Let's cut through the marketing noise and get straight to the essentials:
Feeding frequency depends on factors like age, size, and metabolism. Puppies benefit from multiple meals a day, while adult dogs can typically thrive on two meals. Senior dogs may benefit from smaller, more frequent meals to aid digestion. No matter the feeding schedule it is important to track how much per day you are feeding to prevent extra pounds from sneaking on.
Keeping tabs on your dog's habits isn't just about being a responsible pet owner—it's about proactive healthcare. By monitoring their diet, weight, and activity levels, you can catch potential issues early and make informed decisions about their care.
Diet Monitoring:
Keep a close eye on what and how much your dog eats. Changes in appetite or eating habits could signal underlying health issues.Weight Management:
Regular weigh-ins help you track your dog's weight and adjust as needed to prevent obesity.
This feature is currently available on iOS devices.
What goes in must come out:
Joking aside monitoring your dog's fecal quality is an excellent way to understand if what they are eating is providing optimum GI health.
This feature is currently available on iOS devices.
Activity Tracking:
Dogs need exercise to stay healthy and happy.Monitor their activity levels to ensure they are getting enough physical stimulation. Sudden decreases could indicate they are not feeling their best and warrant a closer look.
Whistle smart devices offer valuable insights into your dog's health and habits, making it easier than ever to track their well-being. From monitoring activity levels, tracking weight, journaling about your best friend, and monitoring their digestive health, Whistle provides the tools you need to give your dog the best possible care.
This National Nutrition Month, let's cut through the confusion and focus on what really matters: providing our dogs with the nutrition they need to thrive. With a clear understanding of their dietary needs and the right tools at our disposal, we can give our furry friends the best chance at a long, healthy life.
*AAFCO is a non-profit organization that sets standards for both animal feeds and pet foods in the United States.
Your dog’s gut microbiome influences their metabolism, protects against pathogens and aids the immune system. Research shows that 92 percent of dogs experienced at least one symptom of gut microbiome imbalance in the last 12 months. Diarrhea or soft stool, bad breath, vomiting, appetite change, weight changes and skin issues are the most common signs that your dog’s microbiome is out of balance.
Our friends at Get Joy have cracked the code when it comes to a complete dog wellness ecosystem with gut-healthy nutrition at their core that prioritizes your companion’s health as much as you do our own.
Eating the same dried kibble at each meal isn’t just boring; it could also be hurting your dog’s health.
Everything from steroid and anti-fungal medications to stress and environmental toxins can take a toll on canine gut health; the wrong diet can also impact the gut microbiome. Poor gut health contributes to health issues like chronic inflammation, heart disease, skin problems, weight issues and a compromised immune system, leaving your dog feeling less than their best.
Switching to a freeze-dried food can help. One study found that dogs that were fed freeze-dried meals experienced improvements in their fecal microbiome and skin and coat health compared to those that ate conventional kibble.
Most conventional kibble is cooked at extremely high temperatures, which strips dog food of most of its nutritional value. That’s where Get Joy™ freeze dried foods are different. Get Joy’s recipes (developed by a team of ACVN Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists) uses human-grade ingredients and freeze-dries them to lock in 97 percent of the nutritional value of raw, fresh food while removing water to preserve it; additional safety procedures eliminate bacteria to create a delicious food with the scoopable, storable convenience of kibble and the health benefits of fresh food. They also have developed their fresh and freeze-dried meals, superfood treats and chews to include pre, pro, and postbiotics, which are essential to a healthy and balanced gut microbiome. This food is scientifically proven to optimize your dog’s digestion, immunity, and overall wellness.
Exclusive for Whistle, enjoy 60% off your first 3 Get Joy autoship orders with code WHISTLE60
Shop Get JoyThere is an undeniable connection between the foods your dog eats and how they feel.
Switching to a diet rich in gut-healthy foods like turkey, chicken, whitefish, eggs, sweet potatoes and berries triggers the production of serotonin, a “happy chemical” that is linked with improved mood, cognition, reward systems, learning and memory. It’s estimated that 70 percent of serotonin is made in the gut. As Get Joy knows well, joy starts from the inside out.
Nature is filled with bacteria that support a healthy microbiome. Taking your dog for a hike, scheduling doggie play dates and just breathing in fresh air will expose your dog to a diversity of microflora that supports good gut health.
Your veterinarian may prescribe medications like steroids, antifungals or drugs that suppress the immune system to treat certain health issues. It’s essential to provide proper veterinary care when your dog isn’t feeling well, but these medications can harm their gut microbiome and should only be given when necessary.
Prebiotics are dietary fibers that promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria while probiotics contain bacteria that are normally found in your dog’s gut. You could buy chews or supplements that contain pre-and probiotics, but Get Joy’s freeze-dried meals include pre, pro, and postbiotics—the three bacterial communities essential for a healthy gut microbiome—in all dog foods.
Exclusive for Whistle, enjoy 60% off your first 3 Get Joy autoship orders with code WHISTLE60
Shop Get JoyIt’s a great sign when your dog gobbles their treats and licks their bowl clean after supper but a healthy appetite is not the only way to monitor your dog’s health and wellbeing.
All Whistle smart devices make it easy to track your dog’s exact location, physical activity, health symptoms, weight and more in an easy-to-use app.
Whistle smart collars monitor your dog 24/7 and translate billions of data points into insights that will show you if your dog is eating or drinking less or scratching or licking more—behaviors that could be a sign that they aren’t feeling well. The smart collars also have GPS trackers with real time location updates so you’ll always know your dog’s whereabouts.
It’s technology that lets you deliver a whole new level of care so your dog will stay healthy and happy in the New Year and beyond.
]]>Whether you think your dog could stand to shed some weight or needs to try a new ‘do to tackle their shedding, these eight resolutions should top your list.
It’s time to get those steps in. More than half of dogs in the United States are overweight or obese, increasing their risk of arthritis, cardiovascular disease and other serious health issues.
Setting wellness resolutions for dogs can do more than just help your dog lose weight. Research shows that overweight and obese dogs have shorter lifespans, so changing the number on the scale could help them live longer.
Use Whistle devices to create a unique fitness plan for your dog based on their breed, age and weight. The Health 2.0, Go Explore 2.0 and Switch Smart Collar allow you to set dog fitness goals and track distance, minutes active and calories burned.
Even if your dog doesn’t need to lose weight, exercise will help keep their bones, muscles and heart strong, burn excess energy and reduce anxiety.
All dogs could benefit from obedience resolutions.
Teaching dogs the fundamentals like “sit” and “stay” will not only lead to canine behavior improvement, learning doggie manners will also keep them safe, build their confidence, provide mental stimulation and create a strong bond.
Dogs that have mastered basic commands can take their dog training goals to the next level. Advanced training techniques build on basic obedience and can include off-leash training, tricks, completing agility courses (and competing in dog sports) or even becoming a therapy dog.
Set a resolution to teach your dog new things throughout the year. You can practice commands and tricks on your own or hire a trainer to help you achieve your dog training resolutions.
A complete and balanced pet food is chock full of all of the proteins, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that are essential for good health—and your pup thinks their food tastes pretty good, too—but that doesn’t mean their diet doesn’t need some work.
Common nutritional resolutions for dogs include:
Tracking a balanced dog diet doesn’t have to be complicated. Whistle devices use a feature called Food Pantry that allows you to create a virtual list of all of the specific foods that your dog eats along with their serving sizes and number of meals.
Dogs might not solve crossword puzzles or win chess matches but dog brain games are still important.
Without enough mental stimulation, dogs become bored—and bored dogs can be destructive. Instead of letting your dog chew up the couch or dig a giant hole in the yard, play hide and seek and tug of war or hide treats in a snuffle mat for your dog to find. These enrichment activities for dogs are great boredom busters.
There is another benefit to making mental stimulation resolutions: Doggie brain games help release pent up energy, build confidence and ease feelings of frustration and anxiety. In fact, mental stimulation is as important for dogs as exercise for their health and wellbeing.
Make a resolution to plan more outdoor adventures for dogs. Go for a hike, build an agility course in the backyard, play on the beach or explore a new neighborhood (with stops for a pup cup).
Spending time outdoors is a great way to help your dog meet their fitness goals. Use Whistle devices to set activity goals as part of a dog-friendly exercise routines. Taking your dog on outdoor adventures will also expose them to new sights, sounds and smells, which is excellent for socialization and mental stimulation.
Be sure that your outdoor resolutions for canines prioritize safety. Go Explore 2.0 or Switch Smart Collar have GPS tracking devices that provide real time updates on your dog’s location if they get away during your outdoor adventures.
