I look at this and think "finally, someone's found a way to capitalize on the disposable income of people whose homes are already full of exercise bikes being used as coat hangers and whose wrists are nearly ready to collapse under the weight of their fitbits, pedometers, and GPSes."
Here's the secret to health and exercise: you have to want to do it. Another $100 device to tell you "you're still not doing the thing you said you want to do but that you're not making time for" if it's not something you want to do. I run and love to do it. Here's how I know I'm different from other people this way: when I started running a lot (about 6 years ago) I would ask friends if they wanted to go for a run and they would say "no." I wanted to get fit, but I also wanted to run. I know people who ask "how can I run more?" and I ask "well, do you enjoy running?" and usually they say they don't. I don't tell them they need to buy different shoes or gadgets to try to coerce them into doing it, I suggest they look at other kinds of activities that will fulfill them and try to incorporate that into their life.
I believe too many people confuse fitness with the goal of exercise. Happiness should be the goal. It's fair (and probably right) to say fitness will bring happiness, but it's important to keep those in perspective and realize that if exercise (a means to fitness) isn't bringing happiness, then maybe the exercise should change.
Lastly - I have a small ax to grind over people getting pets who aren't prepared to give the pets the attention they need to be happy. Pets need a lot of attention and activity - they express very clearly when they aren't getting enough if you pay attention. And you can calibrate the type of dog that might suit your lifestyle before you get one.
Sorry to rant over problems with fitness and pet ownership that I feel that a product like this brings up - the product itself may be totally fine and I'll probably get downvoted for saying some of this. Clearly there's somewhat of a need for a product like this.
I love dogs, I think it's terrible that we have so many in shelters and so many being euthanized. I wish we could provide happy homes for all of them.
That being said, I would rather euthanize a dog than put it in a home or half-a-home where it isn't cared for in the way it should be. I would rather it not suffer at all, than for it to be ignored, not loved, or not looked after.
I'm not thrilled about that at all, either. My dog is from a shelter (it was a no-kill shelter but I looked at kill shelters, too). Basically, I think more people need to take care of their pets and more people need to help sterilize pets that there don't appear to be anyone to take care of. My parents got a few ferral cats in Texas "fixed" and I know a guy in rural Peru who was supporting this mostly out of his own pocket. I think those types of things are probably the best approach (and I donate money to a local shelter and know one of the services they perform is sterilization of stray animals). Mostly, though, I think that's just another sad situation in addition to people not taking care of their pets (a mild form of animal abuse) and think they are mostly separate issues.
" I know people who ask "how can I run more?" and I ask "well, do you enjoy running?" and usually they say they don't. I don't tell them they need to buy different shoes or gadgets to try to coerce them into doing it, I suggest they look at other kinds of activities that will fulfill them and try to incorporate that into their life. "
Interesting! But isn't our natural tendency to be lazy, why would anyone prefer to stress themselves rather than sit infront of TV? Shouldn't we just continue running, irrespective of whether we enjoy it or not in the beginning, until we start enjoying it?
The human condition also necessitates expression, realization, aspiration, etc. In many cases, sitting on a couch will bring the most instantaneous pleasure, but it is ultimately empty and ephemeral. Things that are difficult, though instantaneously distressing, are more likely to be fulfilling in the long term.
I agree that the devices don't change your workout habits, but if you have the habits or want the data then this is a cool thing.
I don't think this post has ANYTHING to do with people who aren't prepared to take car of their pets. It's just a way that people can track over the lifetime of their dog, activity and health. I've got a 9 year old dog and have had her since she was 1. I wish I could see where she's declined in activity over those years.
Also, she blew out her knee. This might have helped me see a decline in activity and begin to worry about my dog even before she began to show a limp.
I really agree that you have to like running, but sometimes that new pair of shoes or equipment can be what ignites you. For instance I have been using endomondo with gps tracking and a bluetooth heart rate monitor, and getting so much data on each run, and statistics over time really motivate to keep getting better. And for other people getting their fitbit to 10000 each day may be just the extra bit of motivation they need.
