I must stress that this isn’t a sponsored post in anyway whatsoever. But, I didn’t purchase this PitPat Dog Activity Monitor either. I was sent this nifty little device as a sweetener by a pet insurance company that ran a social media competition to win a GoPro Hero Session. When I enquired as to who had won, I quickly realised that two of the winners had contravened the published terms and conditions for the competition. I complained, was told the winners still stand but was sent this as a free gift – presumably to keep me quiet.
On to the pet tracker though…
What is a PitPat Dog Activity Monitor?
When I knew they were sending me one of these PitPat Pet Trackers I, of course, Googled it. Here’s what the product description from Amazon says:
Exercise and play are great ways to keep your dog happy and healthy. PitPat 2 – the latest version of the award-winning PitPat activity monitor – uses the latest technology to help you enjoy looking after your dog. It’s like a smart watch – but for your dog. PitPat weighs just 16g and fits quickly and securely to your dog’s collar, and can be easily removed if not required. The simple-to-use app gives you a customised exercise recommendation just for your dog (over 200 breeds). Check your stats every day to see how much walking, running, playing, resting and pottering your dog has been doing, how far they’ve gone and how many calories they’ve burnt. See if you can reach your goal. Even check up on dog walkers or kennels and find out what your dog has done when you weren’t together. Unlike similar products, there is no subscription and no need to charge the battery. Just 100% fun and games. Compatible with almost all Apple and Android smart phones – check www.pitpatpet.com/phones for details. Our super-friendly UK-based customer support hounds are always here to help and get you going if you need them.
My daughter summed it up quite brilliantly by stating that is was “a FitBit for dogs”.
Would I go out and buy one
Having learnt from Google what this device was, my initial answer to this question would be no. £39 is not a small investment, as much as I love our dogs and especially with Duke running with me, this would not be something I would go out and purchase.
Setting it up
The packaging was easy to get through and I had the device in my hands within seconds. My first observation was how short the Velcro strap was given that the back on the box stating that it “fits any dog/collar”.
Of course, you need an app to go with the device and I soon had that on my phone. It was ridiculously simple to connect the tracker to the app. I then attached the tracker to Duke’s collar, and although the Velcro strap was a tight fit it does hold it securely.
In the app, when you create your dog, you provide the breed and weight and that’s it. As the device has been created with vets the app then comes back with a recommended activity per day for your dog. For our Duke, his daily target is 80 minutes.
Using it
Well, there’s not a lot to it. You leave it on the collar and let it do its thing. Just remember to keep syncing it with the app. This is really simple. You launch the app, tap your dog on the screen, press the button on the tracker and hey-presto it collects the data.
It tells you all you need to know about what your dog has been up to. You’ll above, from this particular day, Duke came for a run with me so he spent quite a while running. I’m not sure how accurate the distance tracking is, but from running with Duke where I am tracking my distance by GPS it seems pretty close to me.
It’s also waterproof, so if your pooch likes to plunge into rivers as much as Duke does then don’t panic. Duke has, of course, tested the waterproofness of the tracker and it survived.
Final thoughts
For those that are really into keeping the health and well-being of their dogs are at the forefront of their mind then this is a great, simple to use way of monitoring their physical activity. The intensity of just how simple it is, for me, is the best unique selling point it has.
At £39.99 it’s still an extravagance for me, but I am the epitome of a tight Yorkshireman. I think it is an awesome little device and if I was a little bit flush with spare cash I might just splash out on one.
This looks a fab product great review Thank you for linking to #Thatfridaylinky please come back next week