Fitbit collar band and app for dogs or pets

[beatyoursteps]

I work at an animal hospital & have been there for almost 16 years. Time after time you see dogs come in that are overweight, we prescribe a prescription diet and they are told to increase the dogs activity. Today I had a dog come in for doggie daycare to incorporate more activity into her daily routine and I thought how great it would be to have a fitbit flex collar & chip that would track the animals steps, calories lost, weight, food & water intake, etc. I have 6 dogs of my own and it is very important to me that they get enough exercise. I think it would make people more conscientious of their dog's health as well. Not everybody walks with their dogs, sometimes a petsitter/dog walker walks them, play at doggie daycare or an owner will take them to the beach and watch the dogs run or swim. The app can be specific for dogs, the steps are calculated differently and the way they burn calories, the food logging portion can have all major dog foods/treats so the owner could track that as well. You could sell different fitbit flex collar band prints. People love there animals and want them healthy sometimes more than their own selves. The pets could reach goals too! Then they could get a printed fitbit tennis ball, Frisbee, collapsable travel food/water bowl, leash, etc for accomplishing biannual goals.

Moderator Edit: Added Labels

[SunsetRunner]

I too am very interested in a fitbit tracker specifically for pets (dogs in particular). As I have two very busy Australian Shepherds I think it would be fun to "compete" with them, ultimately helping me achieve my daily fitness goals. The tracker would need to be strong and waterproof, preferably styled to hang with the tags on their collars. After all not everybody uses flat collars, I prefer rolled leather, less fur damage. I realize there are other brands of trackers on the market, however, I trust fitbit and would like the pet tracker to be compatible with what I already use. Thanks in advance, fitness for the whole family!

[Faablyth]

Would love to have a Fitbit that is designed for my dog.
This could be discreetly attached to his collar and would allow me to see just how much exercise he was getting on a daily basis in meaningful, realtime stats.
The information can help me improve his activity levels, general health and weight by ensuring he's doing enough exercise.
I love my dog but sometimes it's difficult to make sure he is getting all the exercise he needs when you lead such a busy life working long hours.
My Fitbit works for me and it could work my dog too. I love my Fitbit and I love my dog 🙂

[hannahjade__]

There's always with FitBark? 

[Awoods]

I think it would be fairly easy to design something that works like a chest-collar-strap that momitors your pets vitals. The heart is close to the chest regions and when I places my fit bit Charge HR near it, it readily picked up my dog's HR. I think the tech is there, but the application of making a durable strap has to be designed. I agree with @beatyoursteps @jahailey and @martingutzmer ideas and comments.

[ro_j_a]

I wanna see the gps integration as well. all too often I see dogs go missing. I know they have the chips nowadays but if you're dog gets lost wouldnt you like to know exactly where it is right away?? this is funny that this thread exists I swore I came up with this idea at dinner last week and then fitbit support sent me here. Awesome job would love to see this on my pup!

[Fatdogdelux247]

I want to know why my dog is so chubby, when are u going to make a Fitbit collar?

[SunsetRunner]

http://www.actigraphy.com/devices/actical/

[Fatdogdelux247]

Thanks for the link bro but I'm kinda a brand name whore and I want my furry friend to rock quality products, derp to you son

[SunsetRunner]

these devices are rock quality, medical quality in fact, even if you don't know the name

we use them in our veterinary department.

[BarbG1120]

What a great idea! Your idea could be expanded not only to a new custom collar activity tracker for dogs, but also the app could use your old fitbit activity trackers (what better incentive to buy the newest model Fitbit if you can give your old tracker to your pet!!!)

All Fitbit needs to get started is an app adapted for dogs/cats. Most Fitbit models can easily be clipped or otherwise attached to a collar. Now people can justify getting a new Fitbit because they can give their old one to their pet to keep them happy! Great idea!

[Michaels19]

Was thinking this too, and you could set the scale up, so the dogs get weighed, think this is smart, and thought so for a while, ppl spend crazy money on dogs

[Michaels19]

Also, I have posted a post on one main account having child's accounts, I think that the same idea should be used with dogs.

[dlskidmore]

I actually see three seperate features/products here:

1. The ability to attach a fitbit to pets.  (ie collar)  It seems people are already finding ways to do that, but a branded accessory would help folk out.
2. Ability to have more than one profile under your account, so you can track multiple devices, this might be great for kids as well as pets.
3. Software that handles pet gaits better than the default software.

I could see this being useful not just to dogs and cats, but work animals like horses and oxen.  A riding stable might want to know how hard a horse worked while out on the trail, and adjust his rest schedule.  Riders might want to follow their favorite horse and come give him some love if he's been in the stable too much lately.

[Nico2]

I put an unused Fitbit Flex on my older cat Alex. The large Fitbit collar fits around his neck nicely - not tight, and does not fall off... he is less active than he used to be. It works OK. I monitor his level of activity so I can more clearly see if he is doing well or not. I put the sensitivity on high since he is small. It works well - I see between 1500 and 2500 steps per day. I can see he sleeps about 70% of the time (which is what we want for cats). If he gets sick I will see it right away, this is good.

What could make it better? Maybe a firmware specially for cats would help. I see many Fitbit users in the community already use Fitbit on cats and dogs. I also see a number of pet-specific competition out there already.  Fitbit-pet firmware seems a good way to increase sales of newer Fitbit models - it makes sense when owners can put their older Fitbit on their cat or dog.

Moderator Edit: Added Labels

[VBrif]

Honestly, I doubt this has enough market to dump any money into. 