Tangent from the pet thing, but ... personally and admittedly, I get quite hoity toity about this and don't think I'm spouting any gospel. My $0.02 and observations around this though are:
- No one (ok, one exception) I know who trains heavily relies on a GPS, fitbit, etc. Most of them know what kinds of splits they'd turn out for some workout (mile repeats, 800s or some trail they run a lot).
- Conversely, I know a lot of people who use a GPS or fitbit who are not in shape and seem to want to get in shape but aren't making noticeable progress over months (based on their satisfaction or what I'd call visible results)
- But yeah, I also know a lot of people who exercise casually and incorporate these into their days.
I just see a lot more people who these don't do anything for than those that they do, and I think the device has little-to-nothing to do with the outcome. A MUCH better investment would be to join a group (many are free, many cost less than the devices).
Back to the pet thing, I think you have to want to care for the pet and pay attention to its behavior and needs. This looks like a neat / fine device, but I'd probably sooner make one of the DIY "Cooper the Photographer Cat" cameras (which incidentally run half the cost of the whistle: http://www.mr-lee-catcam.de/pe_cc_o1_en.htm)
Honestly, I think this will benefit the owners as much as the dogs.
My dog has tons of energy and potential to exercise, but usually the problem is that I don't have the energy or time to take him outside.
I suspect that a major benefit of this product will be that it transforms owners' lifestyles, encouraging them to be more active and take breaks from being inside and/or online when necessary.
Doggie day care. It's the best thing you can do for them.
Yes, it's yuppie, but as with hiring housekeepers, it makes so many 'problems' go away.
My dogs love going to play with other dogs, toys, pools, fountains, and trained handlers, and they love coming home to play and run. They get to socialize and I still get a lot of quality time with them.
If you are a non-attentive, dis-interested pet owner you probably don't care enough to buy this. If you are attentive and interested in your pet this device tells you nothing new.
Fitbit works because you can correlate the data to your personal well being. Unless this device magically discerns the dog's well being I don't see how it provides any actionable statistics.
Attentive and interested dog owner <--> I pay a dog walker to exercise my dog
You don't need a device, you need to walk your own dog and bond with him/her.
This is like having kids, hiring a full time nanny and then saying you're a great parent because you have a camera on her to make sure she's nice to them whilst she's raising your children.
To your first point, if you don't trust your dog walker then you may also want to think and worry, and therefore question your decision of buying this, about the possibility of him/her taking the whistle off from your dog and attaching it to something else to give an impression that your dog was actively walking.
1. Detecting an abrupt change in sleep patterns in humans is useful.
2. Dogs are not humans.
Ergo: Detecting an abrupt change in sleep patters in dogs is useful.
Anthropomorphizing dogs is terrible. It is certainly one of the biggest causes for behavior problems in dogs.
Maybe it is because I have only ever had dogs that were bred for protection but I do not want to think about what my dogs sleep patterns are/were. Does whistle monitor for sounds so that I can disregard the change in sleeping pattern due to a siren? Foot traffic on the sidewalk? Thunder?
It's not anthropomorphizing to realize that mammals have a lot of physiology in common. If a dog scientist tells me that sleeping patterns are completely irrelevant for dogs because of some peculiar evolutionary adaptation, I'll believe it. But failing that, a decent null hypothesis is that it's probably pretty similar to humans (notice that my post started with "I'd imagine", not "It is a fact").
Also, just because X might be optimal for a pet doesn't mean that you have to do it. There's always something more you can do for your pet, but perfection is never possible.
And also, your incredible examples of confounding variables are not insurmountable, since sleeping patterns are successfully measured in humans even in suboptimal scenarios. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good!
Do you own a dog? If you do, have you watched your dog while it is asleep?