You’ve been bonding with your dog since the moment you signed the adoption papers. They tag along on errands, snuggle on the couch for movie nights and (admit it) helps you polish off the pizza crusts.
Building a strong connection with your dog is key to their wellbeing. Your dog not only depends on you to meet their basic needs for food, shelter and exercise; they also look to you for training and play time. In the New Year, look for ways to build that bond by sign up for a training class, prioritize interactive games and spending more time together.
Don’t forget about socialization goals: Introducing your dog to new people, pets and places can build their confidence, reduce anxiety and help them feel more at ease in the world. Socialization is also great for reducing boredom and giving your dog healthy outlets for their energy. Bonus: your dog will get lots of attention when you’re out and about.
Grooming isn’t just for longhaired dogs or breeds with fancy cuts. Regular grooming is important for maintaining a healthy coat for dogs; it reduces shedding, prevents painful, overgrown nails and keeps your dog looking (and smelling) great.
Making grooming resolutions for the New Year is also a great way to promote skin and coat health, monitor for fleas and detect possible skin or coat issues. Ask your vet for recommendations for a local groomer or follow these dog grooming tips at home:
One of the most important canine health resolutions you can make is keeping dogs safe in the New Year.
Schedule a wellness checkup with your veterinarian. Preventive care for dogs, including vaccinations, parasite prevention and dental cleanings are essential for keeping your dog healthy all year long. The Ask a Vet feature included with all Whistle devices also allows you free access to licensed veterinarians to ask pet care questions.
Start the New Year off right. These eight resolutions will help your favorite four-legged friend have their best year yet.
]]>Whistle devices are like a Fitbit for dogs. Whistle Health 2.0, Go Explore 2.0 Smart Tracker and Switch Smart Collar allow you to check your dog’s daily activities – and so much more.
Dog activity trackers allow you to gauge how much exercise your dog is getting and whether there are changes to the activity levels (or other behaviors like scratching, licking or sleeping) that could be signs of health issues.
Using Whistle Health 2.0, Go Explore 2.0 Smart Tracker and Switch Smart Collar to track your dog’s activity can be important if you’re trying to help your dog lose weight or train for upcoming events like a charity fun run or agility competition that require them to be in peak condition.
A dog activity tracker like Whistle Health 2.0, Go Explore 2.0 Smart Tracker and Switch Smart Collar use the latest technology to track daily activity. Not sure how much exercise is enough for a dog? Whistle can help you set personalized activity goals and create unique fitness plans based on your dog’s breed, age and weight to make sure your dog gets the right amount of daily activity.
You can view the Whistle Health Dashboard on the app for information about health behaviors or set goals and earn achievement awards for activity streaks and other wins.
Exercise is essential for your dog’s health and wellbeing but dogs can get over-exhausted. Watch for signs like slowing down or lagging behind during a walk, excessive panting or drooling, loss of coordination or stiff and sore muscles, which are all signs that your dog has gotten too much exercise.
Although Whistle devices track your dog’s activity, they are so much more than a pedometer for dogs.
You can monitor some vital signs, including heart rate, respiratory rate and temperature at home.
Temperature: A normal body temperature for a dog is 100 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. If their temperature, which is taken with a rectal thermometer, is higher or lower, contact a veterinarian. Whistle devices include an Ask A Vet feature that includes a free consultation with a vet through chat, call or email.
Heart rate: Look for the area where your dog’s left elbow touches their chest and place your hand over their heart. Once you feel their heartbeat, count the number of beats in 15 seconds and multiply that number by four to get the number of beats per minute. A normal dog heart rate is 120 to 160 beats per minute for small dogs and puppies; dogs that weigh over 30 pounds have slower heart rates of 60 to 120 beats per minute. A heart rate outside the normal range is the reason to call a vet.
Respiratory rate: Count the number of full breaths (inhale and exhale) your dog takes in 15 seconds and multiply that number by four to get their breaths per minute. A normal respiratory rate for a dog at rest is between 10 and 30 breaths per minute.
The GPS trackers in Whistle Go Explore 2.0 Smart Tracker and Switch Smart Collar provide location updates every 15 seconds, allowing you to track lost pets in real time. The devices also send alerts any time your dog leaves the boundaries of a designated safe space.
Whistle devices are powered by AT&T’s 4G LTE-M network, allowing you to track your dog’s location from your phone, no internet connection required. (Check the LTE coverage in your area to make sure the smart tracker will work). In the event your dog is ever lost, a GPS tracking collar can help you bring them back home.
There are a lot of different dog activity trackers on the market and you want to feel secure that you’re investing in the best dog tracking collar for your pet.
Consider the features you need: Do you want to track your dog’s health and activity? Do you need a GPS tracker that updates in real time? Can it send alerts if something is amiss? Does the device come with an app to track vital health and location information?
You should also consider actors like battery life, size and weight of the device and whether it can attach to your dog’s existing collar.
Use this comparison chart to determine which Whistle device is right for you and then start tracking your dog’s activity.
]]>Overweight dogs were almost three times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than normal weight dogs; obesity quadruples the risk of developing osteoarthritis; and predisposes dogs to developing painful back issues.
Despite the risks, the latest data shows that more than 50% of dogs are overweight or obese. For dogs, being just 10% overweight can decrease their lifespan and predispose them to health issues. In fact, pet parents of overweight dogs spent 17% more on healthcare and 25% more on medications than owners of dogs at ideal body weight.
When it comes to weight, the number on the scale doesn’t tell the whole story. Veterinarians use a “body condition score” to assess a dog’s weight. Your dog should have a narrow waist, easy-to-feel ribs and concave tummy; overweight dogs have sagging stomachs and broad, flat backs with no defined waistlines.
Despite these simple visual cues, the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention found that just 46% of veterinarians discussed their dog’s ideal weight during annual exams.
Whistle Health, Health & GPS and Health & GPS+ offer the Ask a Vet feature that allows dog owners to schedule a chat, call, email or video appointment with a veterinarian to discuss a healthy weight goal.
Not sure which Whistle device is right for you? Take our quiz and choose the best device to monitor your pet’s health, set personalized activity goals, calculate the correct food portions and connect with a vet to help your dog reach their ideal weight.
Avoid overfeeding: A dog eating too much is sure to gain weight and practicing portion control is the easiest way to achieve weight loss in dogs.
Whistle Health, Health & GPS and Health & GPS+ can help monitor changes in your dog’s appetite and let you know if they are consuming more calories that could lead to weight gain. Our data scientists at Pet Insight Project partnered with the Waltham Petcare Science Institute and the University of Aberdeen to create a calorie algorithm to calculate how much food to feed your dog each day based on their breed, age, daily activity and target weight.
Add up all the treats, table foods and dental chews that might be contributing to weight gain. Treats should account for less than 10% of your dog’s daily calories. A dog eating too much needs to cut back on treats.
Get moving: Exercise is essential for weight loss and wellbeing. Set activity gals with Whistle Health, Health & GPS and Health & GPS+ and make time for brisk walks, off-leash romps at the dog park or games of fetch to get your dog’s heart pumping and the calories burning.
Using puzzle feeders that require dogs to “work” for their meals is another creative way to increase their activity levels.
Dog weight loss takes time. A healthy weight loss is about one percent of body weight per week, which equals just 0.2 pounds for a 20-pound dachshund and one pound per week for a 100-pound Great Pyrenees.
Weigh your dog every two weeks to check their progress. You should see changes in their appearance and activity levels as the number on the scale goes down. Bonus: Helping your dog maintain a healthy weight could increase their lifespan, giving you more time with your favorite four-legged friend.
]]>Your senior dog knows basic commands, has mastered the art of napping, is a champion snuggle bug and has grey hairs in their muzzle that makes them look extra wise. One new thing you might not expect is a little extra stiffness in their gait.
As your dog ages, their joints may start to feel stiffer and creakier than they used to. The good news is that Whistle is here to help.
Did you know: 54% of dogs in America are seniors. Small dogs hit their golden years around age 11-12, medium dogs around age 10, and large dogs as early as 8 years old. Of those senior dogs, 1 in 5 suffer from arthritis.
That’s just one of the reasons it’s important to pay extra attention to your senior dog’s health. Whistle devices allow you to be proactive about managing your senior dog’s health to ensure they stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
After 15-year-old Cinnamon was diagnosed with arthritis, her mom, Leona, turned to Whistle to better understand her senior pup’s health. Leona uses the Whistle Health device to track how long Cinnamon, sleeps, walks and runs and to monitor changes in behavior like scratching—it even helped Leona find a tick on Cinnamon!
Whether your puppy is now a senior dog or you just adopted an older companion, these five tips are important when caring for senior dogs.
