A reliable dog activity log should show when you walked, how far you went and which dog came along. Paw Rewards turns each tracked outing into an Adventure you can save and revisit.

If you are looking for a track dog walks app built for Canadian dog owners, this guide covers setup, location permissions, live data, saved history and troubleshooting.

Quick answer: Sign in to Paw Rewards, open Adventures, select Start Adventure, choose your dog and choose Walk or Walk & Train. Allow precise location access, wait for the app to find a strong enough GPS signal, and then begin. When you are finished, select End Adventure and End & save to add the walk to your activity history.

What Paw Rewards records during a dog walk

Paw Rewards uses an active Adventure to organize the information from one outing. Depending on the Adventure type and what you add along the way, the saved record can include:

• the dog—or dogs—who joined you;
• the Adventure type;
• the start and end of the outing;
• elapsed time and saved duration;
• distance in kilometres;
• live pace when enough location data is available;
• photos or Memories you chose to add;
• weather notes and completed training drills, where available; and
• eligible Treat activity associated with the Adventure.

This is more than a step counter. The app estimates your travelled route from accepted location points collected while the Adventure is active. That distinction matters: phone GPS, permissions, signal quality and pauses can all affect the final distance.

Before you track your first walk

1. Sign in and make sure your dog is added

Use the account where you want the activity history stored. Your dog must be available in your profile so you can select them before starting. If you are new to the platform, see the Paw Rewards dog-owner experience for an overview of the tools available to you.

2. Use the installed mobile app for a full tracked walk

The installed Paw Rewards mobile app is the best choice when you want tracking to continue while the phone is locked or the app is in the background. A browser cannot reliably provide the same background tracking.

3. Check your phone settings

Turn on location services and allow the precise location access requested by Paw Rewards. For continuous tracking in the installed app, allow the background location permission presented by your device. Battery-saving modes can also restrict location updates, so check your device settings if tracking stops after the screen locks.

How to track dog walks with Paw Rewards

Step 1: Open Adventures

From Paw Rewards, open My Adventures Log. This is the home for starting a tracked outing and reviewing saved Adventures. If a walk is already active, the page will invite you to resume it rather than begin an overlapping GPS walk.

Step 2: Select Start Adventure

Choose Start Adventure. You will see the dogs connected to your account and the available Adventure types.

Step 3: Choose your dog and walk type

Select the dog you are walking. If the current experience offers pack mode for your account, you can include more than one dog for a Walk or Walk & Train Adventure.

Choose Walk when you want a straightforward dog walk tracker. Choose Walk & Train when the outing also includes structured drills you want to record. The best choice is the one that truthfully reflects what you plan to do; training is not limited to one method, sport or type of dog.

Step 4: Enable GPS and wait for the first fix

Select Start Adventure and enable GPS tracking when prompted. If the app is waiting for its first location fix, step outdoors and give your phone a clear view of the sky. Begin moving only after the tracking screen shows that location is live.

If location is blocked, use the prompt to open your device settings and grant the required access. A route started without usable location data may be incomplete.

Step 5: Read the live tracking screen

During the walk, Paw Rewards can show your elapsed time, distance, current GPS status and pace when pace data is available. You may see plain-language signal messages such as a strong, good, weak or poor fix. Treat these as a quality check, not as directions.

The live map records where your phone has travelled; it does not tell you where it is safe to walk. Keep your attention on your dog, traffic, weather, footing, wildlife and local rules. Never enter private property or an unsafe area to follow the screen.

Step 6: Pause when the walk truly pauses

Use Pause when you are stopping for a meaningful break and Resume when you continue. Pausing creates a cleaner activity record and avoids treating a long stationary break as active walking time.

If you close the screen accidentally, return to Adventures and resume the active walk. Paw Rewards is designed to restore an eligible in-progress route rather than silently replace it with a new one.

Step 7: Add the details that matter to you

You can add a photo or Memory during the Adventure. Depending on the outing, you may also record weather or training drills. These details help you remember the places you explored, skills you practised and moments worth keeping.

Step 8: End and save the Adventure

When the outing is over, select End Adventure, review the confirmation and choose End & save. Give the app a moment to finish saving the final route information. The completed summary shows the recorded distance and time, plus any eligible Treat activity.