Just as humans, dogs go through sleep phases and even though humans have longer sleep phases; dogs have a REM phase. Once dogs get to the REM phase they're in a deep stage of sleep and the sound of an ambulance or foot traffic will not wake them up as easily as you think.
I've seen it hundreds of times throughout different breeds of dogs. I used to work part time for a vet when I was a teenager.
I have a GSD and a rottweiller. I am not saying that dogs don't have REM sleep. I'm saying that they sleep lighter than I do and they have for thousands of years. Cavemen let dogs eat eat their trash and in return the dogs acted as sentries.
Ok so I have to disagree. I'm a very attentive dog owner. Matter of fact I'd say I'm really good. And my memory is also pretty good. I'm going to lay out what's nice about this device.
1) You have a lifetime of data on your dog (and with further improvements to the device I'm sure you'll get heart rate as well as movement). This is awesome, and here's why. My dog blew her knee out. She got a lot less exercise and is finally recovering. But how can I SHOW myself that she's running better other than this vague feeling I get as her owner. I can't, but with this device I could.
2) I can compare Sophie to other dogs her age, and possibly with help see that she's not running as much. That could have potentially alerted me to her knee issue (which is something you can NEVER learn about too early).
3) I can watch what she's doing no matter where she goes or who's watching her. I get data on her. This also has implications about lost dogs and your dog getting out of the yard (but for most attentive owners that isn't a problem).
I think you are attempting to argue away the value of this data, and I for one completely disagree. Sure I want more data, possibly gps/heart rate monitor. But I'll support someone who is taking a step in the right direction.
You are creating capabilities for this device that don't exist. Currently the data provided does not help with any of your use cases. In fact, it could actually hurt.
I used to have a dog with hip problems. As her hip got worse she ran more, not less. Why? Because it took her longer. Sure, it was lower speed, and she galloped weird, but Whistle would still track that as an increase in running! As a converse, as she got better the time duration of her running fell, but her intensity and speed increased. Again, giving you the wrong idea via Whistle data.
As I said before, Whistle is the Moves app for Dogs. I suggest you download that app, see the data you get from it, and if you would like that for your dog then go for it. Just remember you're paying $100 for the same functionality provided by a free app.
I fully agree. This is just a toy you can spend money on so you can buy of your feeling of guilt of not spending enough time with your dog and observing how they are doing.
Or you can do next to nothing with them for a month and then feel really good by doing just a bit more every week for 4 weeks and seeing a nice line going up and get some badges or whatnot for it.
I think a case can be made that if you seriously think about buying one of these, you probably already know you should spend more time and attention on your dog.
> You are creating capabilities for this device that don't exist. Currently the data provided does not help with any of your use cases. In fact, it could actually hurt.
Hurt? That's not physically possible... It sure as hell isn't going to bite my dog.
> I used to have a dog with hip problems. As her hip got worse she ran more, not less. Why? Because it took her longer. Sure, it was lower speed, and she galloped weird, but Whistle would still track that as an increase in running! As a converse, as she got better the time duration of her running fell, but her intensity and speed increased. Again, giving you the wrong idea via Whistle data.
Where's your data to back this claim up? I kid, I kid, but seriously don't you think these are changes that this device would detect, and if properly programmed point out to the user as abnormal? Now there's nothing to stop their algorithm from sucking and they could say "great job on walking your hurt dog for 27 miles this weekend on a camping trip dude. Gold star! (I'm assuming this is what you mean by hurt, not to be bitten) But, you'd hope that as the device matures they'd discover these sorts of things and look for them.
> As I said before, Whistle is the Moves app for Dogs. I suggest you download that app, see the data you get from it, and if you would like that for your dog then go for it. Just remember you're paying $100 for the same functionality provided by a free app.
I'm sorry my dog lost his smart phone last week so I'd have to buy him a new one... oh oh oh, I hear I could spend 100 bucks and get this same information in a nice neat little package that clips onto their collar!
