorded his activities.
Scout’s daily routine was unaffected while wearing the Tractive, Whistle, and Aorkuler dog trackers. On the way to play games with him, he behaved as usual and was very active.
But Scout was reluctant to walk around while wearing the Garmin dog tracker. He wore it for a total of two hours and spent three-quarters of that time lying on the floor resting. Even when his favorite toy was brought out, he wouldn’t play with it.
After noticing this, we immediately removed the Garmin tracker from Scout’s collar. Amazingly, Scout ran towards his favorite toy and signaled his owner to play with him.
We weighed all four trackers, with the Garmin tracker being the heaviest. Judging from Scout’s performance, we think the Garmin dog tracker is better suited for larger dogs.
Because testing trackers take a lot of time and physical effort, we decided to exclude the Garmin dog tracker from the rest of our tests to ensure that Scout’s health was not affected.
2. Real-time Tracking
Dog owners buy trackers because they want to track their dog’s locations in real-time. If a tracker doesn’t do that when it’s working, it means nothing to the dog owner.
The first tracker we tested was the Tractive GPS Dog LTE Tracker. Scout’s owner took him to the park to play. I sat on a bench and used my phone to check their location.
A few minutes passed and I still had not received an update on Scout’s location. I was beginning to wonder if the tracker switch was left on. After a phone call with Scout’s owner, we met up again.
Probably because of the weak cellular signal, Tractive was not transmitting Scout’s location information in real-time. Once the signal stabilized, we could view Scout’s past locations in the park on our phones.
Next, we tested the Whistle GO Explore. Its results were not too far off from Tractive. We still couldn’t see Scout’s location updates on our phone.
Finally, we tested the Aorkuler Dog GPS Tracker 2. Unlike the previous two products, it uses a controller to receive information about your dog’s location.
After Scout left my side, the nearby display on the controller screen changed to a GPS update. After about two minutes, the controller’s screen showed his direction and distance from me. This display made it easy for me to find them compared to the map.
I continued to sit in the seat and watch their position change. Happily, the Aorkuler’s tracker was transmitting position to the controller in real-time. Their distance from me was increasing.
I took the controller and started looking for them. As I got closer to them, the controller screen changed to nearby.
As I tried to turn on the sound function on the controller, I saw Scout just ahead of me, about ten meters away.
I was satisfied with the positioning capabilities of the Aorkuler Dog GPS Tracker 2, which not only tracked Scout in real-time, but also positioned him accurately.
Later, we retested the Tractive, Whistle, and Aorkuler GPS dog trackers in a city with good cellular coverage.
Both Tractive and Whistle were able to provide real-time updates on Scout’s location. However, the real-time tracking performance of the Aorkuler GPS Dog Tracker 2 was not as strong as it was in rural areas.
So, Scout’s owner and I agree that the best dog tracker for rural areas with poor cellular signal is the Aorkuler, while the Tractive and Whistle are better suited for cities.
3. Summary
The Aorkuler Dog GPS Tracker 2 was the top performer in our review, consistently tracking and transmitting location data in real-time, even in rural areas with poor cellular signals.
If you like to take your dog on outdoor hikes, you also don’t have to worry about it not being able to locate your dog.
If you live in a city with stable cellular coverage, we recommend getting a Tractive or Whistle dog tracker.
