As you may or may not know I'm getting a puppy! This hasn't been a quick or flippant decision, I think it is possibly getting on for about 3 years actually. I normally am the doggy daycare for my Mum and Dad's dog Olly, (well my dog as well because he loves me the best). So you'll probably have spotted numerous posts with Olly featured on, as we go hiking, taking a run or on some sort of adventure together. I've never really given it much thought to how much exercise Olly does on a day to day basis, so when Pedigree got in touch about their new dog tracking app, Pedigree Track's, I was excited for us to give it a go.
SET UP |
Firstly it's easy to download both for Apple and Android phones, you upload your dogs details, weight, build, breed and age, then it calculates how much food and exercise it needs. Olly is apparently a little over weight according to our groomer at 17kilos. He is however quite a stocky Cocker Spaniel, and actually isn't for his shape. That being said, I was genuinely intrigued to know if we were giving him enough exercise.
FEEDING |
As I say the app calculates, based on the information you put in about your dog, what calories it should be having on a daily basis. Obviously because it is a Pedigree branded app, it actually calculates it based on their dog food options. It also gives you information about each of the products it is suggesting for you to feed your dog. Olly is a very special boy and is extremely allergic to such a variety of food combinations, he can pretty much only eat turkey, so he can't have any, whereas my sisters dog Teddy could. It also has a section about switching to pedigree and how to help your dog adjust over a gradual introduction. It also helps with showing portions sizes as well. Finally in this section is has a nutrition section where there are helpful pointers about wet food, dry food, keeping your dog in shape, and things like moving from puppy to senior food.
EXERCISE |
This is the main reason I wanted to use the app. Heading onto the exercise part you can either set the timer going or add in the amount of time manually. Options for exercise are indoor play, garden play, on-lead walkies and off the lead. You can also add a picture during any of your activities to help you keep a doggy log book in dog data. Olly pretty much got a gold star everyday for going beyond his exercise, hitting around 140% and that was down to all the off lead walk we do. In the exercise portion it also has the training academy and games section under the inspiration folder. It gives you easy break down of diversifying the games you play with your dog and training them further such as jumping up, playing dead, leaving objects and pulling on the lead. One game we now do is an adaptation of the gravy bone hunt suggestion, we cut up carrot coins and hide them for Olly to find, for Teddy we do this with Pedigrees Gravy Bones, Milk Bones and other dog treats.
CHECK UP |
This section helps you monitor the size and weight of your dog but prompting you with some key questions. i.e can you feel their ribcage with light pressure, then with harder pressure etc. It gives you an outcome and helps provide options to either maintaining them, helping them put on weight or how to lose some.
OVERALL |
I've been a bit shocked at home much exercise we do with Olly, and I can now really understand why he sleeps pretty much the rest of the day! That was something that Pedigree tracks app popped up as soon as we went over the 100% on exercise mark, that Olly needed sufficient rest after such an active day. Loving this app so will certainly recommend it to all my doggy pals! Read more about the Pedigree Tracks App here.
*This post is a collaboration with Pedigree, but all thoughts are my own. For additional dental care information you can read the following Pedigree Reviews article for tips and advice*