The point of all this is that this device IS superfluous, I don't need any of this data. It falls squarely into the WANT category. Just like the fitbit (don't need that to work out either). It's a want kinda like say... a galaxy s4 (or iPhone 5), second laptop, extra pairs of shoes, raspberry pi, a new game, a new... you get the picture. No one is going to put this in the "You literally have to get one of these or your dog will die" category.
But you can't argue that a collection of data from all 10+ years is something that you ALREADY have . I say that because I like data. I like seeing graphs of activity, and being able to digest information in a meaningful manner. And it's not like you are going to make something that collects said data for cheaper than 100 bucks and create instructions/send it to me...
What I will say is that this device is not a substitute for caring for and watching your dog. Sure it'll give you pretty data, but at the end of the day they need love and attention more than anything else (which I think we can both agree on).
I honestly can't tell if you are joking or not, because I love actually do love more data on everyday things, and this is hacker news so I'm inclined to lean toward serious on a statement like that...
I.E. I downloaded a sleep app and very much enjoy seeing how I've slept over the past few weeks. Also thanks to one of the other commentators I'm going to download move and check that data out.
Do you know of any place I can get at my data from Google to see what my internet footprint looks like?
I'm not quite as ready to jump into HN attack mode.I immediately wanted to buy and/or help this company somehow. I've literally stayed up worrying about my dog because of lack of intel. But you're right, the intel is not quite there (yet).
I have 2 chocolate labs, and immediately was thinking how amazing this is as one is getting older - however, I'd like to think I am an 'attentive' pet owner (if not over-attentive by my wife's standards).
Your point about what the device can/can't discern is important. That is where I hope to see this go. Unfortunately for pet owners, your dog often doesn't communicate with you very well regarding their health. Sure, weight is relatively easy to discern, as are superficial wounds. But infections, arthritis, skin/coat health - all could be studied to give an owner insight if it is time to visit the vet. Ala preventative medicine.
Too many times an unusual throw up, limp, sleepless night can cause a vet trip and be nothing, but even slight trends could tell you a lot about the dogs health.
There have been enough times that one of my pets has changed their behavior in a way I've only realized after a vet visit. Spending just a little more time on the couch, approaching something from only one side, peeing slightly more/less often than usual, etc., that would be nice to note as an opportunity to intervene preventatively.
It's clear when something is way off kilter, such as the dog peeing every five minutes or never getting off the couch, but by then you know the animal is acutely suffering.
My wife can tell me if her neck hurts. If she says it five times in a month, I can tell her that she may want to make an appointment with a doctor or see what has changed about her work/home environment.
It would be nice if I could get the same sort of signal for my dog. (And be able to tell my vet yes/no when they ask if anything has changed.)
* If you are attentive and interested in your pet this device tells you nothing new.
Attentive and interested does not equate to "has a spreadsheet tracking their pet's activity". This device, just like Fitbit, is a personal (extra-personal, in this case) data collector. To say that tells you "nothing new" applies just as well to Fitbit.
* Fitbit works because you can correlate the data to your personal well being. Unless this device magically discerns the dog's well being I don't see how it provides any actionable statistics.
I'm not really sure what it means to correlate Fitbit to your "personal well being". I'm assuming you mean things like weight, resting heart rate, etc. Anyone who has spent much time with dog owners can tell you that managing your pet's weight can be as much trouble as managing your own.
I don't use Fitbit, but I track fitness data in other ways using some ad hoc tools. There are differing perspectives on the benefits of personal data logging, but one of the more common is that it increases visibility in to your real patterns as opposed to your perceived patterns. In other words, the data doesn't lie. The data becomes a source of accountability, and even motivation. It's really hard not to look at the data and thing about obtaining a "high score".
Pets are reliant on humans for their fitness needs. In the wild, a dog gets all the fitness it needs, because it has to chase down every meal. This puts the responsibility of wellness on the human, and these data collection tools provide the same benefits as they do for humans.
