Any dog owner knows that while having man’s best friend by your side is very rewarding, it can also be pretty hard work to look after a dog.
Dogs are bundles of energy and need a lot of exercise to keep them fit and healthy.
So how can you know if your dog is getting enough exercise? The newest pet gadgets on the market are here to help with this!
You’ve heard of activity trackers for people, but some companies have used this tech to create doggie activity trackers instead.
Activity trackers for dogs are a fantastic tool that can help you to keep your pooch in tip-top physical shape.
You can think of them as a Fitbit for dogs because they are installed on the collar and track your dog’s movement and rest to provide you with information about their activity levels.
It’s a fresh and entertaining approach that will get you and your dog moving in a new and exciting way.
If you’re in the market for this fun gadget for dogs, then you’ve come to the right place! Here, we have rounded up a list of the top 3 best dog activity trackers for you to test out.
If you want to know more about activity trackers for dogs, then check out the buyer’s guide at the end of the article.
Let’s get on with the list!
Table of Contents:
PitPat
As soon as you attach the PitPat device to your dog’s collar, every minute that they spend running, walking, or playing counts toward their daily exercise goal.
The technology examines the movements of your dog every ten minutes to determine what activities they are engaged in during that time.
PitPat can differentiate between walking and running with the use of its proprietary technology, which does this by analyzing the natural “gait” motion of your dog. Clever stuff for a small pet gadget.
What Does It Track?
Up to ten days’ worth of activity can be stored in the PitPat tracker app. You won’t have to continually upload the data this way.
Simply pressing the orange “paw” button on your gadget will cause your data to be wirelessly transmitted through Bluetooth to the PitPat app running on your phone.
After you input some basic information about your dog, the app will suggest a daily activity goal for you to work toward together.
Modify it so that it fits your needs if you decide you want to shoot for something different.
PitPat gives you the ability to record your dog’s weight, determine its optimal weight, evaluate its body condition, and earn badges through walking, in addition to suggesting an exercise goal that you should strive for.
One of the best things about the PitPat app is that can be downloaded on several devices so that the whole family can track your dog’s activities and see how they’re doing.
This is a great way to get the whole family more involved in pet care.
You will probably become quite addicted to seeing how many badges your dog has, and this can be a great motivational tool to get you and your pet out on more walks.
Other Features
PitPat is only 16 grams in weight, it is completely waterproof, and it fastens to the collar with velcro that is parachute-grade.
Believe us when we say that it won’t come off of the collar on your dog, no matter how fast they run.
PitPat provides customers with two distinct purchasing options: a one-time payment or a recurring monthly payment that comes with many additional features.
In our opinion, the most beneficial financial decision would be to make a single purchase that would cover all of the expenses involved.
We are confident in recommending PitPat as an excellently priced device for tracking the amount of activity your dog gets.
Pros
- Convenient to use – simply attach it to your pet’s collar, download the app, and you’re ready to go
- Intuitive app – the app is super simple to use and is jam-packed with features that any dog owner would find useful.
- Very secure – thanks to the high-quality materials used and the lightness of the device, this tracker will stay on your dog’s collage securely all day (see also ‘The 5 Best Trackers For Pet Cats‘).
Cons
- May give low daily goals – when you add info about your dog to the app, it will recommend a fitness goal. This might be too low for your breed of dog, so you still need to take initiative and work out what your dog needs.
- Keep your dog healthy and have fun together. Designed with vets. Works with easy-to-use app.
- Accurately measures and displays daily dog exercise and rest, distance and calories. Manages weight.
- Get personal breed-specific recommendations. Set and track goals. Win fun achievement badges.
- Fits any dog and collar/harness. Super-robust, feather-light, comfortable and fully-waterproof.
- Ultra-long (1+ years) user-replaceable battery (CR2032) included. No recharging, ever.
FitBark 2
FitBark manufactures a variety of pet tracking gadgets (see also ‘The Apple AirTag For Cats: A Pet Tracking Review‘). The activity of your dog is tracked with FitBark 2, just like it is with PitPat, via a tracker that is attached to the collar.
