Smartphone Apps Help Monitor Your Pet’s Health and Habits
Good news for tech-savvy animal lovers: Some smartphone apps can make it easier for you to know if your furry, four-legged friend is healthy and safe. Before you start thinking of Tamagotchis (remember those?), get with the times. These apps can monitor your dog’s or cat’s activity, tell you exactly where they are if they get lost, and even feed them remotely.
Whistle is an app that receives information from a device worn on your dog’s collar. The small, circular monitor, which looks like a watch face, has an accelerometer that detects motion, giving you an idea of whether your dog is walking, playing, or sleeping. Similar to the Nike FuelBand or Fitbit for humans, Whistle also collects data about your pet’s daily activity and charts changes in habits. You can look at this information on your phone in real time or at the end of the day, and you can even send it to your veterinarian.
This can be especially useful for monitoring your pet’s health. Often, the stress of going to the vet’s office can make your pet act differently than usual, so the data gathered from Whistle can give the vet a good idea of an animal’s typical activities, including hidden habits—such as waking in the middle of the night—that may indicate health problems. Whistle compares your dog’s stats with those of other dogs of the same breed, age, and weight, letting you know if Fido might need more frequent trips to the park.
Whistle is available for the iPhone and uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for monitoring. The collar device sells for $99.95, and the companion app and web service are free.
Another monitor-and-app combination on the market will help you keep tabs on your pet from anywhere. The app Tagg communicates with a GPS-enabled tracker, which is slightly bulky and looks something like a seat belt buckle, that attaches to your dog’s or cat’s collar. You use the phone app or website to ping the device for your pet’s current location. You can program “Tagg zones” where your pet usually frequents, and if Fluffy wanders outside these areas, you’ll get an email or text message letting you know.
This is a step beyond inserting a microchip under an animal’s skin, because if your dog or cat gets lost, you’d still need someone to take your pet to a vet’s office and for the vet to scan the chip to alert you. Tagg lets you know exactly where your pet is—no need to offer a reward.
Tagg is available for iPhone and Android and runs on a rechargeable battery. The device costs $99.95 and has a subscription fee of $7.95 a month.
This last app is especially great for pet owners with busy lives. Pintofeed communicates with a food dispenser enabled with Wi-Fi, letting you automatically feed your pet from anywhere in the world. Multiple users can have the app program how much food your pet gets fed and when. If you’re running late and are afraid your dog will get hungry, feed him once with the touch of a button; or if you’re going on a weekend vacation, schedule feedings for your cat ahead of time—Pintofeed will send you a text message, email, or Facebook or Twitter message when the food has been dispensed.
Your phone will receive an alert when your pet is done eating, even telling you the amount of food consumed, making it easy for you to track meal habits and your pet’s nutrition.
Pintofeed is available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, and Windows 8 and works with four D batteries or an A/C wall adapter. The app is free, and the food dispenser-dish is $149.