Schedule regular checkups: Routine vet care is essential for senior dogs. It can help you identify age-related changes like heart or kidney disease and ensures you’re providing the necessary treatments for your old dog to live the long and healthy life they deserve.
The Ask a Vet feature available through every Whistle subscription plan offers free chat, video and email appointments so you know how to take care of an old dog.
Provide proper nutrition: It’s common for older dogs to experience changes to their appetites. If your Whistle device alerts you that your dog is eating less as they age, consider offering wet food, which is more aromatic and could entice older dogs to eat. You can also warm food in the microwave to boost the scent.
Changes in appetite could also be a sign of underlying health issues like a hormonal imbalance, diabetes or cancer. An alert from your Whistle device could be the signal that it’s time to make an appointment with the vet.
Maintain an exercise routine: Your senior dog may not be able to walk as far as fast but exercise is essential for overall health and declines in activity levels could be a sign that your dog has arthritis or another health issue.
Want to know how to make an old dog happy? Talk to your vet about establishing an exercise routine and use Whistle Health, Health & GPS or Health & GPS+ to set age-appropriate exercise goals. Your old dog will still love learning some new tricks.
Prioritize mental stimulation: Senior dogs often experience changes to their mental health and include anxiety, pacing, staring at walls, changes in sleep patterns and unprovoked whining, howling and barking.
In addition to using Whistle Health, Health & GPS or Health & GPS+ to monitor for changes in behavior that could be a sign of canine cognitive disorder, offer your older dog puzzle feeders and toys or teach them new tricks to provide the mental stimulation that helps keep your dog’s mind sharp as they age.
Focus on comfort: Not sure what to expect with an aging dog? Remember this: Old age often comes with a few more aches and pains but it is possible to help your senior dog feel more comfortable.
Orthopedic beds provide cushioning for aging joints and ramps can make it easier to navigate stairs or get in and out of the car. Offering your senior dog food and water in elevated dishes ease the pressure on the necks and backs of senior dogs with arthritis.
Our friends at The Wildest have gathered top products for senior dogs. From doggy diapers to toe grips, this gear will help your pet thrive through their golden years.
This Saving Senior Dogs Week, Whistle is doing our part to support pups as they transition into their golden year by donate $10 from every Whistle smart device sold to Muttville, a nonprofit organization changing the way the world treats older dogs.
]]>A consistent sleep schedule and restful slumber are essential for your dog’s overall health and wellbeing and disruptions to the quality of their sleep could provide clues about potential illnesses or injuries.
Your Whistle Health, Health & GPS and Health & GPS+ will detect changes to your dog’s sleep duration and quality, alerting you that something might be amiss.
Your dog will sleep more (or less) depending on their age. Puppies and senior dogs sleep more than adult dogs but changes in sleep patterns could be linked to changes in health.
Conditions ranging from parvovirus and kennel cough to diabetes and heart disease could cause excessive sleepiness. Pain from injuries or chronic conditions like arthritis could make it harder for your dog get comfortable, causing them to sleep less than normal—and too little sleep can lead to sleep deprivation and symptoms like whining, pacing, restlessness and trouble concentrating.
Dogs are also sensitive to changes in their environment, which means a new home, new sibling or schedule changes could also cause sleep disruptions.
Whistle Health, Health & GPS and Health & GPS+ will create a baseline of your dog’s normal sleep behavior and alert you if their sleep patterns change. Repeated periods of too much or too little sleep are reason to call your veterinarian or schedule a phone, video or email chat through the Ask a Vet feature.
Dogs spend about 50 percent of their lives sleeping, so a dog sleeping all day is probably no reason to panic. It’s more important to pay attention to changes to their sleep patterns.
It might be normal for your dog to wake up for breakfast and a quick sniff around the yard and then crawl back into bed to sleep for a three hours; Whistle Health, Health & GPS and Health & GPS+ will note that pattern. It’s cause for concern if your dog starts sleeping much later in the morning and sleeping for six hours after breakfast.
Most dogs sleep when their owners sleep, which means your dog should spend most of the night in blissful slumber. There are several reasons that dogs become restless and spend more time awake at night.
Stress could cause sleep disruptions. A new environment or strange noises (like fireworks) could make it hard for dogs to sleep at night. Your dog might also sleep less during boarding or on vacation. Once the noises stop, their new environment becomes familiar or their schedule returns to normal, your dog should go back to sleeping through the night.
Sleep patterns can also change with age. Senior dogs might wake up more often to use the bathroom. Consider setting out a pee pad or installing a dog door to make it easier to accommodate their middle-of-the-night potty breaks.
Canine cognitive disorder can cause changes to the sleep/wake cycle in senior dogs.
If you notice your dog sleeping more during the day, sleeping less at night or receive alerts from your Whistle Health, Health & GPS and Health & GPS+ device about other sleep changes, use the Ask a Vet feature to talk to a veterinarian who can identify the root cause and offer treatment to restore your dog’s sleep schedule.
]]>You know water is important and keep the water bowl full but wonder, “Is my dog drinking too much water?” or “Is my dog drinking too little water?” Whistle smart devices can help.
The devices monitor water intake, sending alerts if your dog starts spending more time lapping up cool water or their visits to the water bowl have declined.
On average, dogs need about one ounce of water for every pound of body weight. Your 10-pound Chihuahua will need about 10 ounces of water per day while your 100-pound Irish Wolfhound will need about 100 ounces of water per day but there are several factors that influence how much water dogs drink.
Puppies, pregnant dogs and nursing moms will drink more water than adult dogs. Temperature and activity levels also play a role in their need for hydration and it’s common for dogs to drink more after exercise, especially if it’s hot outside.
Changes in your dog’s water intake could also point to health issues like diabetes or a urinary tract infection.
Your dog is spending less time at the water bowl and you’re worried. Dogs decrease their water intake for several reasons:
When your dog doesn’t drink enough water, it increases the risk of dehydration. Look for symptoms like loss of appetite, vomiting, lethargy, panting, dry nose, pale, sticky gums and thick saliva that could signal dehydration and make an appointment with your veterinarian.
When your dog is lapping up water faster than you can fill the bowl, pay attention. Increased water intake could have several causes:
It’s important for your dog to quench their thirst but drinking too much water could also be dangerous and can even lead to water intoxication.
When it comes to how much water should a dog drink a day, no two dogs are alike. Whistle Health, Health & GPS and Health & GPS+ use algorithms to track changes to your dog’s health habits, including increases or decreases in their water intake.
Your Whistle device tracks all of your dog’s health behaviors for the first week to create a personal baseline. Once their normal behaviors are established, Whistle Health, Health & GPS and Health & GPS+ will send alerts when behaviors change from day-to-day.
These personalized insights give you the information you need to talk to your veterinarian about what might be causing your dog to drink more (or less) and how to ensure their continued good health.
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Dogs can lose their appetites for a number of reasons ranging from stress to upset stomachs. Your Whistle Health, Health & GPS and Health & GPS+ track your dog’s eating habits and will send alerts if your dog suddenly loses their appetite.
If a loss of interest in food has you wondering, “Why isn’t my dog eating?” these things might be to blame.
Wondering how to get a dog to eat? Try these tricks:
You might not notice small changes in your dog’s appetite but Whistle Health, Health & GPS and Health & GPS+ use algorithms to track these patterns and alert you if your dog is eating less.
Your Whistle device tracks all of your dog’s health behaviors for the first week to create a personal baseline. Once their normal behaviors are established, Whistle Health, Health & GPS and Health & GPS+ will send alerts when behaviors change from day-to-day.
These personalized insights give you the information you need to talk to your veterinarian about what might be causing a loss of appetite and allow you to take action to address any health issues.
]]>Have you ever wondered, “Why does my dog lick so much?”
Licking is a normal behavior: Dogs lick their food bowls, run their tongues across the floor looking for crumbs and drop slobbery kisses on their favorite people. But excessive dog licking could be a sign of health problems.
Fortunately, dog licking is one of the behaviors that Whistle devices like the Whistle Health, Health & GPS, and Health & GPS+ tracks, sending proactive alerts about potential issues and the Ask a Vet feature included with every Whistle subscription can connect you with a vet who can diagnose the cause and help address obsessive dog licking.
There are several reasons your dog may be constantly licking:
Once you identify the potential reasons why your dog is constantly licking, it’s time to figure out how to get your dog to stop licking you (and everything else).
Not only do the Whistle Health, Health & GPS, and Health & GPS+ track licking behavior and alert you when it increases, the Ask a Vet feature available with your Whistle plan connects you with a veterinarian for a chat, call, video or email consult to address the issue.
In addition to the treatment that your vet prescribes, you might need to get an e-collar or basket muzzle to prevent excessive licking and skin damage.
