Whistle is Wearable Tech for Dogs
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We recently had the opportunity to spend a month with the Whistle Activity Tracking Monitor and we must say, it’s very impressive. The Whistle Activity Monitor is a sleek, lightweight on-collar device that enables you to see what your dog is doing at any given time. It’s the latest in “wearable tech” for dogs. It’s very accurate and quite helpful in making your pets life a better experience. While we received a free product for review, this has not influenced our review or opinion. All opinions stated are my own.
We tried it out on Cheiss. He’s our 13-year-old Australian Shepherd mix who has been dealing with some health problems lately. Arthritis is kicking in for our old boy, and his eyesight is failing. But, we’re determined to get him through everything we can while maintaining his quality of life. This is a great tool to help us measure that important metric through activity levels and feeding habits.
This tool allows us to monitor his good days and bad days, and best of all, it allows us to send all of his information directly to his veterinarian. That way, the vet can see at a glance what his eating habits are like, how he is doing on his new medication, and how that medication is impacting his overall health. Needless to say, our vet was also quite impressed with this program and plans to recommend it to his other patients!
[note style=”5″ icon=”yes” class=”template-style”]Disclosure: We received a tracker for review. This has not influenced our review – the opinions expressed above are our own. We use affiliate links where possible. Thank you for using these to help us keep our site free from cluttering ads![/note][heading style=”2″ color=”#c96a26″ style_color=”#c96a26″]Wearable Technology to Track Activity and Rest[/heading]
The Whistle allows you to set an exercise goal for your pet, which is a wonderful tool for dogs and cats who are overweight. We are able to closely monitor the most “active” times and the “inactive” times. As an additional benefit, it also monitors how much exercise you are getting as well. For example, if I’m out walking with Cheiss for three days in a row, it tells me so, as long as I have my phone with me while we’re walking. It lets you manage how much time your sitter is spending with your pet, how often they are together, and whether or not they are managing the time well.
I see a lot of benefits for this type of program. First, it’s a great way to visually show you what your pets are doing the day, and while I’m not sure everyone will be interested in that past the first few weeks, it’s quite useful to diagnose problems. We know if Cheiss is having a bad day by restless movement (light exercise), decreasing interest in play (heavy exercise), and eating habits.
As a medical device, the Whistle is invaluable. As a daily tool, I think you’ll have to pretty motivated to use it continually. The good news is the only manual entry required is when you put in your feeding schedule. The rest is done on its own.
[heading style=”2″ color=”#c96a26″ style_color=”#c96a26″]Tracking Everything on Multiple Platforms[/heading]
Add a friend, add a meal, set goals, find out how your goals match up with similar dogs in your region, and share the cutest pics of your pets with others. It’s easily used with Twitter and Facebook, as well as other networks.
It is surprisingly addictive, but the most important part of this device (for us) is the implications in weight loss and supervising medical data and physical activity levels.
[heading style=”2″ color=”#c96a26″ style_color=”#c96a26″]Social Media[/heading]
If you’re one of those people who love telling everyone what’s happening in your life, you’re going to love this tool. It allows you to upload your pet’s information, playtime, etc. as well as pics that you’ve added in each day by sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. If you’re into more privacy, this will not be a feature you will use often. It’s a great function if you’re on vacation and want to coordinate pictures with your pets’ activity levels and who they are most active with. It may even encourage you (as it did us) to pick up on our own levels of exercise!
[heading style=”2″ color=”#c96a26″ style_color=”#c96a26″]Checking In[/heading]
If you are a traveler or have your dog in daycare or boarding, this is a great option to track your pets activity levels to ensure they are getting out enough, getting enough rest, eating well, and to discover who they spend the most time with. You can check in on your phone, iPad or PC to view all of the interesting things your pets are up to. If you’re anything like me and worry incessantly while you’re gone, this is the app for you!
In all, I loved this insight into my pet’s life. It’s a simple program to use, it holds a great deal of valuable information about your pet, and it provides information on how to interact with your dog.
[heading style=”2″ color=”#c96a26″ style_color=”#c96a26″]Battery Life[/heading]
We only had to charge it once – when we first received it – and it’s been going strong for the last 7 days! The device sends you a text alert when it needs to recharge, as well as updating your app with a small alert, and it only takes about an hour to recharge.
If you would like to see a video of the Whistle in action, check out this helpful video on TechCrunch
Cost: $129.99 and will be available at a Petsmart near you, or through the Whistle website itself.
