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One of the biggest fears as dog lovers is losing your dog either on a dog walk or they simply get spooked and leg it.
As much as you can shout their name hoping they'll respond, a GPS (Global Positioning System) tracker offers a way of pinpointing your dog before they get into trouble.
UK company Pawfit, offer a GPS tracker designed specifically with your four-legged friend in mind.
Lightweight, waterproof and loaded with a whole range of cutting edge features, we took a closer look at the NEW Pawfit 3 and put it through its paces.
In this review, you’ll be able to find out everything you need to know about the Pawfit 3 GPS Tracker.
We'll offer our take on its performance, design, app, activity monitoring, geofences and subscription plans and you can decide if the Pawfit 3 is something you and your four-legged best friend need in your lives.
If you're in a rush ..... |
Having fully tested the Pawfit 3 Pet Tracker we can certainly recommend it based on a solid GPS performance, superior collar attachment, safety alerts, geofence options and the host of additional smart features. |
If you're looking for a light, waterproof, good value GPS tracker for your four-legged friend the Pawfit 3 definitely fits the bill. |
For 10% OFF Pawfit, use the discount code SMARTB at checkout
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dog GPS Tracker : Pawfit 3 Review
1. Pawfit 3 : Basics
The Pawfit 3 Pet Tracker has been developed by Latsen Technology, a team of skilled experts dedicated to developing high performance smart products with advanced features.
Their first product the Pawfit Pet Tracker took the Pet GPS market by storm. Since then they have launched the Pawfit 2 and earlier this year launched the new and upgraded Pawfit 3 model. It includes a fully embedded SIM card, long battery life, 4G technology and a live tracking mode.
Having loved the Pawfit 2 we were very excited to put the Pawfit 3 through its paces.
Collar Attachment
The smart, dog-friendly design of the Pawfit 3 is evident straight out of the box.
The device is incredibly light at only 27g and once attached to the collar your dog won't even notice it's there.
Whereas lots of rivals simply offer a rubber fastening, Pawfit takes the design a step further and offers some smart tech in the attachment itself.
The device comes with a separate tracker attachment base, which has been created to fit securely to a range of collar and harness widths.
To remove, you simply push the orange buttons and lift off. This secure locking mechanism prevents it from accidentally falling off your dog's collar or harness.
Pawfit also offer a GPS collar for dogs and a harness. Made from strong and durable material, both the collar and the harness have a built in tracker attachment base.
Now for the clever bit !
Once you've downloaded the accompanying phone app, you will receive a notification if the device is ever removed from your dog's collar. This unique design feature definitely sets it apart from its competitors.
So big tick for attachment !
Phone App
Simply charge your Pawfit device in the accompanying charger and download the app on your phone.
Once fully charged, follow the instructions to pair the device with the app and you're ready to go. It really is that easy !
The battery should last up to 6 days (dependent on use of course) which is one of the best battery lives we've tested.
The device alerts you when the battery level is lower than 15%.
The tracker itself flashes and as a further reminder, you receive a low battery notification on your phone.
We found that throughout our tests, the accompanying phone app was very intuitive. Although it is a feature packed app, it was straightforward to use and easy to navigate.
We've included some screenshots throughout our review so you can see for yourself.
Location Tracking
Let's talk Pawfit 3 location tracking before we move on to assess the additional features.
The GPS tracking works in real time and there are two update frequency options - Passive and Live mode.
Depending on your dog's activity or lack of activity (when they're curled up in their bed), the Pawfit 3 automatically changes how frequently it updates your dog's location.
In Passive mode, the location is updated between 30 seconds and 2 hours, so the more active your dog is, the more regularly the Pawfit device updates your phone app.
If your dog is running round playing with a toy or chasing a ball, it will update every 1-2 minutes.
If you sign up for the premium subscription you can alter this to every 40 or 20 seconds.
We found that Passive mode accuracy was fine for our regular walks, showing our dog's position and doubtless saves the battery.
Pawfit offer additional options to add photos, videos and mark key places on your route.
We loved these features and felt it would be really useful for holidays and days out when you might wish to keep a more detailed record of the walk.
So performance wise, Passive mode will suit most walks, but it certainly isn't accurate enough if you've lost your dog.
That's where Live Tracking comes in. When selected, Live Tracking increases the location updates to every 5 seconds.
To activate Live Tracking, select 'Find' at the bottom of the Map screen and immediately you are provided with the most frequent and accurate updates on your dog's location.
It only lasts 10 minutes to preserve battery life, but you can re-enable it. In addition to 'Find', Pawfit have added two additional features to help you locate your dog - Light and Alarm tracking.
Once the Alarm or Light tracking are enabled, the tracker sounds and/or flashes an alarm for 10 minutes.
We loved the additional sound and light alerts and felt these could be particularly useful features if you need to find your dog in the dark or when they're hiding in thick undergrowth.
The last option ' Voice' lets you record your voice or a command and play it through the device on your dog's collar.
We found this particular feature didn't work as well as we'd hoped.
The sound from the Pawfit device was quite muffled and our dog was left a bit perplexed by the sound.
Overall though, having several smart features at your fingertips when your dog runs off certainly makes for a more confident walk.
2. Pawfit 3 : Additional Features
So that's the basics covered, but we simply had to mention all the additional features packed into the Pawfit 3 Tracker. From geofences to activity monitoring and alerts the Pawfit 3 is full of advanced features designed specifically for our four-legged friends.
Geofences
For those unfamiliar with geofences, they are a virtual safety zone which you can set up to alert you when your dog enters or leaves.