Tracking excessive dog licking behavior, understanding potential causes and taking steps to address the behavior will help your dog (and you) feel better.
]]>An increase in scratching behaviors is the number one reason people bring their dogs to the vet and there are a number of potential causes.
Food allergies: Up to two percent of dogs have food allergies—and an even higher number experience food sensitivities that can leave them with gas, diarrhea and itchy skin, especially around the ears, feet, stomach and backside.
Environmental allergies: Dust, grasses, pollen and mold are all common allergens that trigger dog scratching. An estimated 10 percent of dogs suffer with skin allergies, according to the American Animal Hospital Association. If there is a seasonal pattern to your dog’s frequent scratching, environmental allergies could be to blame.
Parasites: Fleas and other chewing insects crawling on your dog’s skin can lead to increased scratching and skin irritation on dogs—and flea allergies can make the problem worse. Dogs that scratch around the lower back, base of the tail, inner thighs and backside could have flea allergies. Dog dermatitis can also cause hair loss.
Dry skin: Dogs get dry skin, too. In addition to feeding a complete and balanced diet that has the right amount of fatty acids to nourish their skin, pet supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids could help.
Occasional itchiness is not a cause for concern but compulsive scratching, licking or chewing warrants a call to the vet. Itchy skin isn’t just uncomfortable for your dog; it’s also one of the strongest indicators of dog skin infections or allergies.
Whistle is powered by Vet Insights, a powerful tool that can tell you if the scratching is elevated. If your device detects an increase in scratching behavior, use the Ask a Vet feature available in your Whistle app to schedule a chat, call, email or video consult with a vet to determine what’s causing the itchiness.
When your Whistle device notices an increase in your dog’s scratching behavior, your first thought might be, “How do I get relief for my dog’s itchy skin?” The best dog itching remedies depends on the cause.
Limiting exposure to grasses and mold that trigger allergic reactions could help with dog hair loss and itching from environmental allergens. Your vet may also recommend allergy medications to help alleviate the seasonal symptoms and clear dog skin infections.
Grooming could help, too. Remember to choose shampoos designed to calm irritated skin on dogs.
A new diet could also be the solution to alleviating chronic itchiness for dogs with food allergies or sensitivities. Your vet can conduct a feeding trial to figure out which ingredients are causing a reaction and recommend an alternate food.
Parasite protection to prevent fleas and other parasites (or kill parasites that are causing your dog to scratch) are important. Once the parasites are killed, the itching should stop.
It’s important to pay attention to changes in your dog’s behavior. Your Whistle device will alert you if your dog is itching a lot, allowing you to take action and get relief when your dog won’t stop scratching.
]]>If your dog is scratching, licking, coughing or has diarrhea, vomiting, hair loss or recurring ear infections, dog allergies could be to blame.
Many dogs live with allergies and pet parents may not recognize the signs. Whistle devices have tracked 3.7 million abnormal scratches, which can act as a warning sign that your pet may be suffering with allergies.
The arrival of spring is the best time to be on the lookout for signs your dog has one of these four kinds of allergies.
Atopic Dermatitis: A dog skin allergy (also called atopic dermatitis) is the most common allergic reaction in dogs. Excessive scratching, licking, biting the skin, hair loss and red, irritated skin are all signs your dog may be experiencing a skin allergy.
Using a Whistle device can help you monitor new behaviors (or an increase in behaviors) like licking or scratching that could be signs your dog is experiencing an allergy flare. The treatment for dog skin allergies can include topical creams, medicated baths and antibiotic medications to alleviate the symptoms.
Food allergies: Although true food allergies in dogs are rare, some dogs do have allergic reactions to certain ingredients in their food. Beef, chicken eggs, gluten (wheat) and lamb are the most common food allergens for dogs.
Your vet may recommend an elimination diet to see which ingredients may be causing allergic reactions and recommend a dog food for allergies. There is no single best food for dogs with allergies; the right food will depend on which ingredients are causing reactions.
Switching to a dog food for allergies can often solve the issue. Whistle devices monitor changes in behavior, including licking and scratching. When there are fewer incidences of these behaviors, it’s an indication that your dog is feeling better.
Seasonal allergies: Fleas, pollen, mold, feathers and dust can trigger dog seasonal allergies. Allergy season for dogs tends to be in the spring and fall—but seasonal allergies can happen at any time of year, depending on what environmental allergens trigger reactions in your dog.
Your vet may suggest over-the-counter or prescription medications to alleviate dog seasonal allergy symptoms. Want to know how to prepare for allergy season? Make sure prescriptions are refilled and you’re ready when your dog shows symptoms.
Vaccine reactions: Annual vaccines are essential for keeping your dogs protected from diseases like rabies, distemper and parvovirus.
In dogs, allergic reactions to vaccines are rare but it’s important to be on the lookout for swelling at the vaccination site, mild fever, decreased appetite, sneezing, runny nose, coughing, hives and vomiting and call your veterinarian if your dog shows signs of an allergic reaction after a vaccine.
There are many reasons a dogs has allergies. Make an appointment with your vet to see if seasonal allergies could be the culprit and develop a treatment plan to help your favorite four-legged friend feel better.
]]>It’s tempting to blame dog bad breath on drinking from the toilet, snacking on kitty litter and licking fur but hellacious halitosis could also be a sign of health issues from poor oral hygiene and gum disease to diabetes, liver disease or kidney disease.
February is National Pet Dental Health Month. It’s a great time to establish an oral health routine to protect your dog’s pearly whites.
Create a plan: Check out videos and read articles about the importance of pet dental health. Check with your pet dental insurance provider to ask, “Does pet insurance cover dental?” Routine cleanings may be covered under your plan. You can also ask your veterinarian about National Pet Dental Health Month discounts on dental care.
Consider using the Whistle Health & GPS smart device, too. The device includes health monitoring and sends alerts if something is amiss (including frequent licking that could indicate dental issues), free access to tele-vet appointments to determine whether your dog may be experiencing dental pain and GPS monitoring and location alerts in case he hides when it’s time to go to the vet.
Watch for signs of dental disease: Red, swollen gums, tooth loss, excessive drool, bleeding gums, loss of appetite and bad breath are all signs of potential dental disease. If an abscess or infection causes dental pain, your pet may also paw at her mouth, lick incessantly or scratch her jaw. The Whistle Health and Whistle Health & GPS+ devices monitor for changes in behavior that could signal dental disease.
Consider diet changes: Good oral health starts with a good diet. Studies have shown that pets that eat dry kibble have better oral health than those that eat wet food. Dental chews, which are available for dogs and cats, can also help remove plaque and tartar and reduce gingivitis.
Start brushing: Your pets benefit from routine dental cleanings to remove plaque and tartar (and improve their breath). Use a fingertip toothbrush designed for pets along with pet toothpaste and brush your pet’s teeth daily. The earlier you establish a routine, the easier it’ll be to maintain good oral hygiene.
Schedule a checkup: Your veterinarian will also check your pet’s teeth and gums as part of their annual wellness exam and monitor for signs of dental disease. Scheduling routine dental cleanings can remove plaque and tartar and ensure that periodontal disease doesn’t progress into serious health issues.
If you notice that your dog has bad breath, don’t wait until their annual exam to have it checked out. Make an appointment with your vet to get to the root cause.
Good oral health is an important part of your pet’s overall wellbeing—and it helps improve their breath so you can look forward to those slobbery kisses. In February, snap a photo of your pet’s pearly whites and tag Whistle with #PetDentalMonth.
]]>You might be tempted to skip walking a dog in the cold but it’s a good time to get outdoors.
January is National Walk Your Dog Month. Leashing up your dog and going for a walk (or hike) can provide a bright spot during the coldest, shortest days of the year. Need more motivation? Here are three reasons to participate in Walk Your Dog Month:
Improved health: More than half of dogs are obese, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention. Daily walks burn calories, helping your dog maintain a healthy weight; each lap around the neighborhood or mile on the trail also contributes to improved joint and digestive health.
The fitness features on the Whistle Health allow you to set activity goals and monitor health to ensure those cold weather walks are paying off with improved health.
Mental stimulation: Tracking your pet’s activity goals is important but daily walks are about much more than counting steps. Sniffing fire hydrants, watching squirrels scurrying up trees and passing other people and pooches all provides great mental stimulation.
Use the Whistle Health to monitor your dog’s habits: Excessive licking or sleeping could be signs that your dog is bored and needs more activity to boost his wellbeing.
Bonding time: A walk is a great opportunity for some one-on-one time. Grab the leash and head out for a sunset stroll with your number one fan.
