Fitbark 2 Review – “Healthy Living” is the most recent lifestyle that has been adopted by the today’s generation in Australia. More and more fitness centers are being opened in the city and suburbs, healthy food & juice bars popping up at the shopping centers, and modern wearables are sold to track how healthy (or unhealthy) you are.
Recent health tracker devices like the new Fitbit Inspire HR can even monitor your heartbeat, track your sleeping pattern, calories intake, and many more features within a small device.
According to the Pet Industry Association, 38% of Australian owned a dog. This is more than half of 62% Australians who own a pet in Australia. Many people treat their pet like their own family and always want to give the best for them.
For me personally who has a Chihuahua, I love him just like my own son and of course, I always want to give the best for him.
I am the type of person who adopts a healthy living and at the same time, wondering whether my pooch, Wiggle, has got enough exercise and sleep (i.e is he healthy?).
Thankfully, there is a similar fitness device made for dogs called FitBark – which is like a Fitbit for dogs. Like Fitbit, FitBark Dog Activity Monitortracks your dog’s steps, sleeping pattern (in detail!), health index, calories spent, and how far your dog has walked.
You can place the FitBark unit easily at your pooch’s collar, thanks to the included zip ties in the packaging. To set up the device, a FitBark app is required which is available for free on both iOS and Android.
FitBark provides various charts to display your dog activities, such as what time during the day your dog is more active, and which day where he sleeps more. You can use this as a guidance to change your lifestyle, or make adjustments to keep your loved one healthier.
You can see these stats through a weekly chart, with an activity comparison level. I think from the activity comparison chart provided, my dog is a “couch potato”. Ouch.
It is important to walk your dog out to socialise with other dogs, especially in the same neighborhood. FitBark has a feature to let you discover when a dog has a FitBark installed so you can meet them at a nearby park and let your dog socialise. Sadly, no one in our area has a FitBark yet.
It’s also a good way for us to get out from our home and just enjoy some fresh air. You can share your pooch’s progress and activities to other FitBark owners too.
Apart from the detailed stats and charts, the other best feature from FitBark is that FitBark can be synced to your own smart watch. In my case, Wiggle’s FitBark is currently synced to my Fitbit Charge 3 and it shares some information within the same app, such as your activity rate compared to your dog.
FitBark Review – Conclusion
Overall, FitBark is very useful and worth a buy, especially if you really care about your dog’s health.
There are plenty of detailed stats and charts, which might take some time to learn and get used to, but they are very useful to track your pooch’s health. An irregular sleeping pattern? Either the room is too cold or you need to bring your dog to the vet for a diagnosis, just in case. Lack of activity during the day? Time to play more or take him/her out for a run.
You might find that the synchronisation between FitBark and the app is a bit slow, but FitBark offers accurate measurements. These measurements provided to you so that you can keep your pooch healthy and fit by looking at his or her lifestyle throughout the day/week/month.
Identifying how active they are and what to do when they don’t, can be your goal for a healthy and fit pooch. When looking at the daily goals, FitBark should encourage you to spend more time with your pooch which is beneficial for both sides. Healthy pooch, happy owner!
FitBark Dog Activity Monitor can be purchased at FitBark.com for around AU$115 RRP (for FitBark 2, which is the one I’m reviewing here. It comes with around 6 months of battery life).
Disclosure: FitBark 2 review sample was supplied for reviewing but all opinions are mine and not paid