I completely agree with you, but you assume that this device has capabilities that it doesn't. I wish I could edit my previous post, as I feel like it would be helpful to address at the top, but this will have to do.
Whistle Tracks:
Type of Activity
Duration of Activity
Whether or not the user holding the iPhone w/ Whistle app is near their dog wearing the Whistle (I'm assuming that's how it tracks who the dog is with)
Whistle Does Not Track:
Speed of activity
Distance of activity
Calories burned
Type of Sleep
etc. etc.
(getting this from the website)
So unless you're simply tracking "My dog ran for 2 hours at 3pm" in a spreadsheet, I don't see how this helps you. All those nice little statistics people track using a Fitbit or other tools are not provided here.
So to re-iterate (and not harping on you bradleyland, just for the benefit of the majority): If you are a attentive and interested dog owner you probably already know the activity and duration of your pet. Intensity of said activity would be quite useful, no doubt. But that is not provided by Whistle. Location of said activity would be useful. But that is not provided by Whistle. Distance traveled during said activity would be useful. But that is not provided by Whistle.
If there was, say, a Whistle with GPS, accelerometer, heart beat monitor, etc. (possibly something that measures skin excretions?) it would be fairly useful. This is not that device.
edit: Downvote brigade is out today! I would appreciate it if you would let me know how I am wrong instead of simply voting me down. At the very least it prevents me from looking like an idiot and allows me to retract/modify my statements
edit edit: On further reflection, this could create some false data. A dog chasing it's tail for 2 hours in a kennel could be recorded as meaningful exercise ("running for 2 hours" according to the Whistle), leading you to make decisions off bad data ("I have no idea why she is so hyperactive, she get's plenty of excercise!"). Maybe. Just a thought.
edit edit edit: A nice analogy... Whistle is the Moves app for Dogs. Except it costs $100 more and requires extra hardware.
Shame you were downvoted for rational discourse. I always hate that :\
I get what you're saying, but I think we disagree on just how much utility even that limited data provides. The market will decide, but I think pet owners are just crazy enough to care about this simplistic data.
Are you unaware of the distinction between qualitative and quantitative knowledge? Or are you suggesting that "attentive" owners have nothing to learn from measurements?
I work out every day, but I still wear my Bodymedia armband. I already know that my caloric burn was high yesterday, and I still get value from knowing how high.
There's a serious possibility that people are more interested in putting fitbits on their dogs than they are on themselves.
Wealthy pet owners will spend an irrational amount of money on their dogs in almost the same way that wealthy parents will spend anything on their kids.
I don't own a dog, but every person I've spoken to who does has told me that this is awesome and $99 is pretty small relative to what they spend on their pet. (Granted, most of these people have a reasonable disposable income that they're willing to spend on their dog.)
So I'd really love it if the people commenting would disclose whether they own a pet or not. I suspect a lot of the skepticism is from people who don't own pets.
I imagine there will be more people who will buy this because they want to be more connected to their dog (as silly as that sounds) than interested in their health in a fit-bity way. I can see my whole family having this app for our dog.
nope. Kennel owners who have concerns about the activity of some of their dogs could find this a very useful tool.
I actually happen to have a candidate. An older Deerhound with a nervous disposition (odd for deerhounds) and some weight problems, maybe she's inactive? If we could monitor here base line activity level, then see what happens if we put her on diet food. That could be useful information. We need a diet food that doesn't malnourished her.
It's not being inattentive when you have 6 dogs and a life and you're not the sole source of activity for your dogs.
Amen. If you're taking care of your dogs already, you don't need this, unless you want another status symbol to go with your hypo-allergenic mini-poodle. (Or schnoodle.)
I love my hypo-allergenic lab/poodle mix. He doesn't shed, doesn't make me sneeze and can sleep in my bed. He's awesome, but I won't be buying this product.