Like a real fence, they create a separation between that location and the area around it.
We tested this feature by creating a safety zone around our home and garden. Sure enough, every time our dog left or entered the area, I received a notification on my phone.
Our garden is fairly secure, but if you have an escaping Houdini, setting up a safety zone using the phone app would certainly give you more peace of mind.
Pawfit 3 enables you to set up to 10 independent safety zones. So you could create additional zones when on holiday or for hazards such as lakes and rivers.
Health Monitoring
The Pawfit 3 tracker uses a sensor to record body temperature, activity, pulse, breath, posture, calories consumed and burned along with their heart rate.
The truth is, that's a lot of data ! So Pawfit cleverly blend everything into a series of graphs on your phone app.
We loved the daily activity screen showing us the distance travelled and steps compared to our activity goal.
It can certainly motivate you to walk further and keep your dog more active.
Unbelievably, the device sensor also alerts you to the weather conditions, suggesting that it may be too hot or too cold to walk.
Certainly a useful alert especially in the height of summer when walking your dog at anything above 20C can cause your dog to become dehydrated and very hot very quickly.
This is the only GPS tracker we've tested that includes a temperature alert, so is unique to Pawfit 3.
Audio ID
Which brings us neatly on to the last feature we wanted to highlight. Anyone who finds your dog can press the power button on the side of the device to play a message with your dog's information.
Using your phone app, you can include your pet's name, your name, telephone number and/or address. Of course, you could opt to just add you name and telephone number.
Although some of this information would be evident on your dog's ID tag, you could chose to add more information to the Audio ID.
3. Pawfit 3 : Subscription Plans
All GPS devices like the Pawfit 3 use mobile/cellular networks to send your dog's location to your smartphone. This does come at a price, so there is a subscription fee to cover the cost of the embedded SIM.
It's worth noting that Pawfit offer a 30 day money back guarantee. So if you're concerned that you have a weak mobile/cellular network where you live and dog walk, you have the option to buy and test the device to ensure it works efficiently.
There are two different subscription plans to consider - Basic and Premium. Whilst all the differences between the two plans are listed on the Pawfit website, we feel that the key differences are-
Basic Plan
🐾. Single dog walk up to 2 hours
🐾. Location update during a dog walk varies
Premium Plan
🐾. Single dog walk up to 6 hours
🐾. Location update during a dog walk can be altered
We'd suggest starting with a Basic plan because you can upgrade from a Basic to Premium subscription plan if you feel you would like to take advantage of the added benefits at a later date.
Ultimately, the price you pay will vary based on the length of the subscription plan, and there are numerous options ranging from as short as one month up to two years.
The subscriptions start at £3.39 a month on a Basic Plan and £3.99 a month on a Premium Plan.
Our Verdict
The truth is that the Pawfit 3 tracker is a very clever piece of kit. Clearly it can't replace solid recall training and teaching your dog to come back to you when off-lead is essential for keeping your four-legged friend safe and out of trouble.
What it does offer is another layer of safety and protection. Anything from unexpected fireworks to squirrels or aggressive dogs, can cause your dog to run off and suddenly all your training can go straight out the window.
We loved testing the Pawfit 3 tracker and feel that for a small monthly outlay, it offers you an accomplished GPS tracker with accurate location updates, additional alarm and light tracking along with geofence capabilities.
The only blemish we could find in an otherwise flawless performance was the voice command feature. Whilst the voice caused our dog to tilt his head as if trying to identify the sound coming from his collar, it was very quiet and muffled so only caused confusion.
However, if you have an extremely well trained dog, maybe recording a voice command may work better for you.
We felt that the additional features such as the health and activity monitoring, alerts and a log of your dog walks, all add up to make the Pawfit 3 GPS Tracker a game-changer.
Reasons to Buy
+ Solid GPS location performance
+ LIVE mode (5 sec updates)
+ Alarm & light tracking
+ Intuitive phone app
+ Great battery life
+ Geofence options
+ Activity monitoring
+ Temperature alert
+ 30 day money back guarantee
Reasons to Avoid
- It needs cellular network coverage
- Not suitable for dogs under 4kg
- Subscription costs
Buying Options
For 10% OFF Pawfit, use the discount code SMARTB at checkout
The Alternatives
If you're not convinced by the Pawfit 3, let's take a look at the alternatives on offer
Other GPS Trackers
Our Best GPS Tracker for Dogs Review compares Pawfit 3, PitPat, Tractive and Weenect GPS trackers.
Our in-depth article explores the accuracy, features and costs of four of the best known trackers available in the UK.
We fully test all three trackers over several months, so can honestly offer the pros and cons of each option, so you can decide which is best for you and of course your dog.
Activity Trackers
If you are simply looking for a device to monitor your dog's activity levels and not a GPS Tracker, then take a look at a Dog Activity Tracker which don't come with a monthly subscription.
These amazing little devices, a bit like Fitbits for dogs, are able to track your dog's steps, sleep and health. We tested three of the best activity monitors available in the UK - PitPat, PoochPlay and FitBark in our article - Best Dog Activity Trackers.
Apple AirTag
Apple AirTags can be an alternative as whilst they're designed to track your possessions like keys, wallet or handbag, they can easily be attached to your dog's collar.
That said, there are some major drawbacks that you definitely need to be aware of before relying solely on an AirTag for peace of mind.
We take a look at the pros & cons of using an Apple AirTag to track your dog and explore some suitable holders - Best AirTag Dog Collar Holders
Thanks for dropping by and reading our Dog GPS Tracker : Pawfit 3 Review