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- Not a substitute for professional veterinary help.
We want the best for our pups: good health, deep sleep, nutritious food — basically, all the things that guarantee a long happy life together (hundreds of years and years) continue). And what better way to see what’s working and what’s not than a dog toy or activity tracker?
We’ve rounded up the best and taken a close look at what differentiates each model from the others to help you find the right fit to meet your goals.
How to choose the best Fitbit or Dog Activity Tracker
While these devices may seem a bit premium, we found dog activity trackers can be surprisingly effective tools to monitor your dog’s overall health.
A lot of pet parents have a hard time judging the amount of exercise their dog is getting (and we count ourselves among them!). A more accurate understanding of how far you’re going—and what it means for your puppy’s metabolism and calories—could help. weight loss and even behavior problem. If those are your goals, prefer a tracker that specializes in step tracking and has an app with a dedicated interface for nutrition.
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If you have a dog with allergic or prone to infections, the best dog fitbit might be the one with good behavior tracking features. It can alert you to changes in your dog’s normal sleeping, licking and scratching habits to help you spot problems early. We’ve seen activity trackers in place Ear infections and even a dipped mink tail before anyone is wiser.
If you are looking for a best friend For your own journey, choose an activity tracker that can sync with your own Apple Health or Fitbit app. Or if you’re in a competitive spirit, try one that lets you see local leaderboards.
If GPS tracking important to you, you’ll want to make sure there’s good local cellular coverage for any carrier the device has partnered with. It might be worth starting this from the other direction and choosing GPS device have what you need in terms of safety wise, with activity tracking a secondary priority.
Finally, we say pick the tracker that looks best fun– after all, we are at our healthiest when exercise and nutrition are enjoyable. Dog activity trackers are about the journey, not just the results.
Step counting enthusiasts unite. This dog fitness tracker is great for pet parents who want to track their pet’s activity and walking levels but can also see breakdowns in steps. Taking into account breed and size, Fi helps you create customizable step goals. And they even have a fun leaderboard where you can compete with other dogs in the community and see how your dog ranks in the area.
However, as reviewers have pointed out, the Fi smart necklace doesn’t calculate distance based on total steps. So if you’re lounging with your puppy in a smaller area, your step count will be correct, but your distance will stagnate (think: 26,000 steps at 0.4 miles) . And while the device offers in-depth sleep tracking, it doesn’t have as many health and behavior tracking options as its competitors.
Highlights:
- Available in four sizes and four colors
- Durable design: anti-corrosion and waterproof
- Option to add 24/7 GPS tracking
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Chewy
Buy on Fi
Whether you’re dealing with separation anxiety or just want a quick look at your dog’s comfort level, FitBark can help you keep track of your dog’s stress and anxiety while you’re away. FitBark’s mobile app provides an hourly view to compare your dog’s anxiety levels when you’re together versus when you’re apart. A clearer picture of the bigger picture can help you make changes, track progress on your anxiety journey, or simply achieve peace of mind.
FitBark also provides a variety of other health insights such as calorie levels, distance traveled, and sleep behavior. Reviewers like the user-friendly interface and appreciate that it requires no registration. But if you decide you want GPS, you’ll have to buy a completely different device and commit to paying the subscription fee.
The user-friendly interface links with most human devices like Apple HealthKit and Fitbit, so pet parents can build healthy habits with their kids.
Highlights:
- Works with popular human fitness equipment
- Comes with a 30-day warranty and a two-year warranty
- Small and light design
For pet parents who want it all — health insights and location tracking — the Whistle Go Explore is one of the best dog-friendly products on the market. In our test, we found the device to be extremely useful in tracking down one of our own escape artists. By setting up a “safe zone” for your dog (like the boundary of your backyard), Whistle will alert you when they leave designated areas and provide location tracking. real time to help you find them.
We also found the app to be very helpful in monitoring increased levels of licking and scratching, even detecting an ear infection on the Rover Test Pup Sabine before her parents did. Another cool feature is the ability to reach an on-demand veterinarian, allowing you to chat with the experts about any concerns, potentially saving you money on vet visits. y.
The only downside is that you need to have the right AT&T coverage for the tracking to work properly. (Some reviewers report problems with “dead spots.”) You’ll also need a more expensive subscription to access most data.
Highlights:
- Built-in night light
- 20 days battery life
- Waterproof and durable
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Rover
Buy on Petco
Best budget GPS combo: Tractive GPS LTE (Verified review)
Tractive is another popular GPS tracker for dogs. It goes beyond the health and fitness trackers made by the popular Whistle Go, but it still offers activity tracking — and at a much more affordable price point.
The device tracks your pet’s activity time, calories burned, sleep, and “calm time” (no sleep but inactivity), and then displays them along with a comparison of activity to averages. pet’s daily averages and local leaderboards that you can choose to participate in. Tractive does not track behaviors such as licking, scratching, eating or drinking, but Our testers felt Its accurate live tracking makes it a powerhouse in the GPS department and a good budget option without compromising on safety.
Highlights:
- Battery life of seven to ten days
- Live tracking refreshes every 15 to 60 seconds
- Track active minutes and sleep time
Search on Tractive Search on Amazon Search on the Rover Store Search on Chewy
This dog suit is ideal for pet parents who want to connect with their dog on a deeper level. While the PETKIT P2 offers an affordable price tracker, the device’s most unique feature and the one that reviewers say is their favorite is its ability to track emotions. Once you’ve entered your puppy’s breed, weight, and age, the app’s algorithm will generate a mood index for your dog based on their activity and sleep levels. The higher the score, the greater the mood!
The app also has a built-in calendar so you can set reminders on your smartphone to help you stay on top of things like grooming, medication, and vaccinations.
Highlights:
- There are five colors
- Light, weighs only one ounce
- Bluetooth devices
- Monitor sleep, calories and activity
Offering high-quality data, the Animo dog fitness tracker is a great choice if you want to keep a close eye on your dog’s diet. The device uses an adaptive algorithm to learn, interpret, and keep detailed records of your dog’s health — helping you track specific issues like diabetes and weight loss.
The calorie calculator also tracks calories burned based on your puppy’s weight, age, and neutered status — taking into account all behaviors (even simply resting) that burn calories. Over time, you’ll be able to review comprehensive charts that show your dog’s results by day, week, month, and year.
One thing to note, however, is that reviewers have reported that the device must be perfectly positioned to function properly, which can cause problems for more palatable mice.
Highlights:
- Monitor behaviors such as barking, scratching and sleep quality
- Long-lasting battery life for six months
- Attaches to dog collars up to 1 1/4” wide
How we choose fitness trackers for our dogs
The dog-matching dogs featured here were selected based on a combination of our own hands-on testing, comprehensive review of customer reviews across multiple retail platforms, and interviews with industry experts. professional coach. We prioritize accurate distance tracking, a wide range of health tracking features (including licking, scratching and sleeping), user interface, price, battery life, and GPS capabilities. We are also guided by our own experience of living and playing with our own much-loved and steadfast pets, who are never stingy with their feedback.
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