The only thing I could see something like this doing is alerting the owner if the dog is barking all the time while they're out or something. You could always just set up a webcam for that though. Also, I wonder how much you have to charge it. Can it survive rain and mud?
Ha, it's a fair point, but the failure of pets.com had little to do with the fact that it was a site selling pet-related goods and more to do with poor investment choices, bad management, and unsustainable pricing.
I attached my Fitbit to our kitten a while ago. Worked pretty well and the data was interesting. Also, now my Fitbit has kitten teeth marks from her finding it something fun to chew on.
If "monitoring your dog's daily activity" isn't a first world problem, I don't know what is.
That being said, I would buy a similar/simpler device for my cat–not because I give a damn if my cat how many steps it takes but because I want to know where it goes all day (on a map).
I think that already exists–at least for driving and driving + texting [1]. I'm actually okay with it for those uses (I have a teen and 3 smaller kids).
I don't need to know where my teen is at all times but if I can reduce (a) her chances of dying and (b) my car insurance bill, sweet.
I follow activity monitors rather closely. The wifi connectivity is the most unusual part of this design.
There's never been a nice, simple way to setup wifi from a small device before.
The trick they are using here is to use the Bluetooth connection to setup the wifi. It's not a bad approach (in fact, they like it so much they're trying to patent it).
But TI recently came out with the CC3000, a wifi chip that can grab the setup information on its own (well, with the help of a smartphone app).
This avoids the hassles of managing two different 2.4GHz wireless systems on a small device.
I think that's where the future of wifi setup is heading.
The fitbit aria scale had a clever way to set itself up. As far as I could tell, it had my computer join a known network, and broadcast the SSID & Password that my computer already knew off to the scale. So the scale gets put in setup mode, and listens for that temp network.
At least that's what it appeared to be doing when I set it up....
Indeed. People often succumb to irrationality when dealing with their pets, and are certainly inclined towards purchasing superfluous things for them. This is an excellent market from which these guys can probably extract a lot of profit.
We crate our lab mix during the work day -- he currently barks for about 2-3 minutes when we leave, chews on his toys (man he loves that kong full of peanut butter), falls asleep, wakes up for a few minutes, chews on his toys again, falls asleep; rinse and repeat.
I think we broke it down to like:
90% sleeping
5% chewing on stuff
5% sitting there doing nothing but awake
Perhaps it's just because I grew up on a farm and our dogs roamed freely during the day, but this sounds like a miserable life for a dog. Is this a common thing for people to do?
Yes, very -- it's his den. He loves being in there and enters on his own will as it's his safe place where he gets all the best toys as well as sleeps at night. A good owner will NEVER use crate time as punishment, it's only supposed to be used as a positive place. It's also important when they're young to not associate it with you leaving, so you typically put them in a few times randomly while you're home during their puppy months, and leave lots of treats/fun toys for short period where the dog can still see you. Slowly they'll learn that it's their own private and "fun" place.
It really prevents him from getting into too much trouble while we're away, but eventually when he's less "puppy" (he's currently 9 months), we'll slowly start letting him roam the house/yard for short periods while we're gone, working our way up to a full work day.
Fear not though, when we're home he's with us, and he always gets about 1-2 hours of exercise as well as a trip to our local dog park daily.
My dog gets free run of the house and backyard when I'm away. I've tracked what he does all day with webcams. Most of it is sleeping on my bed or couch, where he's not allowed when I'm at home. Sometimes he drinks from the toilet instead of going downstairs to his dish.
When he was a pup, we crated him. Never liked coming home to find destroyed property. We started by kenneling him in a bedroom, then letting him have the bedroom to himself, then more rooms with gates/doors blocking access. The more we trusted him, the more freedom he got. If there were setbacks, we'd restrict his access a bit more. Only took a couple of months.
Growing up on one as well I remember the setters being asleep most of the time, usually on the porch. Their activity time usually was when we went to school or got home. Top that off with any car coming down the drive. Otherwise, they seemed content to sleep the day off.
