Seeing your walk stop counting on its own is a bit alarming, but nothing is lost — this is the app protecting your walk, and it's usually fixed by taking a few steps closer to your pet.
Why this happens
A walk records only while your phone can reach your pet's tracker over Bluetooth. The moment that connection drops, the walk pauses itself so it doesn't keep recording a route your pet isn't on.
You'll see:
- A greyed-out Reconnecting to Tracker button
- The banner Please go near the tracker to continue your walk
- Time and Distance frozen, and the trail no longer drawing on the map
What to check first
- Are you close enough to your pet? Bluetooth range is short.
- Is the collar switched on and charged?
- Is Bluetooth still enabled on your phone? (Some battery-saver modes switch it off.)
How to get going again
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| The walk paused on its own | Just move closer to your pet. The walk resumes automatically as soon as the collar reconnects — you don't need to tap anything. |
| You pressed Pause yourself | The walk will not resume on its own, even once Bluetooth is back. Tap Resume when you're ready. |
| Resume is greyed out and reads Reconnecting… | Bluetooth is still down. The button becomes tappable again once the collar is back in range. |
| You'd rather just stop | Finish stays available the whole time. Tap it to save the walk as it stands. |
When the app is in your pocket
With the app in the background, the app waits about 15 seconds before pausing, so brief blips don't interrupt you. When it does pause, your phone shows a notification titled Bluetooth disconnected with the message "Move closer to {your pet} to resume the walk." Tap it to jump back to the GPS Tracker screen.
Please note: A paused walk keeps checking in with Ask A Vet roughly every 10 minutes, so it won't be closed out while you're sorting out the connection.
What this means for your figures
Paused and out-of-range time never counts toward your walk's Time, and no distance is added while the walk is paused. Your walk stays accurate — it just skips the gap.
Still stuck?
If the walk pauses over and over even with your phone right beside the collar, the tracker's Bluetooth connection is the thing to look at — see the Troubleshooting section of the GPS Tracker help, or contact Ask A Vet support [CONFIRM: support contact route to publish here].
Related articles - Why does a walk need Bluetooth? - How to start, pause and finish a walk - My walk distance, time or speed looks wrong - My walk was saved automatically, or I couldn't finish it