So, how often should you walk your dog to reap the rewards? Most dogs benefit from at least a 20-minute walk every day. Active breeds (hello, Border Collies, beagles and Huskies) will need even more exercise.
Walking a dog in the cold requires the right gear: Short-haired breeds may need a jacket and booties are a must for all dogs if your route includes sidewalks covered in chemical ice melt.
Choosing the right leash is also important: Look for a leash made of nylon or another sturdy material and attach it to a well-fitting collar. Consider a GPS tracker like the Whistle Health & GPS or Whistle Health & GPS+ that allows you to track your dog’s location if he gets loose on a walk.
National Walk Your Dog Month is a great time to get outdoors to experience the rewards of walking in the crisp winter air and spend some quality time with your favorite pooch.
]]>Loss of appetite is cause for concern, according to James Dobies DVM, veterinarian and president of UrgentVet.
Here are three common reasons puppies stop eating—and how to bring back their appetites:
Illness: An upset tummy could cause your pup to skip supper. Dobies notes that the reasons for tummy upset range from gastroenteritis, viruses and parasites to a midnight trash buffet. You could Google, “How to know if my puppy is sick” but your best bet is to make an appointment with your vet if your puppy stops eating for 24 hours.
Stress: New house. New fur sibling. Different schedule. Changes to their environment can cause dogs to feel stressed, leading to loss of appetite. You can monitor for signs of stress like increased licking, scratching, panting and sleeping with the Whistle Health to see if there’s a correlation between stress and appetite.
Separation anxiety: Your puppy may be too lonely to eat while you’re gone. “Anxiety may change their eating habits, but they’ll still eat,” Dobies says. Establishing a feeding schedule—breakfast before you leave for work in the morning and supper when you get home—can help.
Here are some other tricks to encourage your dog to clean his bowl.
Add water: Moisten kibble with a little water or chicken broth. “[It] creates a pleasing texture to kibble much like gravy on mashed potatoes,” Dobies says.
Warm it up: “Dogs have a much greater sense of smell than humans, so aromatic foods are more appetizing to them,” says Dobies. Nuking your puppy’s food in the microwave can amp up the aroma and make it more enticing—just make sure it’s not too hot for him to eat!
Try a new food: If your go-to food is dry kibble, try switching to wet puppy food or a topper to add extra aroma and flavor that will make your puppy’s meals more appetizing. No matter which food you choose, make sure that you’re feeding your puppy the right amount for optimal growth and development.
Paying attention to your pup’s eating habits and monitoring for signs of stress can help you pinpoint reasons why your puppy isn’t eating and get him back to his food bowl.
]]>Chances are you wouldn’t spend an entire day playing outside without at least one water break—and your pet certainly shouldn’t either. So why is it that sometimes your dog wants nothing to do with that nice, big water bowl you just put out? And how long can a dog go without water before the issue becomes a medical concern rather than just stubbornness or distraction?
Whether you’re road-tripping and wondering about the frequency of water breaks, hiking with your four-legged friend regularly, or just wondering what the dog-equivalent of “eight glasses a day” is, we’ve gathered the information you need to keep your dog hydrated.
Staying well hydrated serves many important functions for your dog—like keeping their joints lubricated, regulating their temperature, and keeping their digestion moving. Of course, nobody wants to deprive their pup of water, but sometimes the water bowl gets left without a refill overnight, or you’re out for a walk longer than anticipated. While that’s likely not an emergency, you really don’t want to go too long without offering your dog water.
“Dogs can survive without water for only 2-3 days,” according to Dr. Joanna Gale, BVetMed, CertLAS, MRCVS, veterinarian and Senior Manager of Global Science Advocacy at Mars Petcare. But, she says, dogs can get dehydrated and start to feel sick way sooner than that. Think about it this way: You’ve probably heard that humans can go around three days without water, too, but you wouldn’t want to try it.
Dehydration usually has a straightforward cause, according to Dr. Gale. Your pet is either drinking less or losing more water.
What would make a dog want to drink less? Usually, it’s either lack of access or discomfort caused by pain, nausea, or disorientation, she says. Losing water, on the other hand, is often caused by vomiting, diarrhea, increased panting, and increased urination.
There are tons of potential causes of dehydration in dogs, but here are a few to keep in mind:
Bacteria, viruses, and parasites
Several viruses, bacteria, and parasites can cause vomiting and diarrhea that lead to dehydration, according to Dr. Gale. For example, parvovirus is a highly contagious illness usually spread through canine feces. The virus attacks the stomach and intestines, causing severe vomiting and diarrhea in susceptible dogs. The best way to protect your dog from parvovirus, and a handful of other viruses, is to make sure they’re vaccinated, which can typically start at 8 weeks of age.
Eating the wrong thing
There’s almost no end to the trouble dogs can get into by eating things they shouldn’t, and that unsavory meal can cause severe stomach upset. It’s always worth consulting with your veterinarian if you suspect your dog ate something bad, as certain poisons, like antifreeze, are fatal if not treated quickly.
Certain health conditions
Other illnesses can cause problems leading to dehydration, too. One example: diabetes, a condition where the body fails to regulate blood sugar. If your dog is drinking a lot more, peeing a lot more, and extra hungry but losing weight, these are all strong indicators of diabetes. Dehydration can happen despite your dog drinking extra water since they’re also peeing more frequently as their body attempts to rid the body of excess glucose (sugar).
Overheating
Heatstroke is a serious condition that can be caused by a dog spending time in hot weather, overexerting themselves, or being left in a hot car. Dehydration can both contribute to overheating and be a result, particularly if a dog is panting rapidly in an attempt to get their temperature down, according to Dr. Gale. Dogs with short snouts can be especially susceptible to overheating, as their facial structure makes it more difficult for them to cool down.
According to Dr. Gale, symptoms of dehydration can include:
The good news is that healthy dogs typically drink enough on their own, Dr. Gale says. Do you have an active, alert dog with no other symptoms? Then you’ve probably got a hydrated dog. It’s also worth noting that dogs who eat wet food may drink less than dogs who eat kibble, according to Dr. Gale.
Your dog should always have access to clean water, but that can sometimes be tricky when you’re out on a hike or traveling somewhere far. If that’s the case, be sure to stop at least every couple of hours to offer your pet water, and more often than that if the weather is hot, Dr. Gale says. It’s always better to stop and offer them water too frequently than not often enough.
Did you know that your Whistle GO device can tell when your dog takes a drink? Better still, Whistle algorithms recognize when changes in their drinking patterns might point to a health issue. And best of all, you’ll get an alert via the Whistle app when and if that ever happens If you notice your dog is drinking more or less than usual, that’s something to bring up with your vet. You can also use the Chat With a Vet feature from the Whistle app.
Again, most healthy dogs will drink enough water as needed. But if your dog seems to be avoiding the water bowl, reach out to your veterinarian, as it could be a sign of illness. Additionally, it’s worth noting if your dog suddenly seems to be drinking a lot more water than usual, as that could be a symptom of an illness, too.
The bottom line is that if your dog is ever showing symptoms of dehydration, reach out to your vet, or use the Chat With a Vet feature from your Whistle app.
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Colleen Stinchcombe is a freelance writer with two dogs. She writes about pets for Whistle Labs, Rover, and Woman’s Day.
Summer is here – that time of year for family fun in the Great Outdoors. And those adventures should by all means include our playful pooches, but how can we make sure they’re safe if we bring them along? Your dog days of summer will be happy, refreshing, and active if you just keep these 4 tips in mind:
Pay attention to the outside temperature. It’s mission critical to avoid the hottest times of the day and direct sunlight, which means you might need to become an early bird—or a night owl (this is where your Whistle GO Explore Night Light comes in handy!). Dogs don’t sweat like we do, so it can be much harder for them to regulate body temperature to keep from overheating. Always carry lots of water for both you and your dog.
Swimming builds muscle strength without impact on the joints, so it’s a great form of exercise for older dogs or those with arthritis. If you can’t spend time at a beach, river, or lake, just splash around in a kiddie pool or run through the sprinklers. Playing in the water is beneficial as both exercise and relief from the heat.
A good hike provides optimum exercise that benefits both you and your pet. If you have forested trails near you, use them to seek shelter from the summer sun. Dirt trails are always cooler than pavement or asphalt, and they eliminate the risk of burning sensitive paw pads.
Move over, goat yoga. Bond with your pup through some warm-and-fuzzy sun salutations, and release pent up stress. Come to the mat with an open mind and sense of humor. Rest assured, you’ll reap the benefits (and extra kisses) when it’s too hot to play outside.