Now with small dogs I have noticed similar, I get five minutes of fame. Visitors get a few more minutes than I, afterward its like ho-hum.
Don't assume dogs limited in their domain, even those confined to runs, have a miserable time. It all comes down to how they are handled and spoken too. Mean people tend to beget mean dogs.
It is common behaviour for dogs to be inactive when they are alone (I guess that on a farm with other dogs they don't need humans that much). Or do you mean letting the dog alone?
That's how I've been using Tagg, a competing (and much uglier) device. It lets me know when the walker takes my dogs out, how much exercise they got and where they went. Plus I get the peace of mind that I can trigger a Lost My Phone kind of feature if they ever got lost.
I feel pretty in touch with my dogs since I work from home and provide their exercise...but I could see my wife wanting to see how the horse is doing since it is kept at stable and she can't make it out every day.
Also typically horse people are super rich (tho we are not) and already paying lots and lots on horse care, might be good to explore.
There is potential to save a ton of money in vet bills via early warning of potential disease in pets[1]. Activity and food intake information is enough for many. Adding some sort of food logging component could make it really powerful. I also wonder if the USP for the product should shift to the savings in vet bills or the extension of life.
[1] Obviously the response cannot be to go to the vet for each alert, but instead to take some action at home.
Adding some sort of food logging component could make it really powerful.
If you are not already aware of your dog's food intake there is already a big problem and a pretty good chance that you are a disinterested owner. Dogs should be fed a certain amount of food each day. The dog's food bowl is not an all fido can eat buffet that is constantly refilled.
I also wonder if the USP for the product should shift to the savings in vet bills or the extension of life.
It seems that before the USP shift you would need some actual research and judging from the answer to "What research supports Whistle's approach?" there is no research to support this proposition.
There are two schools of thought out there. And I think it boils down to your specific dog. My dog used to get enough of a workout that I could leave her with a free feeding bowl. She was at a GREAT weight. Then she had a knee injury and she started gaining weight. Since then I've switched to timed feedings.
"Whistle is supported by veterinary research around activity and behavior as a measure of pet health from leading academic institutions such as the University of California at Davis, North Carolina State University, and the University of Pennsylvania. We work closely with the veterinary community to bring new data to this research across a much broader population of dogs."
I have never heard a vet, breeder or trainer recommend free feeding a dog.
Also from their site? That is not an "also" that is what I was referring to. You read that paragraph and concluded there must be research supporting this? When I read that paragraph the first thing that I was "where are the citations?"
I would probably skim the citations to see if there was anything interesting in them and or any insight into optimal use of the data. But mainly the big thing with the citations is that the citations would back up the claim that the product was supported by research. Right now its just ad copy...
Yeah citations would make this more reputable, and as it stands it's just a claim. But I prefer to trust that they have done some studies on this topic. I'll verify it later, but trust for now. Also, I can't imagine a vet saying that this kind of data on a dog would be "bad" in any way. And it's usefulness will be found through time and trials. Just as most studies are backed after peer review and being open to the test of time.
Give me a device that can tell when my dog is about to try to go to the bathroom in the house and corrects that behavior automatically with a dog whistle and you have yourself a winning product.
On top of that, just add features that trains the dog for you. Like automatic "heel" commands or making sure the dog doesn't crawl onto the couch and leave dog hair all over it while you are out of the house.
Use geofencing to make sure the dog can't wonder past a certain distance from the house without hearing a dog whistle. It would be like a reprogrammable electric fence without all the cost of burying wires in the yard and worrying about the wire getting cut by accident and the dog running away. Add geolocation so I can have a "Where is my dog?" feature, just like I can already find my iPhone.
If the app allowed me to asses my dogs mood then this would be useful. I have an extremely energetic West Highland Terrier and there is a fine balance between enough exercise to tire him out and too much to turn him in to a grumpy, slightly snappy, stroppy teenager. We think the sweet spot is somewhere between 45 mins and 1.5 hours of walking per day - which is quite a big window
That's crazy I have a Westie also, and you are right on point with trying to find the right balance.
