Fitbark, the Fitbit for your dog

Now pet owners are able to use technology to get a better overall picture of their animal’s health and fitness.

Growing pet ownership coupled with increasing per capita expenditure is expected to propel animal-related spending to nearly $2.4 billion by 2022. It is estimated that by next year, pet owners will spend more on wearable devices than on food, and this is only the beginning.

As much as we all love our dogs statistics show that more than half of us either feed them too much, or don’t exercise them enough. Just like humans, more than a half of dogs in the US are clinically overweight or obese. Overweight dogs live shorter lives and have a lower quality of life.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

A new device that’s recently hit the market is called Fitbark. The canine equivalent of the Fitbit, this clip-on activity monitor tracks rest, play, and active time of your pup. With a click of a few buttons, you can find out how these times match up with similar dogs, and even yourself. Yes, you can now link your Fitbit and start monitoring your dog’s fitness right next to yours!

Weighing only 8 grams, the water-resistant tracker fits comfortably on any dog collar and won’t bother bother a 3 lbs Chihuahua or a 200 lbs Leonbergers. The device tracks “BarkPoints”, a metric that tallies up whatever activities your pooch gets up to during the day and night. The app allows you to choose a lifestyle for your dog based on statistics from similar dogs. Average (50th percentile), Active (75th percentile) or Olympian (90th percentile)?

A daily or weekly report provides you with your dog’s overall health index. You can even add friends to your TopDog Board and have fun reviewing weekly, monthly and all time champions.

The detailed stats allow you to catch early signs of illness and discomfort, and to monitor recovery following a vet visit. Review longer term trends, monitor the development of specific issues (such as post surgical recovery, rehabilitation, osteoarthritis or separation anxiety), and make better decisions.

With 14 days of battery juice, you’ll get plenty of playtime between charges. There’s no need to remove Fitbark from your dog’s collar. It syncs automatically via Bluetooth, and just plug the device in a standard micro USB cable from your dog’s collar to recharge.

Loving your pet means staying healthy together. A dog is an ideal exercise partner and helps us commit to physical activity ourselves. By choosing a healthy lifestyle for our dog, we are helping ourselves.

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