One of the distinguishing characteristics of FitBark is that it uses its very own point system, which they call Bark Points.
The more movement that the sensor experiences, the more Bark Points it will accumulate.
If these numbers seem a bit off to you when you look at the results, you have the option to change the Bark Points so that they more closely reflect the distance that your dog travels.
What Does It Track?
If you are someone who is fascinated by numbers, then this is the activity tracker that you should get.
The FitBark app provides users with a lot of data that is artfully presented in the form of several graphs.
You can keep tabs on your dog’s activity by the hour, as well as the calories burned, distance traveled, and bark points.
The information is presented in a wide range of colorful charts that can be seen on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
When you first use this device and see all of the graphs, you may find it all to be a bit complicated; nevertheless, after a few days of working with it, you grew more familiar with what everything means, and will probably love how in-depth all of the graphs go.
Other Features
You can use the app as a miniature social networking platform by sharing photographs and status updates with your connections, after which you can encourage those people to download the app.
In terms of cost and payment, the only option for FitBark is a one-time payment; there are no ongoing subscription fees.
It comes with a pretty high price tag, but given everything that it does, this is understandable.
If you’re looking for something a little less complicated though, you can find many devices for a lower cost.
The FitBark weighs only 10g and is fastened to the collar using an extremely low-tech solution—a handful of wire ties!
While this is inexpensive, we’re a bit doubtful that it will keep the tracker in place during heavy play or zoomies.
If you’re tired of the standard black color, there are several plush coverings available in a variety of colors to make the tracker a bit brighter and more fun.
Pros
- Perfect for data lovers – if you love stats and want to see everything in nicely colored graphs, this is the device for you.
- Use as a streamlined version of a social media tool – keep up to date with other pet parents who use this device, and support each other through your pet’s exercise goals.
- Upload photographs, notes, and other media – this is great for posting on social media but is also useful if you want to take notes on how your dog is reacting to the new exercise routine
Cons
- Attaches with cable tie – considering how pricy this product is, you’d expect it at least to come with a clip to attach to your pet’s collar
- The app is quite complicated – because of all of the data and graphs that it shows, using and understanding the app can be quite difficult.
- 🐾 ACTIVITY. Monitor activity, sleep quality, distance, calorie balance and overall health & behavior 24/7. Set ideal goals vs. breed, age & weight peers. Add multiple dogs and owners in our apps. iOS 12+ or Android 6+ required.
- 🔋 BATTERY. Exceptional battery life up to 6 months. Worry less about recharging and more about bonding with your pup! Lightweight (10 g). Fits dogs of any size and most collars up to 1.5” wide. Tough, rugged and waterproof.
- 👩⚕️ HEALTH. Catch early signs of discomfort or disease. Monitor mobility, anxiety and skin conditions through changes in the FitBark Health Index and Sleep Score. Invite your trainer or veterinarian to review FitBark data.
- 🏃♀️ MOTIVATION. Works with your Fitbit, Apple Watch, Apple HealthKit or Google Fit wearable device or smartphone. Compare stats side by side and start building healthy & safe habits together. FitBark Clock Face available on the Fitbit Gallery.
- 🎓 SCIENCE. Trusted by 100+ veterinary schools & research institutions that strive to advance science, including the University of Cambridge and the Mayo Clinic. Join users from 140+ countries in advocating for safer and better informed dog parenting.
Whistle Go Explore
If accuracy is what you’re aiming for, then you can’t do much better than the Whistle Go Explore activity tracker.
You are going to adore it because its improved accuracy and advanced features will allow you to keep an even closer eye on the health and well-being of your dog.
What Does It Track?
The application will keep a close eye on your canine companion and send you a notification if it determines that your dog is engaging in abnormally high amounts of licking or scratching (for example).
This will be of great assistance to you in the early detection of any prospective health issues, as well as in ensuring that your canine companion is as healthy and content as possible.
This tracker not only offers you real-time location tracking, but it also allows you to identify your best friend’s location anywhere in North America, whether they have fled via the next door, or are located three thousand kilometers away.
