Whistle is the fitness monitor for man's best friend

[Shawn Knight]

Connected fitness devices like the Nike FuelBand and Fitbit are on the fast track to changing how people monitor their health, but what about man’s best friend? Fret not, as there’s a comparable device in the works for Scruffy as well. It’s called the Whistle Activity Monitor and for $99.95, it promises to measure your dog’s daily activities and potentially add healthy, happy years to their life.

Whistle consists of a small wireless device with various sensors that attaches to your pet’s collar. It collects data about your pup’s activities as well as the amount of downtime they have throughout the day which can be wirelessly synched to a web app or your smartphone.

Whistle CEO and co-founder Ben Jacobs told ABC News that the device can detect decreased activity while the owner is away which could point to an underlying health issue. What’s more, it can be used to monitor the impact of treatment. For example, if your dog has been treated for ticks, it can determine if the pooch is scratching less or if sleep is interrupted due to an itch. The company is also working with vets so they can log and use data to help monitor your pet’s health during a checkup.

This isn’t the first pet monitoring device on the market, however. Last year a company called Snaptracs released Tagg, a dog fitness and GPS tracking device. The primary feature of that device is to help locate a lost pet, Jacobs said. With Whistle, they want to build a solid database that vets can work with instead of focusing on locating a missing dog.

Whistle is now available for pre-order for $99.95 and is expected to ship sometime later this summer. Supporting Android and iOS apps will also be available, we’re told.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/52804-whistle-fitness-monitor-mans-best-friend.html

 

[9Nails]

My dog is becoming a Tamagachi!

Kidding aside, as long as this thing isn't Chihuahua neck crushing gianormous, that does make it sound like there's some attractive benefits to him wearing this.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Sheesh!

$100 for something that monitors, what you should be able to see with your own eyes. You shouldn't have to spend a great deal of time with your pet, to know if it is active or infested with flees/ticks. Anyone that can't see these signs with their own eyes, don't deserve to have an animal.

Purchasing such trinkets, allow for continuing to ignore signs of negligence. If owners are not in the habit of spending time with their pet, how is this device going to change anything?

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Sheesh!

$100 for something that monitors, what you should be able to see with your own eyes. You shouldn't have to spend a great deal of time with your pet, to know if it is active or infested with flees/ticks. Anyone that can't see these signs with their own eyes, don't deserve to have an animal.

Purchasing such trinkets, allow for continuing to ignore signs of negligence. If owners are not in the habit of spending time with their pet, how is this device going to change anything?

I couldn't agree more.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

But then again, if you really love Fido, then nothing's too good for him.

 

[TJGeezer]

Sheesh!

$100 for something that monitors, what you should be able to see with your own eyes. You shouldn't have to spend a great deal of time with your pet, to know if it is active or infested with flees/ticks. Anyone that can't see these signs with their own eyes, don't deserve to have an animal.

Purchasing such trinkets, allow for continuing to ignore signs of negligence. If owners are not in the habit of spending time with their pet, how is this device going to change anything?

Really? Any responsible pet owner would see a significant change in activity level while they're away at work, or detect subtle changes like reduced activity due to early-stage heart worms? Human doctors like to maintain a history of their patients for the same reasons this device's data might be useful to a vet - it establishes a baseline. It seems silly to install a monitor at this price for a pet animal, but I wouldn't deny the potential utility of such a database for a veterinarian or for an owner too busy to notice such changes in the family dog until it might be too late for treatment.