The reason I posted this was that I love the concept of tracking the amount exercise "Toodles" is getting to see how it affects her mood. The device looks like it's on a big dog, and I'm wondering how it will look on a small/medium size dog as well.
Agreed, I guess there is a minimum size that they could go down to but if it was ok I would buy one.
I think people forget how much a dog's mood is affected by their walking time - playing is all well and good but there is something primal for a dog about walking, especially walking with intent/purpose.
I think with big dogs it's fine to just exhaust them and they'll loll about and doze but with a small dog if you push it too far you just get a grumpy git.
That sounds like an excessive amount of exercise for a dog of that size. Have you considered training & more mental activity, all you are doing is making him fitter and require longer walks in the long run.
I have a border collie who we joke runs on nuclear, and getting her to do focused activity such as playing with toys or training tricks or basic obedience can be pretty exhausting.
I think that exercise is good, but you shouldn't expect your dog to simply wear out like a battery, if I did that with my BC I would end up walking for 4 hours a day!
Haha, good point. Yes we do all of the mental stuff as well. He is well trained and always has to do something for a reward - dinner won't be served until he does a sit, a down and a 30 second wait in his bed. We play fetch on his morning walk, we play hide the toy/find the toy and lots of tug at home. It's a good point though, I'll do some more searching for other things we can do.
We have a trainer who has described him as being the most expressed terrier she has ever come across (lucky us!) and she said the most effective way to absorb his mental and physical energy is to start agility - which we've always wanted to do but he only turned 2 last week and the local club have that as their minimum age.
I just pre-ordered! What a great idea! My whole business life revolves around charts and graphs. I can't wait to apply the same level of deep analysis to helping my pet stay healthy and happy!
Instead of spending time setting goals, monitoring progress and charts, worrying about unmet goals, and god knows what else why not just spend that additional time with the poor dog. If you do that, I am pretty sure that you will be able to gauge your dog's health better than this. Don't mean to offend anyone just my 2 cents.
I have a buddy that works at Garmin and from what I understand, GPS receivers are a huge battery drain and they are also pretty big/heavy in relation to other sensors. If you look at GPS running watches for instance, even the small ones are pretty beefy and they only last up to 8 hours while active.
This is a neat device, but GPS would seal the deal for me. I've looked at Tagg (http://www.pettracker.com/) which has it, but it isn't waterproof which a must for my Lab who loves to swim.
Here's the secret to health and exercise: you have to want to do it. Another $100 device to tell you "you're still not doing the thing you said you want to do but that you're not making time for" if it's not something you want to do. I run and love to do it. Here's how I know I'm different from other people this way: when I started running a lot (about 6 years ago) I would ask friends if they wanted to go for a run and they would say "no." I wanted to get fit, but I also wanted to run. I know people who ask "how can I run more?" and I ask "well, do you enjoy running?" and usually they say they don't. I don't tell them they need to buy different shoes or gadgets to try to coerce them into doing it, I suggest they look at other kinds of activities that will fulfill them and try to incorporate that into their life.
I believe too many people confuse fitness with the goal of exercise. Happiness should be the goal. It's fair (and probably right) to say fitness will bring happiness, but it's important to keep those in perspective and realize that if exercise (a means to fitness) isn't bringing happiness, then maybe the exercise should change.
Lastly - I have a small ax to grind over people getting pets who aren't prepared to give the pets the attention they need to be happy. Pets need a lot of attention and activity - they express very clearly when they aren't getting enough if you pay attention. And you can calibrate the type of dog that might suit your lifestyle before you get one.
Sorry to rant over problems with fitness and pet ownership that I feel that a product like this brings up - the product itself may be totally fine and I'll probably get downvoted for saying some of this. Clearly there's somewhat of a need for a product like this.