News

How Tech Is Beneficial for the Health of Your Dog

Written by Emily Folk

Keeping your dog healthy can encompass many aims, ranging from monitoring for hazardous situations to checking that your pet stays active enough. Fortunately, dog technology can help with these things and other health-related needs.

It Can Help You Track Your Dog’s Activity Levels

If your veterinarian was concerned about your dog weighing too much at a recent visit, it could be time to help your animal companion get on the move more often. When dogs stay active, they enjoy numerous advantages such as reduced joint stiffness, a lower risk of developing health problems and even the possibility of a longer lifespan.

Outside of the physical aspects, you probably know that when your dog gets bored, you may come home to a chewed shoe or something else your canine destroyed to keep itself from getting bored.

You can use a dog activity tracker like the Fi or Whistle, a small, waterproof device that attaches to your dog’s collar. You can get measurements for overall activeness, distance traveled, sleep quality and more. Other dog activity trackers like FitBark and FitBark 2 also link to several fitness trackers for humans, making it possible to track your activity along with your dog’s.

It Might Reunite You With a Lost Pet

When dealing with the events that happen after you discover your dog is lost, it’s often difficult to concentrate on anything. Your mind keeps wondering if the worst has happened, and there is probably an incredible amount of anxiety building up inside you as you determine what to do next.

Various companies sell dog trackers that show real-time locations of the animals or allow users to set boundaries and get alerted if the dogs go outside of them. Such technologies relate to your pet’s health, especially if you consider the dangers they could encounter by wandering around for too long.

Before purchasing a tracker, research the options to know which ones are most suitable for you and your pooch. For example, some work in multiple countries and others require paying subscription fees to keep the devices active.

It Could Notify You of Hazardous Situations When You’re Not Home

We often have no choice but to leave our pets unattended, such as when going to work. Being absent used to make it impossible to know if something went wrong while being away.

For example, what if a pet knocked over and broke a large vase and is now in danger of getting sharp material in its paws? A similar threat could arise if a puppy digs through the garbage the day after you celebrated a birthday with chocolate cake, a food humans love that’s poisonous for dogs.

Many treat-dispensing cameras offer technology to prevent those issues from escalating by letting you know when certain events happen. It’s available as a 90-day trial when you buy the Furbo Dog Camera or Petcibe Bites 2.0. The camera allows you to see and talk to your dog and even toss treats to him. However, the Furbo Dog Nanny goes further by giving activity notifications.

It also knows when people arrive at your home. That feature could be helpful for avoiding the possibility of your dog getting stolen. There is a known problem called “pet flipping,” too, whereby someone takes a dog and attempts to sell it soon afterward for profit.

The Furbo Dog Nanny could help you breathe easier when there is no choice but to leave your pet alone at home.

It’ll Interpret Your Dog’s Emotions

Owning a pet makes most people relatively skilled at deciphering how the animals feel. But, sometimes even the most tailored observational skills fall short. Then, you could miss out on signs indicating your pet is emotionally distressed. Excessive, prolonged stress could lead to health complications.

The TailTalk is a product in development by DogStar Life. It’s a gadget worn on a dog’s tail that picks up on motion, analyzes what it means and sends alerts via an app to the owner. You can’t buy it yet, but it may soon be possible to purchase tech that acts as a window into your dog’s mind, thereby helping you keep tabs on both mental and physical health.

Scientists are even working on artificial intelligence-based projects that could use the technology to translate what dogs say through vocalizations and facial expressions. That progress likely won’t become a reality for about a decade, but it’s exciting to think about what’s possible.

Technology Could Complement Dog Ownership

There are downsides to becoming too dependent on pet-centric technology, such as to make it occupy your dog so that you don’t have to take it for walks as often. However, as this information shows, there are various ways tech could help you become a better-equipped and more confident pet owner. Read more about the latest dog gadgets at Technobark!

Author

  • Emily Folk

    Emily is a pet blogger as well as the editor of Conservation Folks. You can keep up-to-date on her work by following her on Twitter.

Spread the love

Leave a Comment