Better GPS tracker than Tractive for Jack Russells

So you're already using a Tractive and running into signal drop-outs — that's a frustrating situation, especially with a Jack Russell who probably has strong opinions about boundaries. Signal problems with Tractive usually come down to which mobile network it's roaming onto in your area, and some postcodes just don't play nicely with it. Before I point you somewhere better, a couple of quick questions: where are you losing signal most — on walks, in the garden, or both? And is your dog more of an opportunistic bolter or do you take him off-lead regularly in open countryside?

That's a classic Jack Russell scenario — not a fence-jumper at home but absolutely feral the moment there's a hedgerow involved. The 5–10 minute blanks on Tractive in semi-rural areas suggest it's struggling to hand off between cell towers, which is a known weak point. The device I'd suggest switching to is the Pawfit 3. It uses a multi-network SIM that actively picks the strongest available signal rather than being tied to one carrier, which makes a real difference in patchy rural coverage. It's also lighter than Tractive's current hardware — important for a small dog — and the live tracking interval is competitive. The subscription is roughly comparable to Tractive. One thing to know: no tracker is perfect in a deep hedgerow where there's no signal at all, but the Pawfit 3 will hold on longer and recover faster when coverage resumes.

The Pawfit 3 clips onto a standard flat collar with a secure slide-through mount — it works well on collars up to about 25mm wide, which covers most standard dog collars. It's not going to dangle or rotate, which matters with a dog that's forcing himself through undergrowth. The unit itself is small and relatively light, so it won't be pulling the collar sideways on a dog his size. Is he microchipped as well? I'd always recommend keeping that as the backup layer, since no GPS tracker should be your only safety net.

Good — chip plus tracker is the right combination. And yes, the Pawfit 3 is rated IP67, which means it handles submersion up to a metre for 30 minutes. A Jack Russell charging through a stream is well within that. It'll cope with rain, mud, and the occasional ditch without any issues. You can find it on Amazon UK — search Pawfit 3 GPS dog tracker and it'll come up. Make sure you're buying the tracker unit itself, not just an accessory. The subscription is handled through the Pawfit app after setup.

Good luck with it — should be a noticeable improvement in those semi-rural patches. If you find you're still getting the odd blank spot, it's worth checking in the Pawfit app which network it's connecting to in that area, as there's sometimes a manual preference you can set. Enjoy the walks.