How The Tractive GPS Virtual Fence Keeps Your Pets Safe
Think the Tractive GPS is just a pet tracker? Think again! In this post you'll learn everything you need to know about the last Virtual Fence you'll ever need for your four-legged friend.
With all the reasons pets run away, it can be pretty stressful keeping tabs on where your dog or cat is every second. In fact, sometimes, you might not even know that they’ve escaped until it’s nearly too late – and now you’re busy spending time and money searching for them!
So what’s a loving pet parent to do in these cases? Try a Virtual Fence, of course. Here’s everything you need to know about the Tractive GPS Virtual Fence – and how it’s built for pet parents just like you.
A virtual fence is a fencing system that allows you to create a digital boundary rather than a physical one. (For example, the Tractive GPS virtual fence uses…well, GPS and other technologies.)
Virtual fences are often used to contain animals within a space, or as part of a GPS tracking system. This system enables you know where your pet or animal is at all times. They’re commonly used in cattle or livestock herding.
But you’ll also find pet parents just like you using Tractive’s virtual fence both for ensuring their pet’s safety – and securing their peace of mind. (While also saving a ton of money compared to setting up a physical fence.)
How does a Virtual Fence work?
“A Virtual Fence is a continuously monitored area that you, the user, create. You can easily move or resize it while still sitting on your couch.Once you’ve defined a specific area, your Tractive GPS starts monitoring it.
As soon as your tracker picks up that your pet is outside a safe zone or inside a danger zone, the system immediately detects a change in the area it’s monitoring.
Which means you’ll get an escape alert right away – so you can intervene and prevent your pet from wandering too far.”
– Ivelin Nenkov, Embedded Systems Engineer at Tractive since 2016
Want to see how the Tractive GPS virtual fence works in action? Check it out in this video:
Most virtual fences use a collar mounted GPS tracker in combination with an app or software, where you can draw your fence boundaries. Besides physical fences, some of these collars use static shocks to “train” animals to stay within range. (Which both vets and animal rights activists strongly discourage.)
The Tractive GPS virtual fence, on the other hand, is a humane alternative to these. Let’s find out why.
What‘s the Tractive GPS?
The Tractive GPS is a lightweight GPS tracking device you can clip to your dog’s collar or harness. (Or which comes accompanied with a weight-adjustable safety collar for cats.)
With a Tractive device on their collars, you can now track your pets:
In real-time,
Over an unlimited range,
With an escape alert in case they sneak past a “safe zone”
And even while on vacation (or 175 countries if you’re on a Premium subscription)
All with just a glance at your phone.
🐶 Pictured here is Tractive’s LIVE Mode, with its real-time pet tracking in action.
It updates your moving pet’s location so you can track and find them, wherever they’re off roaming.
And have peace of mind that no matter where they go, you can follow their every step.
But to be fair, tracking your dog or cat in real-time kinda relies on YOU being aware they’ve escaped. Which isn’t always easy to do, with everything else you’ve got keeping you busy.
So imagine the relief and peace of mind from knowing you could always tell if your pet’s escaped – with just a glance at your phone?
Which brings up the question…
What’s the Tractive GPS Virtual Fence?
With any Tractive GPS tracker, you can set up a Virtual Fence around your home, grandma’s house, or any space that’s safe for your pet. As soon as your dog or cat leaves (or enters) that virtual safe area, you’ll get an alert on your smartphone. Then you can check on your pet – or go pick them up.
👨👩👦👦 What’s more, anyone you’ve shared the tracker with will also get a notification – and can help you look for your dog or cat if needed.
Why the Tractive GPS Virtual Fence is built for pet parents – just like you
Made by pet lovers, for pet lovers, your Tractive device was built keeping you in mind. Aka, a loving dog or cat parent who cares for their pet’s safety and wants to keep their trust. Here are a couple of ways it stands apart from the rest:
Keep your pet safe for less than a coffee per month
Compared to setting up a physical fence, your Tractive device has fewer upfront and ongoing costs once you’re subscribed. The national average of building a physical fence clocks in at a whopping $3,059.2 (And that’s just building it – you’ll also have to shell out the ongoing maintenance costs from any wear and tear over time.)
With Tractive, you’ll be keeping your dog or cat safe at less than $9 for a one year Premium subscription. (So for the price of a coffee and a cookie per month – or slightly less than your monthly Netflix subscription.)
Track your pet while on vacation
Your Tractive device comes with a built-in SIM card, which helps it:
Seamlessly connect your phone to GPS satellites – which help you track your pet in real-time even if you’re traveling.
🌎 So you can manage your GPS dog fences and trackers from a smartphone, tablet, or computer – no matter where you are in the world. (Though you will need an internet connection).
