Review: FitBark Dog Activity Monitor

Over the last few years activity monitors for humans have seen a huge rise in popularity with the Jawbone and FitBit making people more aware of the amount of (or lack of) exercise they do. I recently became aware of an activity monitor for dogs and thought this would be a great way of tracking Lexi’s progress as she grows so I bought one via Amazon for £59.95.

The FitBark is just like a human activity monitor. It comes in two parts, firstly a small collar sensor (only 8g in weight, suitable for collars up to 3cm in width) which collects data about your dog’s activity as well as sleep. The sensor uses a 3D accelerometer to track play, rest and high activity. It has been designed to stand up to the rough and tumble of doggie life, including being water resistant and is able to go for up to 14 days without needing to be recharged via mini USB.

The second part of this tool is the app which connects to the sensor via Bluetooth and visualises the data collected. FitBark uses units of activity called BarkPoints which accumulate when your dog moves and are broken down into time slots to show you what you dog was doing when. It also calculates a sleep score for your dog which denotes the quality of sleep your pooch is getting. Dogs who are sick, anxious or under-exerted tend to get a lower score.

It’s a great way to monitor your dog’s exercise as well as motivate her (and you!) to be more active which ultimately means you and your dog will be healthier and will help you determine if you dog needs more exercise to avoid unwanted behaviour (like destroying the house!) Being able to monitor sleep patterns in your dog can be really interesting too; if your dog is restless during the night it might mean that she needs more exercise or on the other hand not being able to get comfortable might be a sign of an injury. Being able to track the ups and downs in sleep is a great tool for any dog owner.

So, how have we been getting on? I think the FitBark is a fantastic tool for any dog owner who really wants to understand the amount of exercise their dog needs and to be able to use the data collected to inform choices such as how long a walk should be or how much food should be given. I have found the information really interesting, especially the sleep data which tells me that 2 decent walks a day means she pretty much sleeps through from 10pm to 7am (although she spends about 10 mins of every hour moving around which is common in puppies).

There are a couple of problems I have run into whilst using the FitBark. Firstly the sensor is strapped to the collar via a strong elastic band which connects two attachment points on the sensor, trapping the collar between the elastic band and the sensor. As the elastic band is pretty tight (to stop the sensor from falling off the collar) it can be tough stretching it between the attachment points which can make it fiddly and frustrating to set up. That being said the sensor has never become loose which is an obvious benefit.

A second issue I have had with the FitBark sensor is with water. It is advertised as being waterproof for up to 30 mins in 1 meter of water, however, after only one quick swim (10 seconds!) in the river Lexi’s FitBark stopped connecting to my phone. Luckily after a few hours in some dry rice and a solid recharge the sensor did behave normally and connected to the app and updated. My mother purchased FitBarks for her two dogs and similarly one of hers has stopped connecting and stopped charging having spent time in water. FitBark agreed straight away to replace her broken sensor which is great customer service, but ultimately dogs do get wet so this is a problem which needs to be looked into. I have now covered the sensor in cling film to keep it dry!

Overall I have been really enjoying the FitBark and the information it gives me regarding Lexi’s activity and sleep. It’s always satisfying to meet her target for the day (based on her age and breed), in fact she recently achieved more activity than 94% of all Labradors and 91% of all FitBark users which made me geekily proud of her. I have to admit that I have dug out my FitBit which I bought a year or so ago and am enjoying watching my activity level going up too!

I award the FitBark dog activity monitor 4 out of 5 stars, if it wasn’t for the water problem I would very happily give it 5.