If you’ve noticed that people
are opting to park their cars at the far end of parking lots much more than
they used to, you might be witness to something that’s all the rage these days: wearable activity trackers. Fitbit, Nike+ FuelBand,
and Jawbone UP, among others, are worn as a wristband or clipped to clothing.
They record data such as how many steps you take, the distance you’ve gone, the
number of calories burned, even how long you sleep. Most
of the devices use Bluetooth technology to wirelessly sync your activity data
to your mobile phone. And there are lots
of cool apps that work with the trackers to enhance your fitness
experience.
Considering how much we humans love our activity trackers, it
was only a matter of time before a Fitbit-like device was created for the
tail-wagging community. A number of brands
have entered the market recently, and although there are subtle differences
among them, their declared purpose is the same:
to help you stay connected to your best friend when you’re at work or otherwise
away from him.
Introduced last
summer, the Whistle
Activity Monitor seems to be popular.
It attaches to your dog’s collar.
A built-in accelerometer measures his activities and rest, and sends
updates wirelessly to a free app on your smartphone. The
app provides a visual summary of your dog’s activities, such as playtime,
walks, and resting periods. You can also record which medications your dog
takes, write reminders for his care, and track his food intake. As with FitBit et al., you can set a daily
exercise goal and monitor the intensity of his exertion. If you want to see how hard and how long your
expensive dog walker is exercising Fido, check your smartphone. Want the whole family to be involved? Multiple users can access the app, ensuring
that pet sitters, friends, and all family members can be plugged in to your
dog’s life.
Of course, you’ll want to share your dog’s experience on social
networking sites! You can post photos
there, or share them privately among your group of friends. The app also shows you a visual comparison of
activity and rest between your furry friend and other dogs of the same breed,
age, and weight. The Whistle gets a
laudable eight to 10 days’ worth of battery life, includes a docking station
for charging, and costs about $130, with no monthly fee. The company assures its customers that
Whistle will expand its capabilities and only become more elegant with time
(including adding a soon-to-be available GPS tracker).
Another product, FitBark
($109 if pre-ordered), is set to launch this year and is similar to
Whistle. Another product called Tagg (around $100) combines a fitness monitor and a pet
tracking device. But Voyce (around $300), which will be
available this fall, was of the most interest to me. Like Whistle and FitBark, it monitors your
dog’s activity patterns. It also
measures the calories your dog burns and compares the data to prior
trends. But Voyce distinguishes itself
from the rest of the trackers by using radio waves to measure your dog’s respiratory
rate and resting heart rate, and it gives you a daily average.
When I first read about these doggie trackers, my initial
reaction was: Has the techie world
jumped the shark? Then I realized that despite
being fairly tech-savvy, I fail miserably in the staying-connected
department. Part of the reason is my 37
years of veterinary practice, during which I’ve been required to be continually available to patients and colleagues. For me, an occasional respite from
“connectedness,” even from my own pets, is okay. So perhaps my perspective is jaded compared with
that of the general dog-owning population.
But after further contemplation, I really do see the benefit of
these activity trackers. First, they’re
fun if you love technology, although the charm might wear off after a while. I think monitoring a pooch’s exercise (and
doing something about it if it’s falling short) not only makes pet parents become
more responsible but is certainly a boon to the dog’s health. According to a 2012
study commissioned by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, more than
52% of dogs are overweight o r obese. In
a 14-year
study by Purina, the median lifespan of the Labrador retrievers that were
kept lean was increased by 1.8 years. So
that glow of pride when you receive a congratulatory text from your app because
Fido met his fitness goal is a good motivator.
These trackers’ ability to show trends in your dog’s eating and
activity patterns could be a valuable way to alert you to a potential health
problem. For example, an unexplained
decrease in either could be a red flag and might inspire a phone call or a trip
to your vet’s office. The capability of
Voyce to monitor a dog’s heart and respiratory rate has real medical potential. It isn’t terribly important for the average
healthy dog, but I can see it as a life-saving tool for those with problems
such as pneumonia, laryngeal paralysis, severe heart murmurs, or congestive
heart failure. The client can send the
data to a veterinarian, who can then decide whether intervention is
needed.
Think of these gadgets as giving you a new perspective on your
dog’s day-to-day life. If the tracker shows
that your buddy spends the best part of his day bored and sleeping, it might
inspire you to enroll him in a couple of days of doggy day care, or give him
some extra time on walks or at the dog park.
That alone would make it worth the price tag.