[Frisko]

There are a lot of activity trackers designed especially for pets with a dedicated firmware and form factor (Whistle, Fitbark...). Each startup must stick to its consumer target/market keeping the focus (except pivoting in case of growth issue). If steps are relevant for human, time per type of activity is what you need to follow our 4-legged furry friends. Calorie convesion is completely different in each species.

If you can use a Fitbit Zip as a medal, I would never recommend to put any wristband on a cat neck due to choke risk. You can also embedded a Zip in a 3D printed box.

[Nico2]

I am not interested in a full redesign of apps and web pages in my repurposed Fitbit Flex.  The Flex already does a great job tracking an older pet's activity.  Kudos. My interest is what can be done to maximize the value - to - expense ratio to Fitbit and to Fitbit owners who may want to upgrade to a newer Fitbit.  Hence my suggestion: maybe firmware can be modified. When I looked for how to use the Fitbit Flex on my cat I found the market has a lot of new startups & competition - Bitbark Whistle etc. These competitors lack what Fitbit has: Fitbit's sizeable market penetration and Fitbit's new follow-on products like the Charge HR, the Surge etc.

In other words, repurposing a Fitbit Flex on a cat or dog is one CHEAP way to increase demand for new Fitbit products. Owners like me feel that the old purchase is still delivering good value by traking pet activity and it encourages me to buy a new product, like my Charge HR.  I trust Fitbit, I see no need to get a new product from another company when the old product from Fitbit works OK on cats & dogs.

Choking is unlikely. Why? First we know the Fitbit Flex wristband is notoriously prone to unintentional opening - my family has lost several Flexes that way while gardening. Almost any twisting makes the closure disengage.  Second, my older cat can easily ditch the Flex band in the unlikely event the collar gets caught. Alternatively a Flex can be easily be attached to a typical pet store collar with tape - that should be adequate if someone wants to try it for a few days.  A more permanent solution is to cut short the Flex wristband. Cut it short enough so the Flex can dangle from the collar using the steel ring that typically comes with cat collars. 

My old Fitbit Flex already works OK for my older cat. My suggestion is that perhaps the firmware be improved with some minimum effort to be sensitive to a smaller animal's movements.

[Donnysgalp]

Myself and My Boyfriend go out every night for a walk we also bring our 8 year old Dog ( which is a Rott/Lab ) yes he is a big boy 105 pounds .
It would be great if you designed a Fitbit for dogs there are a lot of dogs out there that is overweight ( I know cause our other dog before Mr. Cookie was overweight that's why we take him for a walk and to also get ourselves back into shape)
Thanks for listening
Laura

[TheWrightClan]

Dear FitBit

I am a proud owner of a Fitbit and use it daily for a variety of reasons.
Recently I bought a second Fitbit for my wife, who spends much of her time walking dogs which she does very successfully as a business.

Both being lovers of dogs, we got to thinking what a fantastic idea it would be if the Fitbit technology could be applied to the dogs collar?

Ultimately the reasons and benefits of your pet dog wearing a Fitbit would be exactly the same as a human being! This information/data may also be useful for vets check ups appointments.

I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts on this idea as I think it would be a hugely popular devise to monitor your dogs health and fitness, through a small camnvassing excersixe we certainly know several people that love this idea!

I look forward to hearing from you soon

[SunsetRunner]

already existing in another brand.

[TheWrightClan]

I've never heard of it?
I'm sure it wouldn't be as good as FitBit technology with the additional
features.

[Frisko]

Lot of activity trackers exist with firmware and App dedicated to dog as Whistle (activity,GPS), Fitbark, Hatchiko, Wonderwoof, Petkit (China) or even Tractive (activity,GPS). Coming soon LinkAKC.

Personnaly my dog is wearing a Whistle activity tracker (not the GPS one) + a Fitbit Zip embedded in a bespoke 3D printed box.

Having asked Fitbit few years ago they said they keep their focus on human & digital health which is good for a startup.

[Melody02]

I have a Great Dane with Pulmonary Hypertension and so we run, every other day to keep him healthy. What I want is a Fitbit for him that tells me all the info that my surge tells me along with graphing his heart rate, respiratory rate, and temp throughout the day and during his run. I want notifications sent to my surge if any of those things gets too high, that way I know I'm pushing him too hard. I want it to synchronize with my Fitbit app, and I need to be able to download a months worth of data so we can see any trends that might enable a change in his meds. Thank you for your time and Gunner and I hope to see such a product on the website soon.

[DLynae]

I am new to fitbit and like this idea for several reasons:

• I would feel better about upgrading to a newer model fitbit if I could still get some use from the existing one when I upgrade.
• I would not have to learn a significantly different interface, download new apps, etc - presumably it would just be different app tiles on the dashboard. Don't want to use your fitbit that way - don't use that app on your dashboard.
• I already chose and like fitbit as a brand - so I can continue with the same company instead of having various different products.
• Something like this might allow me to recycle/share accessories - such as the USB charger or type of band (maybe there would be a different band option that is more designed like a pet collar with some housing to contain the actual fitbit part) that can be switched out with the standard wrist band for humans.
• I have 4 animals that could use this to promote good health for them. There are plenty of buckle style collars that are in use by cats and dogs - it would just need the fitbit adaption.

Just because it exists from other companies doesn't mean that it isn't still an idea worth investigating. While I would not want fitbit to detract from what makes it so great for human use, a pet health division might be a good growth area for the company.

[TheWrightClan]

Excellent points made and certainly a market Fitbit could explote, with a little thinking and imagination it would be a very good addition to the Fitbit family!