Now your dog doesn’t have to be analog! There have been many advances in technology that can help you with your dog’s health and wellness. From cool dog tech that you can link to your smart devices – to tech that can help an overheated dog cool down. Here are a few.
FitBark: A FitBit for Fido
FitBark is a health/activity monitor and a GPS tracker in one. Now you can see your dog’s health at a glance and be able to find them if lost.
Activity/Health Monitoring
Track minute-by-minute activity, sleep quality, distance traveled, calories burned, and overall health and behavior. You can set fitness goals vs. breed, age and weight peers.
While at work, or just apart from your dog, you can monitor your dogs stress and anxiety. Be alerted to any pain level or changes in mobility, or osteoarthritis. You can catch early signs of discomfort or disease. It can even be linked to your human fitness tracker.
One dog owner used the device to monitor the dog’s activity while their dog walker had their pup:
“We had a well-liked dog walker in our building we hired. His first walk was for an hour. Thanks to our FitBark we knew for a fact that this guy walked the dogs for 5 minutes over the course of an hour. It’s nice to have the peace of mind that nobody is cheating your furry friend on their much-needed playtime.” – Heather V.
GPS Feature
Create multiple safe zones around familiar Wi-Fi networks (e.g. home, daycare, friend’s house) and get alerted when your pup leaves or enters one of these safe areas. At this time the FitBark’s GPS feature is only available in the United States.
Embark: DNA testing for dogs
You love your dog and that’s all you really need to know… but wouldn’t it be interesting to know more about their background. Are they a pure breed? What breeds have combined to make such a great dog? Knowing the different breeds that are combined can help understand their needs, traits, and potential health risks. Embark is the most accurate & highest rated dog DNA kit on the market.
The Animal Shelter Is Probably Just Guessing
Embark tests for over 350 different breeds and over 200,000 genetic markers. I recently heard a guy say he tested his puppy with Embark and found, among other breeds, she was 1% coyote! The animal shelter we rescued Maggie from said she was a Border Collie mix. Our neighbor’s sister bred English Spaniels and swore Maggie was one of those. We will never know as Maggie is no longer with us. All we know was that she was 100% lovable.
How It Works
You activate your kit using the code you’re given, swab the inside of your dog’s cheek, and mail the sample to Embark. You can log into the website using your code to find your dog’s results.
There are 2 choices of DNA testing available from Embark.
The Breed Identification Kit determines what your dog’s DNA says about his or her breed and ancestry. You can also discover and connect with dogs that share DNA with yours using the world’s only canine relative finder, free with purchase.
The Breed + Health Kit test combines the breed identification and canine relative finder of the first kit with a deeper look into 190 health conditions, traits and potential health risks indicated by their research-grade DNA genotyping platform.
Embark is the world’s first canine relative finder. Using their Doggy DNA Relative Finder, they can connect you with other Embark dogs that are related to your pup based on the percentage of DNA they share! Here’s a link to a touching story of two siblings separated by a hurricane and reunited by Embark.
This company also uses the DNA to research health issues in the hope of finding cures for K-9 diseases. Every dog in their database brings them closer to realizing the goal of ending preventable diseases in dogs.
GoDogGo Fetch Machine
The world’s original automatic ball launcher designed to play fetch with ball-crazy dogs. Exclusive Safety Arc & Ball Activated Auto Stop offers the best game of automatic fetch.
GoDogGo Fetch Machine is a fun product that can help exercise your dog without you having to tire out your throwing arm. And, if you’re entertaining, your guest won’t have a slobber drenched ball dropped in their lap time-after-time. It has a one year warranty in case your dog wears it out with continuous use.
Cooling Dog Bed
Whenever we get home from a walk or jog my dog lays down on the airconditioning vent located on the floor. She’s smart. Dogs don’t sweat and sometimes panting just won’t take care of excessive heat. It’s not unusual for dogs to overheat, especially in the summer. We need to keep an eye on them and make sure they keep cool. This cooling dog bed can really help with that as it diffuses heat when they lay on top of it.
To activate, simply add water, no tools needed. The more water used, the more cushioning and cooling capabilities the dog cooling mat will have.
Provides a cool, refreshing surface for your dog. Along with heat relief, this pad comforts pet arthritis, skin disorders, and dog hip pain.