Choose Discard only when you do not want to keep the Adventure. Discarding removes its tracked route points. If you forgot to track a real outing—or had to discard an unusable record—you can add an accurate past Adventure manually instead of inventing GPS data.

How Paw Rewards calculates walking distance

Paw Rewards calculates route distance from a sequence of accepted GPS locations. It does not simply multiply steps by an assumed stride length. The app screens out location information that is clearly unusable and avoids adding distance across detected gaps.

Your saved distance may differ from another phone, watch or mapping service because devices sample and smooth routes differently. A weak signal can shorten part of a route, while GPS drift can make stationary points wander.

For the most dependable result:

• start outdoors and wait for a live GPS fix;
• allow precise and background location in the installed app;
• avoid aggressive battery restrictions during the walk;
• pause and resume deliberately;
• keep the same Adventure active until the outing is finished; and
• end and save before starting something new.

How to review your dog walking progress

Return to My Adventures Log after saving. The overview brings recent outings together and can show your total recorded distance, Adventure count and the dog appearing most often in your activity.

Open a saved walk to see its diary. The diary can include distance, duration, photos, completed activities, Treats logged for that Adventure and your own notes. Notes are useful for context the GPS cannot capture: a new environment, a confidence milestone, a training breakthrough or a route you would like to repeat.

The Challenges area gives you another way to review recent distance and Adventure participation. Use those patterns as information, not as a competition. A suitable outing depends on the individual dog and the day’s conditions.

Location privacy and responsible tracking

Paw Rewards uses location tracking while an active GPS Adventure is running. End and save—or discard—the Adventure when you are done so tracking can stop. You can change location access later in your phone settings.

Think before sharing a route or photo publicly. A repeated starting point can reveal where you live. Omit private details and avoid posting a predictable routine in real time.

Troubleshooting common dog walk tracking problems

The app is waiting for its first GPS fix

Move outdoors with a clear view of the sky and confirm that location services and precise location are on. Buildings or underground parking can delay the first reliable point.

Location access is blocked

Open your device settings from the app prompt and allow the requested location access. If you want the installed app to continue after the screen locks, make sure background access is also permitted. Restart the Adventure screen after changing permissions.

Tracking stops when the screen locks

First confirm that you are using the installed Paw Rewards app rather than a browser tab. Then check background location access and battery restrictions. Some phones pause background activity aggressively unless the user allows it.

The saved distance looks too short

Look for weak-signal periods or GPS gaps. Paw Rewards does not count an unverified jump across a gap as walked distance, so a lost signal may shorten the result. For your next outing, wait for the first fix, keep location permissions enabled and check the live GPS status before continuing into an area with limited signal.

An old walk is still active

Open Adventures and use the resume option. Review the active Adventure, then end and save it if the outing is complete or discard it if it should not be kept. Starting another compatible walk may return you to the existing session.

You forgot to start tracking

Add the outing manually using details you can support, such as the date, location and a reasonable known distance. A manual activity log is more useful than a made-up route.

Frequently asked questions

Is Paw Rewards a dog pedometer?

No. Paw Rewards tracks an active walking route from accepted phone location data. It is not an all-day step counter and it does not estimate distance from a universal stride length.

Does Paw Rewards track my location all day?

No. Walk tracking is tied to an active GPS Adventure. End and save or discard the Adventure when you finish, and manage the app’s permissions through your device settings.

Can I track more than one dog on a walk?

Where pack mode is available, you can select multiple dogs for a Walk or Walk & Train Adventure. Check the dog selection screen before starting so each participating dog is attached to the correct record.

Does every tracked walk earn Treats?

No. Public accounts can track and review walks, but Treat earning is for eligible members connected through participating breeders and partners, and only current eligible activities apply. Read how walking rewards work or visit Earn Rewards for the current program experience.

Why is my phone’s distance different from Paw Rewards?

Devices and apps collect and smooth GPS information differently. Signal quality, sample timing, pauses and gaps can change the total. Repeated large differences are a reason to check permissions, signal and battery settings.

Build a dog activity record you will actually use

The value of a dog walk tracker is a clear, honest history of time spent together. Paw Rewards lets Canadian dog owners record distance and duration, preserve Memories and review patterns without reducing the dog-owner relationship to a leaderboard.

Track a walk with Paw Rewards. Choose your dog, wait for a live GPS fix and let the Adventure record the outing while you stay present with the dog beside you.