Dog Health and Fitness Trackers: An In-Depth Review of the Whistle Go Explore

• This publish accommodates affiliate hyperlinks. Read extra right here.

There’s no going again now: well being and health trackers for canine have arrived, and merchandise just like the Whistle Go Explore are main the cost. But is the wealth of knowledge they provide well worth the price ticket? With the assistance of Rover check pup Sabine, we get some surprisingly definitive solutions.

Why a GPS Fitness Tracker for a Dog?

The Whistle Go Explore is an particularly in style entry in a rising area of hybrid canine tech: canine GPS units that double as well being and health trackers to your pup.

The GPS part is sensible: it makes use of cell towers in your space to trace your canine, sending you a notification in your cellphone when the machine has left a chosen secure space, then following it with common location updates so you may head proper to your lacking escape artist.

But for a lot of pet dad and mom, the utility of health monitoring is lots much less apparent—and I used to be among the many skeptics. I used to be admittedly very interested by how my pups spent their days after I was gone, however I had hassle justifying a $100+ funding to seek out out. Was there actually any utility to figuring out, I puzzled, or wouldn’t it simply be yet another factor to maintain monitor of—and really feel responsible about if my canine weren’t getting sufficient train?

My Bernedoodle Sabine and I made a decision to make the leap. We put the Whistle Go Explore to the check for six weeks, and it was a wilder journey than both of us anticipated.

How the Whistle Go Explore Works

The canine well being and health tracker arrived in an important little package deal, full with fast start-up directions that had been straightforward to know and bought us up and working very quickly. The Whistle Go Explore is available in three colours, so you may outfit your canine with a coloration that brings out her shine. (We went for pink, as a result of Sabine all the time comes again from the groomer wanting like a curmudgeonly outdated man, and pink is clearly the suitable selection for curmudgeons.)

The machine itself is small and light-weight, and it suits proper in your canine’s collar. It’s tiny sufficient that it shouldn’t be burdensome even to a small canine.

Battery Life

The Whistle Go Explore prices shortly, and the battery life is unimaginable. Six weeks in, we nonetheless have 30% of the preliminary cost. That’s fairly wonderful for a pet GPS tracker. (Note: The producer recommends charging it twice per week for optimum long-term battery life. Since we had been testing the product, we wished to see how lengthy it may final on a single cost!)

The Whistle Go Explore has built-in choices to preserve battery by turning off monitoring in case your canine is inside your WiFi vary. We selected this feature and located it helped protect battery life however didn’t restrict performance: if Sabine ever leaves WiFi vary, the Whistle Go Explore routinely switches modes to maintain monitor of her location.

Health Indicators

In addition to normal exercise, the Whistle tracks a number of well being indicators, together with licking, scratching, consuming, and ingesting. During the primary week of utilization, it should decide your pet’s regular patterns—like a warm-up interval to get to know your canine.

Once a baseline is established, you may get a good suggestion in case your pet has elevated scratching or licking (indicating a possible allergy, irritation, an infection, or harm) or if their consuming and ingesting habits have considerably modified. I usually checked it each couple of days.

Subscription

The Whistle Go Explore has a month-to-month subscription charge. This subscription covers all the things that you simply’ll want to your machine’s performance, together with community, information, GPS, and even some tele-vet companies. The plans vary from $7.99 to $12.99 monthly, relying on the cost plan that you choose.

Setting Up the Whistle Go Explore

Setting up the Whistle is surprisingly straightforward. Its app enables you to select between quite a lot of privateness settings to your consolation. You can have the app acknowledge in case your cellphone is co-located with the machine, and this permits the machine to know in case your pet is with you. You even have the choice to fill out your profile so as to add all of your pet’s people: the individuals who can have the app and connect with your Whistle.

Next, you may enter your canine’s info: breed, dimension, age, and weight loss program (the kind and model of meals you feed). This info, when in comparison with your canine’s exercise, helps the app present meals amount and well being suggestions. You may also add details about your pet’s schedule should you like, reminiscent of vet and grooming appointments. The app will publish reminders to ensure you bear in mind—fairly cool, we are saying.

Finally, the app offers you the choice to create a secure perimeter to your canine. We selected to create a field round our property and to obtain alerts when Sabine was not on this zone. As marketed, the app tell us when Sabine had left the realm: generally by automotive (on her option to the groomer), generally on a visit to the sledding hill, and as soon as on an unauthorized journey (extra on that under).

It’s necessary to notice that the Whistle Go Explore has the most effective performance with good WiFi and cell service. A weak WiFi sign will lower the machine’s utility within the neighborhood of your own home, and unhealthy cell service will restrict the machine’s capacity to find your pet if she will get misplaced.