However, for the GPS on this product to operate for you, the location in which you live does require adequate service from AT&T.
Other Features
One of the most outstanding features of this device has nothing to do with tracking at all. Using the Whistle Go Explore app, you can contact a vet whenever you feel like you need one.
This is wonderful because you can discuss any issues you have with the veterinarian, and it has the potential to save you a lot of money on visits to your regular pet clinic.
If your pet loves having a bit of an explore when it goes into the backyard at night, you will appreciate the built-in night light, which is ideal for helping you find your pet while it is dark outside.
If you’re going on a late-night walk, the flashlight can help you see the path.
Because the battery in this device only lasts for 20 days, you will need to recharge it on a pretty regular basis.
To be fair, though, 20 days is better than the performance of many other GPS monitoring gadgets now available on the market.
The Whistle Go Explore is, as could be anticipated with all the bells and whistles a very expensive tracker. In addition, a subscription is necessary to use the device.
However, if you can spend the money and are looking for the most comprehensive activity tracker available, then this is the one for you.
Pros
- Location tracking – with this tracker attached to the collar you can very easily find your missing pet if your dog decides to wander off
- 24/7 support from qualified vets – if something feels a bit off with your pet, you don’t want to wait to get them seen or to get some advice. With the app, get daily support from a vet for free (so long as you have paid the subscription fee)
- Gives a lot of data – no matter what your pet is up to, even if they’re scratching themselves a bit more than usual, then you’ll know
Cons
- Very expensive – first you have to pay the initial price of the product, and then a subscription fee, so the costs can add up quickly
- GPS only works in the USA – for anyone outside the states, this feature won’t work on your device. Also if you are in the US, it only works if you have AT&T coverage
- SUBSCRIPTION PLAN NEEDED - Monthly, 1 year, 2 year and 5 year plans available starting at $5 per month. Try risk free with a 30 day money back guarantee.
- LIVE TRACKING & LOCATION HISTORY - Follow your furry friend's every step in real-time on your phone. See where your dog has been and what they've been up to with this dog GPS tracker.
- VIRTUAL FENCE - Mark safe zones, like your garden, and know the moment your dog leaves one - and when they come back safely.
- ALL-DAY ACTIVITY MONITORING - Track active time, rest and calories burned. Set fitness goals. Keep your buddy in great shape with a dog tracker collar attachment with GPS.
- SMALL, LIGHTWEIGHT & 100% WATERPROOF - Running through the forest, rolling in the mud or a dip in the lake are no problem for Tractive.
Buyers Guide
A pet activity tracker can be used to help you see the exact number of steps that your dog takes each day as well as how well they sleep and much more.
These tools can be useful in getting your dog back into peak physical condition if they are overweight.
Although they cannot take the place of more conventional methods of pet care, they are a helpful tool that can be used to help you monitor your dog’s overall health.
Before you run out to the store and get a fitness tracker for your dog though, let’s take look at some of the features of these dives that you should be on the lookout for.
Fitness Tracking
Think about the aspects of your health and fitness tracking that are most important to you.
Is it just a record of the number of steps you take each day, or would you prefer additional in-depth statistics like patterns of sleep, calorie guidelines, and so on?
You can use your answers to this to see what you’d want from a dog activity tracker, then buy one that most matches your needs.
Size & Weight
Make sure you check both the size and the weight, especially if you have a dog that is of a smaller breed.
A lot of these trackers aim to be as lightweight as possible to be comfortable for your pets to wear all day, but you should still look into it.
Collar Attachment
How securely the tracker can fasten to your dog’s collar is very important to look at.
The more securely it attaches the less chance of it falling off when your pet gets a bit of burst of energy and gets the zoomies.
Apps
Downloading a smartphone app is typically necessary to track the fitness data of your pet.
Some only provide basic graphs and statistics, while others allow users to examine much more than this.
Extra Features
Some of these gadgets also include extra functions, such as advice on what foods to eat or the capacity to store vaccination regimens.
There’s also the possibility of information being shared with other people, such as members of the same family or acquaintances.
Last update on 2022-01-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
