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

[Martin.Ralfe]

Hello there,

I am currently working for Guide Dogs UK and a question was posed asking about dog fitness / tracking we have investigated and the market space is not exactly bursting at the seems. We have tried the PitPat however found this device to not be accurate and their mobile app was not accessible for a person with a sight impairment as you can imagine this would be an issue for guide dog owners.

We think there is potential for a dog tracker not only just as a day to day record of fitness but may be able to help us ascertain a dogs working capabilities is the dog being utilised correctly is still fit could the dog work past retirement age and mean a guide dog partnership could last longer, or even identify issues were a dog may need to retire earlier.

Would this be something FitBit would be interested on working on with us?

[SunsetRunner]

already suggested.

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?filter=location&location=idea-board:fe...

https://www.google.de/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=canine%20activity%20trac...

[mompepple]

I think I fit bit for dogs would be a great idea.  Track sleep, steps, activity. We love our pets and want to keep them happy and healthy!

[Janca]

After long reasearch I could not find anything even close that would gave me same great benefits of tracking my health and fitness for my dog which would look nice and sleek not like an e-collar. I love the functions of my fitbit surge or Alta Hr . Would it be possible to develop fitbit of a same nice design like the Alta hr that would be able to track dogs heart rate, steps, sleep, track walks distance speed and smart move. Also connect to other doggy and human friends. Basicly all what the fitbit can already do just compatible with doggies?

[Rich_Laue]

This would require re-engineering the way firmware is released. I would not wamt Human specific firmware when im expecting cat firmware.

There would need to be an added switch, Male, Female, Cat, Dog.

[TheWrightClan]

I guess the question is, could this be done?

I really do think this is a fantastic idea/product, I just have no idea how
it would work or be developed technically

Regards
Gareth

[natali37]

Dear Community Members,

How do you like the idea of Fitbit for dogs which can be syncronized with human activity tracker? I invite you to fill up very short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H7MCXF6

This is both for the sake of curiosity and for a New Product Developement course that I am taking. Can share results afterwards if interested:)

[MiniKay]

My dog and I do not always excersie at the same time, so some weeks I am not sure if she is getting in enough excersie! If the dashboard has the option to add a dog activity tracking tile (with the option of 1-3 tiles/dogs per dashboard) my dog and I would be very very happy! Nothing fancy, just number of activity’s per week, and type of activity such as fetch or run!!!

thanks!

[Bowie1]

I think it would be great to design a fit bit for animals.  My cat is sadly slightly overweight and loves being lazy.  I try to exercise her daily and having a fit bit for her would be ideal to track her activity when I’m not around.  It would also be a great way to assist with her calories.

I think it would be a real hit with pet owners and a fantastic money spinner!!

[RhiannonLRT]

Has anyone thought about a Fitbit that either clips on go a dog color or has an insert like the wristband? My dog has developed her “middle age spread” since hitting 8 yrs old. I’d love a way to track her activity level(s), food consumption (calories), and steps taken during a day in her life of Bologna. I’m sure other dog owners would love this tool as well. 

Thanks for Your consideration.

v/r

~ Rhiannon

[liveinhope]

I think a pet Fitbit is a brilliant idea. I would love to have my pet join my group of steppers. And it would not only help with the fitness levels of the pets but their owners as well. And if people’s pets do put on weight they can track how much exercise their pet is getting. Losing weight is more than just cutting back on food. It’s a win, win. And it could be something decorative that owners can add to their dog’s collar. 

[TheWrightClan]

Exactly! Thank you for feeding back. Certainly on the same wave length.
It would be great if FitBit responded to me

[MySami]

Millions of folks have dogs and love their dogs not as their pets but as a family member.

I suggest that Fitbit makes a ligtht-weight doggie Ionic collar or body harness that can be fitted comfortably to the dog that track the dog's steps, heart rate, and sleep patterns throughout the day and night. I would like to know for sure if my dog has REM sleep which I believe he does. 

The device could also be designed to have a sound sensor that would register how much the dog barks throughout the day and at what times the dog barks. This could help folks determine at what time(s) their dog may be disturbed or distracted.

I'm sure the device would be an instant seller since so many folks have dogs.  

[NorinSaxe]

This is a suggestion from my wife Irene...

A fitbit that attaches to dogs, and measures the dog's activity would be great.  It would encourage the owner to keep the dog healthy.  I would definitely use one when walking the dog or taking him to a field for exercise.  The information tracked could be useful when visiting the veterinarian.

If someone is hired to walk the dog, this would also be a way of verifying that the walk was actually done.

[RhiannonLRT]

I knot there is a Bark Bit out there, but it is kind of antiquated.  You have to zip tie on the device with a Plastic Bone.  My boxer Willow would destroy that in 10 minutes. I would love to be able to give them their own page that I can track, maybe it links to my vet's page, and my family and I can connect our dogs online like you do with friends (humans) now.  I really think this would be a big hit if FitBit designed one.  And I agree that it would be a HUGE hit...hence me inquiring about it.  I'd buy 2 today and get a few more as gifts for family members. 

We really need a quality collar/harness that has a pocket to hold thing dongle. It would be pretty darn awesome!!!!

[MarcelBK]

Good idea, thanks for taking the time to share it with us. Keen to hear what others think?

[Frisko]

I saw Whistle, initially focused on GPS tracker, launching a project with its new Whistle Fit for those dog under Wellness plan at Banfield Hospital. The goal is to detect the dog behavior as you mentioned. So if you're living in the US it can be worth to watch it.

https://www.petinsight.com/

[Bowie1]

Thanks for your post. I will have a look at the website.
I’m in the UK and not heard of anything for animals regarding this sort of idea. 👍🏻

[TheWrightClan]

Great! Thanks, be nice if FitBit were able to offer some sort of response

[MySami]

Yes true. 
Seems to be that I am starting to get a lot of positive feedback from pet owners about this idea. 
Yes, I wish Fitbit would respond back before of course they let their competitors like Garmin run with this idea into development of such a product. 
Al 


Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note8.

[TheWrightClan]

Agreed, I thought the idea of this was for FitBit to take on innovation and listen to new ideas. 

I posted this years ago and nothing ... 

[RhiannonLRT]

I wrote a post on it a well and they combined these. I think them combining them gives them accurate feedback as to how popular of an idea this would be. I’m not interested in the FitBark.

[LariVeldhouse]

Hi

my dog currently wears a zip but he sometimes chews it.  I would like to get one that clips on his collar better so I don’t have to worry that he breaks and eats it.  Also would be great if I could create an account under mine for tracking him.  Another benefit would be that I would know how far the dog walker takes him in the day.  

Can an you create this?  I think you have a whole untapped market out here. 

Lari

[Frisko]

Hi Lari,

4 years ago I made a 3D printed box dedicated to the Fitbit Zip that can be adjusted to the size of your collar (if you give me the width and thickness of it I can make the stl file).

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:290281

Cheers from France.

Claude

[Rich_Laue]

@LariVeldhouse the Zip doesn't have gps to measure distance .to record distance it would be better get an activity tracker that are designed for dogs.