Testing the Whistle Go Explore

I had a number of objectives when testing the performance of this canine well being and health tracker. First, I used to be curious if I might study something about Sabine’s exercise. How precisely did she spend her time every day?

Second, I wished to know if I may use the machine as a coaching help. We have a big fenced-in yard, however Sabine employs her mind properly when she must and has discovered escape routes. I wished to know if I may use this machine along with a “beep” collar (sends the canine an audible beep when she wants correction) to encourage her to remain within the fence, even when the neighbor’s cat teased her.

Finally, I used to be within the well being side of the app to see if I may find out about her normal well-being and make any changes to assist her reside her greatest life.

I’ve to confess it: my expectations had been low. My most important concern was that it might be only one other thing to trace, and yet another information level to remind me that we aren’t excellent. (Sabine in all probability may use extra train, and I’m all the time conscious that we are able to do higher.) My second concern was the fee. Would the advantages actually justify not simply the preliminary price ticket but in addition a month-to-month subscription?

The Results: Is the Whistle Go Explore Worth It?

Result #1: Unexpected Joy

I’ve not laughed this difficult in months. The Whistle was simply extremely enjoyable—a consequence I wasn’t anticipating from a canine well being and health tracker.

First of all, you’ll must know that Sabine is an extremely goofy canine. And whereas I’ve all the time recognized she’s on the lazy facet, I had no thought simply how lazy she is. I had a lot enjoyable sharing screenshots of Sabine’s each day napping with my mates. It had us in hysterics for your complete six weeks. We realized that Sabine is an professional napper with a private report of 18.8 hours in someday. Absolutely wonderful, and one thing I aspire to.

The excellent news is, based on this health tracker for canine, she can be fairly wholesome. Her train wants usually are not as intense as I believed they might be, and she or he self-exercises very properly when she explores the fence line or follows our free-range chickens on their each day commute throughout the yard. The app confirmed that she is getting the train she wants (particularly on days when it snows: Bernedoodles are pure frolickers) and is mostly on monitor along with her well being wants. Win!

Result #2: Useful Activity Data

The app gives helpful statistics every week about your canine, together with their common exercise ranges, “greatest day,” and complete miles and energy burned. We realized this information is most helpful when considered as weekly averages, not each day averages, since climate performs an enormous function in Sabine’s exercise ranges and what she’s taken with doing.

Result #3: Helpful Dietary Recommendations

When you arrange the Whistle Go Explore app, you’ve got the choice to report the model of meals you feed your canine. After the app calculates your canine’s baseline exercise (close to age and weight), it offers you feeding suggestions. The app really useful that we enhance the quantity of meals we feed Sabine to fulfill her caloric wants. We made this adjustment and can monitor to verify it retains her at a wholesome weight.

Result #4: Useful Health Alerts

Bernedoodles are susceptible to ear infections, and Sabine isn’t any exception. Her people are conditioned to search for the indicators. But we discovered that the app seen her newest ear an infection earlier than we did—it reported a noticeable uptick in scratching. I now intently monitor this information level to verify we catch any ear infections early.

Result #5: Safety

The Whistle Go Explore is price its weight in gold in case your canine will get misplaced. One day, Sabine determined she was going to “go discover” and didn’t are available after I referred to as. I grabbed my cellphone and noticed that I had an alert from the app: Sabine was not in her designated secure space!

The app confirmed me her precise location and the route she had taken to get there. I used to be capable of go on to her and produce her again residence. If we hadn’t had this health tracker for canine, I wouldn’t have recognized the place she was. It was an enormous reduction to have that info at my fingertips.

Result #6: Training

As far as coaching goes, the machine isn’t fairly delicate sufficient to know the exact second when the canine leaves her secure zone, because it updates regularly—however not in actual time. For this cause, it in all probability isn’t appropriate as a coaching help. However, the GPS location is correct and well timed sufficient that will help you monitor down a canine who has gone on an unauthorized journey.

The Verdict: Four Paws Up for this Dog Health and Fitness Tracker!

People purchase canine well being and health trackers for a lot of causes, however my expertise with the Whistle Go Explore was that it was properly well worth the funding for all the explanations above. I might completely suggest this machine for useful details about your canine’s exercise and well being—and for the peace of thoughts of figuring out that you simply’ll be capable to shortly find your canine if she will get misplaced.

Sabine and I each give this canine well being and health tracker all 4 paws up!

Shop on Amazon

Further Reading

Interested in different well being and health services or products to your canine?

• Pawp: A Telehealth Service for Pets
• The 20 Best Smart Home Pet Products for a Better Life With Your Pet
• A Guide to Getting Fit with Your Dog
• The 15 Best Dog Apps for Pet Parents