FitBark Is a FitBit for Your Dog

Emily Price2013-04-25 18:29:13 UTC

Ever wonder if your pooch is active enough?

A new product called FitBark attempts to help you find out. A sort of FitBit for your canine companion, the device keeps track of how active your dog is, and then gives you a daily BarkScore for the day.

“The inspiration for FitBark came out of a need to feel connected with our dogs through every moment of the day, even when we are busy working, traveling or apart for stretches of time,” FitBark founder Michael Chiang told Mashable.

Chiang and his team looked around for something that would give them a real-time look into their dog’s health. While they found quite a few options for humans — RunKeeper, NikeFuel, FitBit — they couldn’t find anything for dogs.

“What started as a fun and curious project to check up on our dog Freud — and track if our family, friends, and caretakers were really walking him— has become the start of an amazing journey through technology and pet parenting. Along the way, we have met other dog owners and dog lovers who are now part of the team to help turn our idea into a product.”

Through a small device on your dog's collar, FitBark can let you know how your dog is doing at any given moment — whether you’re in the other room, or across the country. Useful for traveling, you can see exactly when a caretaker took your furry friend for a walk, and how long the walk was. Data is transferred from the device to the cloud either through your smartphone, or a small "home base" station placed in your home.

If your dog gets sick, you can give your vet exact details about your dog’s activity over the past few days, including how long he’s been sleeping.

The BarkScore for each day can help you see at a glance how much activity your pooch has gotten over the course of the day, and whether he could use a little more.

“For now, we measure only the minimum amount of activity your dog needs based on a handful of variables which include size, age and weight,” says Chiang.

”As we gather more data from the growing community of FitBark users, we'll be able to identify trends which are meaningful and will be able to break down the information in a more granular way. The goal is to use historical information to be able to guide actions in the future through recommendations and even develop predictive capabilities,” he added.

FitBark launches Thursday at NY TechDay, along with a Kickstarter to fund its development.

What do you think of FitBark? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Thumbnail Image Courtesy iStock, User DBark; Other Images courtesy of FitBark

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