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When you do venture outside, be prepared. Make sure your dog is protected against fleas, ticks, and heartworms, and carry a small pet emergency pack containing:
Remember, if you have any questions or concerns about your dog as you beat the heat, use the Whistle Chat with a Vet feature in the app – our VetInsight veterinarians are available for live chats, emails, or phone calls. Happy summer!
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The short answer: It depends. For instance, it should come as no surprise that a Chihuahua and a Great Dane will have different dietary needs. In addition to your dog’s breed, their age, whether they’re spayed or neutered, daily activity, target body weight, and type of food will all come into play when deciding how much to feed your dog.
Simply looking at the back of your bag of dog food won’t likely give you an answer as unique as your pup. So we decided to make things easier. The Whistle Food Portion Calculator tells you how much food to feed your dog based on those important factors, including how many calories your dog burns each day. That calorie algorithm is based on an in-depth study between the Waltham Petcare Science Institute and the University of Aberdeen, along with our data scientists at Pet Insight Project.
If your dog has a Whistle tracking device, you can rest assured that their activity is being factored into the recommendation from our Food Portion Calculator. But, in general, the odd weekend hike or long neighborhood walk is unlikely to have a dramatic impact on your pet’s usual nutritional needs. So don’t assume that you should top off the dog bowl just because your pup spent the day at the park.
“As a general rule, the average pet in America does not get enough activity to worry about increasing calorie intake,” Dr. Dougherty says. In fact, most dogs are too sedentary, and so their food should be closely monitored in order to lower the risk of obesity.
If you happen to have an extraordinarily athletic dog, like a racing dog, sled dog, or agility dog, their nutritional needs may change, and you should consult with a veterinarian to get their intake just right.
As much as your dog might try to argue with us, begging is not usually an indicator that you’re under-feeding your pet. “Most commonly, they are not begging for food but rather their other needs,” Dr. Dougherty explains. Ask yourself if they’ve gotten enough exercise, had time to bond with you, or if they might need to go to the bathroom.
And also maybe ask how you would feel watching a friend eat something that smelled divine in the same room as you. It would probably seem pretty tempting, whether you were hungry or not.
Take a look at your dog. Body condition is the most accurate way to understand if a pet’s weight is healthy, Dr. Dougherty says. “The ribs should not be visibly seen but should be easily felt with minimal pressure as you run your hand along the side of the dog,” she explains. “The individual vertebrae should not be seen but should be easily felt as you run your hand along the topside of the dog.” And if you look at your dog from the top down, they should have an “hourglass” figure, where the waist nips in and expands again at the hips.
If that’s not true for your dog, you may want to talk to your veterinarian. If your pet is overweight, your veterinarian will likely assess their “body condition score,” which is just a way of articulating the description above and how far away they might be from achieving a healthy physique. Your vet will also weigh your dog and may take measurements of their chest and abdomen.
For pets who are actively in the process of losing weight, it’s good to check in with the vet every three or four weeks to make sure they’re on track, Dr. Dougherty says.
Don’t worry, we’re not going to tell you that treats are off-limits. You can even give your pet treats every day. “The frequency of treats is not as important as ensuring that they do not make up more than 10% of their diet/daily calorie intake,” Dr. Dougherty says. Basically, think of treats as just that: an occasional treat or reward, and not something you dole out all day long.
In fact, Dr. Dougherty says that most of the time a dog’s eagerness for treats is less about hunger and cravings and more about the desire to get rewarded with food outside of mealtime, or for praise, bonding, or mental exercise.
Wondering what treats are best? While there are tons of great store-bought options, you can also opt for nutrient-dense treats like bananas, apples, baby carrots, and green beans.
Remember, as a Whistle pet parent, if you ever find yourself wondering how much to feed your dog, tap right into the Chat with a Vet feature directly from the Whistle app.
Whistle tip: Looking to find for your dog's tailored nutrition solution? Check out the IAMS Dog Food Selector Quiz and read everything you need to know about feeding your dog.
Colleen Stinchcombe is a freelance writer with two dogs. She writes about pets for Whistle, Rover, and Woman’s Day.
]]>Here at Whistle, nothing makes us happier than helping pets and their people live their best life. We're constantly inspired by our customers' stories, which makes what we do all worth it.
Lindsey Jacobellis, four-time Olympian and six-time World Champion, has been snowboarding since she was 11. Not only an accomplished athlete but Lindsey, along with her pup Gidget, are also Whistle customers! We sat down with Lindsey and Gidget to talk about life as a pro-athlete and maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle together.
How did your snowboarding journey begin?
When I was 11 years old I took my first lesson. My brother tried it one weekend and I naturally wanted to do everything my brother was doing - that was similar to a lot of the sports I did and the hobbies I had
From the Olympics, World Championships to the X Games, your accomplishments and experiences are impressive! What are your most treasured?
My most treasured accomplishments are my 10 X-Games Gold Medals. Those courses were the biggest and scariest courses and that was an amazing feeling to win. I have also been so excited that I have been able to keep competing for so many years on tour.
You have so much to be proud of - not just in career, but in your personal life too. We know one of those is of course Gidget! Tell us about her.
Gidget is a 13-year-old Yorkie Terrier Mix. She is almost always with me, with the exception of international travel. She has a great demeanor and loves little kids (probably because they are always leaving a trail of food). She has one ear that is always upright and her tongue sticks out when she is sleeping or just really relaxed. She is my forever puppy.
What influences on your lifestyle has Gidget had?
I have always been a very active person and Gidget has helped me keep that routine going even when I have downtime with my sport, which has also helped her be very active and very well socialized with other dogs. We have a symbiotic relationship between us and we both help keep each other happy and healthy.
Favorite ways to stay active together:
I love walking on the beach with Gidget…and skateboarding, she loves running next to me when I skate and she can even pull me!!
What's a typical day-in-the-life?
Summer routine: Wake up, make some coffee and walk Gidget, do some sort of cardio (run, surf, swim and depending on the distance I might take Gidget) go to the gym, do work in the afternoon, walk Gidget, and prep dinner.
When I'm on tour during the winter, I check the weather in the morning with my coffee, snowboard in the AM, gym in the afternoon, work on the computer, and prep dinner.
Very impressed that Gidget is keeping up with you on runs at 13 years old. What's your advice for working out with an older pup?
Monitor how they are doing after every 10 minutes, if they are not very active to begin with, or 20 minutes if they are active. See if the stride really slows down and make sure you have more water with you. Important to notice the energy level the following day, if they are still really tired then it might have been too much activity and consider doing more short activities until the animal has built up some cardio.
Healthy advice or perspective you would give Gidget and yourself 10-years ago:
Start her on a probiotic sooner and always be on the highest food quality you can find.
What are some of your favorite wellness and lifestyle essentials?
Love my foam roller and exercise ball. A fanny pack is a great way to hook the leash to me when I run with Gidget. My iPad to document my workouts and has my yoga app on it. Gidget has a soft harness when she walks or takes a run with me, it's both style and comfort. And I love Whistle because it gives me peace of mind that I have GPS on Gidget 24/7. Plus, I don't have to worry about her when I am traveling and can monitor her activities when friends or family watch her.
Staying on top of Gidget's health and well-being to me means:
I want Gidget to have the best life possible because she has given me so much already. She needs to be healthy and show me that she is never in pain. Quality of life is my highest priority for any animal that I have owned. In the Whistle app I can look at her daily Activity and see how she is sleeping and if she's acting like her normal self.
What's your favorite Whistle feature?
I love the boundaries that you can set and define Safe Places. It makes it very easy to know where your animal is and if they are not where you want them to be. When I'm away I love that I get alerts when she's taking walks or moving outside my Safe Places, and even who she is with.
Your job requires you to travel a lot, how often does Gidget travel with you?
When I travel in the US she is with me 99% of the time.
You live by the beach in Southern California. Where's your favorite place to go with Gidget?
I live in Laguna Niguel, and I love driving up the coast to see my friends in Pismo Beach: they have dog-friendly beaches there and she loves the beach as much as I do.
What's next for you and Gidget?
Things have mellowed down now since my race season just ended. So I am home and I have been catching up with family and friends with lots of small trips to visit them.
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@gisforgunther's human said: “Whistle provides me with data on [Günther's] daily exercise activities, including miles trekked and calories burned. This data tells me that Günther is living his best healthy canine life, and it ensures that we will have many more years of adventures together.”
Animals are creatures of habit. It helps to establish an exercise routine so that your pet gets used to getting some exercise with you at certain times during the day. It takes 21 days to form a habit so you can be each other's accountability partners. Try to tell people about what you are doing, because it can help keep you internally motivated while other people who know about it are externally motivating.
While you are working on establishing that habit of exercising with your pet daily, you can use the Whistle Go Explore 2.0 tracker and activity monitor to set a daily activity minute goal and keep track of your pet's goal streak in the Whistle app. Shoot for a 21-day streak and then see how long you two can keep it going.
