Dawg Tag: the first wearable core temperature sensor for dogs

July 10, 2018 Marko Maslakovic Crowdfunding, Pet tracker 2 min read

Rayo: a bicycle tail-light designed for the modern cyclist

America’s pet-related spending is very high. Sales of these wearables are booming thanks to consumers who want to improve their pets’ lives with devices similar to what they themselves are using. We’ve seen everything from GPS trackers for dogs to technology that keeps tabs on your canine’s fitness activity.

It is a well known fact that dogs don’t tolerate high temperatures as well as humans. Their fur is great protection against the cold but can be a problem in hot weather. A common cause of heat strokes is careless action from the owner, such as leaving a dog in a car on a hot day. It can take as little as 15 minutes for a dog to die of a heat-related illness.

A project has just launched on Kickstarter for Dawg Tag, the world’s first wearable that protects your dog from heat strokes. This is a noninvasive, affordable, rugged and water resistant gizmo that measures your dog’s core temperature on key points in the body. In addition to temperature sensors embedded in the harness, Dawg Tag also sports humidity sensors. Air humidity is another risk factor when it comes to heat-related illness in dogs.

“Thousands of dogs get heat stroke every year,” creator Matthew Edwards, a mechanical engineer who usually works in robotics technologies, told Digital Trends.
“We actually lost a family dog due to heat stroke, which is why we started to develop this in the first place.”

Some three years in the making, Dawg Tag displays the core temperature and air humidity on an easily readable screen mounted on the dog’s back. Both readings are colour coded for at-a-glance viewing.

If you’re looking for an easy way for you to protect your dog from the summer heat, this wearable may be of interest. The company is looking to raise a rather ambitious $130,000, but with two months to go its still early days in the campaign. Usual warnings about crowdfunded projects apply.