GPS trackers without SIM cards do exist. But do they offer real-time tracking? Nope. And are they specifically built for pets? Also nope.
The average physical fence takes around 2-3 days for full setup.3 (And that’s only if everything else is perfect and your property isn’t too big.) Which, if you’ve got a dog or cat who likes to escape often, is enough time for them to get lost – and stay lost.
On the other hand, your Tractive Virtual Fence takes under 5 minutes to set up. (Or under 1, if you’re really fast.) You can customize it to fit the funniest shaped yard and pick from a bunch of shapes to best fit your property:
🏡 Then just sit back, relax, and enjoy the peace of mind that comes from remotely monitoring your safe zones – even if you aren’t in the same town, city, or even country as your pets.
Stress- & shock-free tracking for multi-pet households
Whether you’ve got one pet or a whole menagerie at home, your Tractive GPS has you covered. You can firstly create up to 5 fences for each pet or tracker in your account – and also track unlimited pets from within the app.
💡 Importantly, the Tractive GPS virtual fence is a shock-free system. Making it 100% safe for your furry friends. Unlike an invisible fence, it doesn’t require physical installation – so it does NOT administer a electric shock to your pet when they leave the fence.
Rather, your trusty Tractive device just sends an escape alert to your device if your dog or cat leaves the virtual fence perimeter. Making it a pet-friendly, vet-friendly option all in one.
Fun for the whole family
Tracking your pet while you’re traveling can be stressful. But you can share their trackers with your friends, family, or a pet-sitter to check whether they’re within their safe zone at any time.
“Tractive’s Family Sharing feature is super helpful. (Along with the LIVE tracking), it (lets) me monitor how Charlie’s doing even if I’m not around.
Plus, with the Family Sharing, my parents can use the app as well. So if I’m not around and Charlie goes missing, they can check where he’s run off to.”
Bottom line: your Tractive GPS is an affordable, worldwide-friendly tracker that lets you stay on top of your pet’s safety no matter where you are (or they are.)
So consider getting your very own, setting up your virtual fence – and let your tracker do the work for you while you relax.
How to set up a Tractive GPS Virtual Fence
Once you’ve activated your Tractive GPS tracker with a subscription plan, setting up a Virtual Fence couldn’t be easier. You can set up the Virtual Fence entirely in the Tractive GPS app. Here’s how to get started:
First, open the Tractive GPS app on your mobile phone or in a web browser at my.tractive.com
Visit your pet’s profile or tap on the fence icon to get started
Add a new fence and just drag and drop the pink fence icon on the map anywhere you’d like to mark as a ‘safe zone’ for your dog or cat.
And voilà! You’ll be notified via an escape alert if your pet – wearing the tracker on their collar – leaves or enters the Virtual Fence. (Aka the “safe zone.”)
What to watch out for when setting up your Virtual Fence
As you set up your Tractive GPS virtual fence, you might wonder: why is the minimum size so…well, big? Aka, your virtual fence has to be at least 164 feet (or 50 meters) in radius. So if, for example, you’ve set up a rectangular one, it’ll have to be at least 328 x 328 feet (aka, 100 x 100 meters) in all.
How come? Well, this is just to ensure that your Tractive device can pinpoint your pet’s location more accurately. Here’s a quick explanation why:
“The Virtual Fence size limit is due to GPS limitations. With a very narrow Virtual Fence, some of the calculated coordinates might fall inside and outside of the defined area.
This is because of obstacles between the tracker and the satellites – which can make it difficult for your tracker to pick up GPS signals. (For example, trees or buildings.) This can slightly reduce the tracker’s precision – and the Virtual Fence’s effectiveness.
But if you keep your Virtual Fence to a minimum of 50 meters (or 164 feet), you’ll be more likely to receive more accurate notifications.”
– Ivelin Nenkov, Embedded Systems Engineer at Tractive since 2016
Because when you think about it, there’s really no limit to how far your pets like to roam. And even if your buddy doesn’t stray too far, there’s no end to the dangers they might run into outdoors. (Or that might run into them!)
💡But with a Virtual Fence, you have the peace of mind that wherever they’re off wandering – they’re safe. And that you can quickly and easily pick them up the minute they stray past a safe zone.
So, does a Tractive GPS virtual fence work for you?
Got around $6000 and 2-3 working days to spend setting up a physical fence? (Heads up: your dog or cat can still dig under it or jump over it.) Plus, fences and training collars that use static shocks to “train” your pet their boundaries are neither a pet-friendly nor vet-friendly option.
💡So if you’re looking for a smart, affordable, humane alternative that helps you take an active role in your pet’s safety, get your very own Tractive GPS and set up a virtual fence right away.
Keep your pets healthy & safe
Get real-time location information, wherever they go. See how much – or how little – activity they’re getting. And get Health Alerts if something might be wrong.