Our dogs and cats are much smaller in body mass compared to us, so those treats add up a lot quicker for your pet than you might think. Make sure that you check the recommended daily feeding guideline on the treat bag and spread out those tasty delights throughout the day to reward your fur baby for good behaviors.
Have you ever sat down at the dinner table only to feel like you are being watched very closely? Just as you look over to understand why, you are met with two big eyes and the, “I'm literally starving and sitting so pretty for you right now” look. It may be heartbreaking but don't give in to begging at the table. Table scraps are really hard to measure in calorie content for pets and tend to add up a lot faster than pre-portioned treats throughout the day.
We all deserve a treat yourself moment but try to find other ways to treat your pet that aren't related to food. For example, is your dog a fan of specific types of toys? Take some time out of your day to play with your dog as a reward. Or is your dog the type to love smelling every tree or shrub on a walk? Going outside with their favorite human and getting to stop and smell for as long as they want will make them just as happy.
Slow down mealtime by turning your pet's mealtime into an interactive activity. Making pets work for their food gives them a job to do and keeps them busy so they aren't begging for more. There are a variety of food puzzles, slow feeders, and even DIY options like the snuffle mat for dry food.
Identify your dog's target weight. Doggy DNA tests, such as Wisdom Panel, can provide an “adult weight prediction,” which uses the breeds identified, as well as the data from genetic size markers, to predict the likely size range of a dog when fully mature. Understanding your dog's ideal weight allows for you to take proactive measures to maintain their healthiest size, whether it's a large or small dog, or any size in between.
Work with your veterinarian to make sure you find the right food that will help you manage your pet's weight. And if you have a picky eater, they can help you navigate the overwhelming number of options for what to feed your pet. Having your veterinarian help you navigate the pros and cons to the various diets will also help you feel confident in the option you choose. No matter the diet, there are helpful resources to find the right nutrition solution for your pet, like IAMS tailored cat and dog food selector tools.
]]>Some pet parents continue to measure out the same amount of kibble and wet food through their dog’s entire life, changing it only on their vet’s orders. But, according to new insights collected from Whistle devices, that habit could lead to weight gain if your dog goes through periods of higher and lower activity throughout the year.
Dog weight can actually be a sensitive topic for many people. Underneath all that love, how worried should pet parents be when they notice a little extra paunch on their pooch?
Because our partners at WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition and the University of Liverpool found that overweight dogs do, in fact, live shorter lives than those with ideal weights, we find it more important than ever to empower pet parents to keep their pups in perfect health.
And we do this with the Whistle app, where you can learn the right amount of food you should be feeding your dog and what an ideal body weight looks like for your particular size and breed. Both of those discoveries help you give them exactly what they need. Another key factor to keep in mind: how many calories your dog is actually burning. And, according to our insights, your dog may not be burning the same amount of calories every month.
The graph below shows an adult Beagle’s calorie burn by month. Without tracking activity, one might think summer would include the higher activity months because of all the outdoor adventure. But for this dog, summer actually saw the lowest monthly activity. Looking at the year as a whole, you can see a substantial disparity between the peak activity of April and the lowest activity of September.
According to one popular dog food brand, Beagles in this dog’s weight range should eat 1.75 cups of food daily. But one look at the chart shows that a consistent amount of food throughout the year will not match the amount of energy the dog is naturally burning.
Doing the math, if a pet parent fed their 30-pound beagle 1.75 cups of food year-round, they’d be overfeeding the poor pooch by up to 2.5 pounds of food per season, which could add up to 7.5 extra pounds of food per year!
Instead of taking the same-amount-every-day approach, you can stay more in tune with your pet’s weight by reassessing their feeding every 3 months, adjusting for any major changes in their activity levels. The Whistle app takes in your dog’s age, weight, breed, and activity levels, giving you back all the information you need to keep that lovable pup in tip top shape!
Go ahead—give it a whirl yourself and see what you learn.
Whistle tip: Head over to IAMS list of common questions about feeding your dog to learn about the different life stages each dog goes through and how to give your dog the care he or she needs at every age.
]]>Getting fit and being healthy doesn’t mean you need to push through loads of planks and push-ups all alone. Your best bud is eager to join in.
Like you, dogs need to exercise daily. While some breeds have special needs to take into account, they still need some form of daily physical activity to tone their muscles, keep their metabolic system functioning properly, and engage their mind.
Whistle helps you set customized daily goals (based on your pet's breed, age, and weight), and sends you updates while you achieve those healthy goals together!
Plyometrics
So maybe your BFF isn't into burpees (we don't blame them). There are tons of other ways to include your dog in high intensity workouts. Any form of short interval exercise that cause the heart rate to skyrocket will work. These activities improve speed and power, in both humans and pups.
Attacking a hill or two, or tossing a ball and fetching it together will get the heart pumping. Turn it into a race and use your BFF as motivation to keep up—we're placing bets your dog wins, though.
Tip: These are big calorie-burners (one of the healthful details Whistle tracks) so be sure to pack a few extra dog treats for your little athlete.
Steady-State Cardio
Exercise where you keep a set pace at a moderate intensity, like a long run or bike ride, is beneficial for endurance training. Your pup certainly doesn’t need to be preparing for a race to be eager for a run. Breeds like Labrador retrievers, hounds, collies, and shepherds need more exercise than most. Buddying up for a cardio run is a great way to reach their Activity Goals together.
Tip: If you're new to running with your dog, BarkPost has some tips on getting started. And Runner’s World has a great roundup of articles on the subject.
Active Recovery & Dynamic Warm-Up
Grab your best bud and go for a leisurely stroll. A walk can raise your heart rate and body temperature in preparation for a more intense workout, or simply use it as a way to be active on a rest day. This type of low-intensity activity helps with blood circulation for you and your best bud. In addition to important health factors, dogs need walks for mental simulation and socialization—they love sniffing and engaging with their outdoor environment!
Tip: Slower activities like walking are perfect for older pets and short-nosed breeds, like Bulldogs. They don’t need a lot of daily exercise—a casual walk around the neighborhood together will do the trick.
Cross-Training
Mixing in different workouts and training methods help to create a well-balanced fitness plan for you and your pet. In addition to shifting activities, try changing the scene. Taking new running paths or introducing new toys and games helps your pet’s mental stimulation.
Tip: Dogs noses are about a million times more sensitive than humans. While you're mixing up your routine, consider hitting a few places your pup can get active while tracking new smells. There’s even smelling activities for your dog to enjoy!
Cool-Down
Gradually bringing your body back to a resting state by lowering your heart rate and calming your nervous system is an important part of a healthy routine. While your workout pal may not break into a downward dog, taking time to rest and calm their system after an active day at the park is beneficial.
Just like humans, a dog produces stress hormones when they get excited. Even fun activities for prolonged periods isn't ideal. So a balance between active and downtime is essential. Indulge with your bud in a few well-earned OM's.
Get Sleep
Getting some Zzz's is important! Your body will produce the hormones needed to repair the muscle tissue. A good night's sleep or a long snuggle with your buddy on the couch will go a long way in helping bodies stay strong. A tired dog is a happy dog!
Check out PETMD’s article for more great tips on getting healthy with your best bud.
]]>Your dog had dinner hours ago but suddenly he’s staring at you like he’s missed several meals. What gives? If you’ve ever wondered how often you should feed your dog, you’re certainly not alone. Dog digestive systems, pet ages, portion sizes, and general preference, are a few things to consider when coming up with your dog's meal plan.
First, regardless of when you feed your dog, you need to make sure you’re feeding your pet the right amount per day. How much food a dog needs per day is highly variable, based on their weight, breed, age, activity level, and the kind of food you’re feeding them. The Whistle Food Portion Calculator in the Whistle app makes this easy by telling you exactly how much to feed your dog based on those important factors, including how many calories your dog burns each day.
Now that you know how much to feed your dog, let’s talk mealtimes. It’s all about finding consistency. According to Dr. Sarah Dougherty, DVM, a veterinarian at Banfield Pet Hospital, most adult dogs do well eating twice a day, like getting a breakfast and dinner. Dogs often thrive on this kind of routine, though some pet owners may choose to do what’s called “free-feeding,” where you put food in your dog’s bowl and let them choose when to eat it.
“Free-feeding is OK provided you only have one pet in the house, you are feeding dry food only, and you measure the amount of food put out and only give a 24-hour portion at a time,” Dr. Dougherty says. But this can make it difficult for you to keep an eye on your dog’s eating behavior, which can sometimes be an early tip-off for health problems.
If you’re feeding your dog twice a day but have the occasional conflict—like you’re leaving for the evening before their usual dinner time, or you come home late from work—just do your best. When that’s not possible, you can also split dinner in half. “In many cases, you can give a small portion of dinner before you go out and the remainder when you get home.” This way your dog won’t end up going too long without being fed.
As with everything puppy-related, mealtimes can be a bit more of a process. “Growing puppies need to be fed more often, particularly when they are very young because their stomach isn’t large enough to hold their calorie needs at any one time,” Dr. Dougherty explains. Think three to four times per day.
As the puppy gets a bit older, around 12-16 weeks old, they can go to twice daily feedings.
As much as your dog’s puppy dog eyes may try to convince you they’re still hungry, they’re probably fine. “Unless you are specifically underfeeding your dog, the ‘begging’ that most people interpret as hunger is not,” Dr. Dougherty explains. Instead, it’s usually a sign that they’re craving attention, exercise, or the bathroom. Try throwing a ball around or playing tug of war and see if their begging decreases.
However, if you review their routine and realize they’re going longer than 12 hours between meals, “then it is possible that they are hungry,” Dr. Dougherty says.
Some dogs aren’t obsessed with finishing every last morsel of food in their bowl. In that case, pay attention to what they’re leaving behind. “Canned food should not be left out for longer than an hour,” Dr. Dougherty says. Longer than that and harmful bacteria can begin to grow, which could make your dog sick if they return to eat it later. Throw whatever they don’t eat away. If you didn’t use the whole can, you can refrigerate opened, unserved cans for up to three days.
Dry food is more shelf-stable and can be left out for up to 24 hours.
Treats are fine, too, as long as you don’t overdo it.
“As with people, everything in moderation,” Dr. Dougherty says. Treats are fine as long as they don’t make up more than 10% of your pet’s daily calories. That’s a lot easier when you’re not handing out hot dogs and deli meat, since they’re so high in both calories and fat. The Whistle Food Portion Calculator will even break down treats so you know exactly how many they can have in a day to maintain a healthy weight.
As an alternative to store-bought treats (which can sometimes be high in calories for their size and lacking in nutrients), Dr. Dougherty recommends dog-friendly fruits and vegetables like bananas, apples, carrots, broccoli, or green beans.
The bottom line: How often you feed your dog depends on a lot of factors, but a big one is also preference. As long as you’re feeding your dog the right amount, you’re feeding them at minimum every 12 hours, and you’re being mindful of the factors we laid out here, you and your pet are free to find a mealtime plan that works best for you. And if you have specific questions about your dog’s feeding schedule, talk to your vet, or use the Chat with a Vet feature in the Whistle app..
Whistle tip: Head over to IAMS list of common questions about feeding your dog to learn about the different life stages each dog goes through and how to give your dog the care he or she needs at every age.
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Colleen Stinchcombe is a freelance writer with two dogs. She writes about pets for Whistle, Rover, and Woman’s Day.
For most people, summer means being outdoors, enjoying the warm, evening air, and throwing some of our favorite foods on the grill. While hotdogs and burgers are the mainstays, chips, fruit and salads also make their way to picnic tables across the country. If you’re a pet parent, you know all too well that with so much delicious human food within sniffing distance, our dogs might actually leave our side in favor (or is it in flavor?) of the table side.
But here’s the thing: Some of our most popular summertime treats are dangerous to our best friend and could land your pup in the pet ER. So let’s take a minute to get clear on which foods must not make it to their mouths—no matter how hard they work us for it.
It’s important to remember that this is not an exhaustive list. If you have any concerns about safe foods for your pet, always check with your veterinarian, or use the Chat with a Vet feature from your Whistle app.
Pets can show playfulness. They can communicate hunger. They can exhibit protection, demonstrate loyalty, and express love.
What they cannot do, however, is talk. And that’s okay because they can convey all of the above traits beautifully without words. One place words would come in handy is when it comes time to communicate their well-being. Imagine how useful it would be if our dogs could tell us that they’re developing a skin issue, or that they feel sick, or that they’re in pain.
For that kind of information, pet owners used to be on their own. But now there’s Pet Insight Project (PI), a pioneering study that gives a “voice” to our pets’ medical conditions. Too often, pet parents take their dog to the vet only when an issue has grown serious, which could lead to a worse health outcome, a longer recovery period, and a higher vet bill. Pet Insight enables us to finally take a preventative health approach with our pets.
Pet Insight Project (PI) is the brainchild of Kinship, the innovative division of Mars Petcare. PI is comprised of a dedicated group of scientists and veterinarians working to identify certain behavioral patterns in dogs that indicate health problems. They do this by analyzing aggregated data from over 11 million days in the lives of hundreds of thousands of dogs. These data scientists pair data collected from Whistle activity monitors with videos captured by citizen scientists to train the Whistle devices to track your dog’s behaviors. The activity records are then combined with anonymized medical records from Banfield Pet Hospital, and health patterns begin to emerge.
But this is a remarkable amount of data, and you might wonder how we can analyze it so quickly and accurately. The answer is with FilterNet™.
FilterNet™ is a novel deep learning AI that classifies lifetime events and translates large volumes of Whistle activity monitor data into dog behaviors. It incorporates known information with new information more accurately and 100 times faster than any other model. With FilterNet™, our researchers can process a full day’s worth of data in just a few seconds, where older models would take 20 to 30 minutes—a very expensive amount of computing time. Simply put, our vision of the future is that when your pet is wearing a Whistle device, Pet Insight’s algorithms, in essence, give your pet a “voice” that may allow you and your veterinarian to provide better care than ever before.
An easy way to understand it is to picture a large mural. If the health stories of every dog were translated into that mural, and your dog was just one brushstroke in the piece, FilterNet is the unique program you could use to understand the whole picture while also seeing the granular details. It lets us observe minute characteristics and the full context at the same time, providing new understandings and insightful connections. This benefits pet parents, veterinarians, and pets in amazing ways. It allows you to be better informed about your pet’s health patterns, it allows you to arm your vet with specific data that can lead to more effective care, and it allows your dog to live a happier, healthier life.
This “full-life biomonitoring” approach gives us a 24/7, 360-degree view of your pet’s wellbeing. It is revolutionizing pet care, but we strive to do even more. The implications of our work extends far beyond pet health. We aim to uncover insights into the human/animal bond, elevating that understanding to a whole new level as well.
In the meantime, our goal is ultimately simple – to give you more happy and healthy years with your pet. We’ll provide their “voice” for better health. They provide the playfulness, the loyalty, and the love.
Read more about FilterNet™ in a recently published paper here. This is one of many health AI innovations being developed by the Pet Insight Project.
]]>Despite the near constant flow of information, there’s still plenty of questions that probably still feel unanswered. Can your dog get infected? Can a dog infect you? What should you do to keep both your pup and yourself safe and healthy? The health and wellbeing of your pets will always remain our top priority.
First, the most important fact: There’s no evidence that dogs can spread COVID-19 to humans, according to the World Health Organization and many other experts.
That being said, to date there has been limited testing on dogs owned by COVID-19 positive people, which shows that dogs can be infected (though the risk is low).
While we can’t pretend to have every answer, we gathered the latest findings and recommendations from leading health organizations, including our partners at Banfield Pet Hospital and Waltham Petcare Science Institute, to take on some of the most common ones that concern your pet.
Note: We will continue to update this post as necessary.
We have seen to date evidence from a single dog in Hong Kong that infection in dogs with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes human COVID-19, can occur. Due to the absence of respiratory symptoms and weakly positive results, it is unlikely the dog posed a transmission risk to other animals or humans. Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that animals infected by humans can spread COVID-19.
Human outbreaks are driven by person to person contact. Cases of infection in dogs appear to be infrequent. So far, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) in Hong Kong findings indicate that dogs and cats are not infected easily with this virus, and at this time there is no evidence that they can transmit the virus to people. But please remember this is a novel virus, meaning one that has not been seen before. As such, research and testing are ongoing, and much still remains unknown. Because of this, health officials are recommending that infected people quarantine themselves from people and pets and leave the care of their pets to family members or loved ones who have not been infected.
In addition to following public health officials’ recommendations regarding quarantining infected people from pets, here are some general guidelines every pet owner should follow:
Again, the CDC recommends you avoid contact with both pets and people if you should test positive with COVID-19. At this point we understand that the virus that causes COVID-19 is most efficiently spread via human-to-human contact and we now know it can also be spread human-to-animal, so it’s essential to treat pets as we would any family member and keep them virus-free.
To get the latest information, always refer to reliable sources like the ones listed below. Stay informed, stay calm, and enjoy your quality time with your family and pet. For more information, visit: