When diagnosing an ill companion animal, vets often have to rely on information about their clinical signs and behaviour provided by the pet’s owner. With the PetDialog+ wellness monitor from Zoetis, a dog’s behaviour can be monitored in real-time. A vet can use this data to see how much the animal is eating, drinking, and even how much exercise and rest they are getting. Watch the video above to see subject pet Finn, a happy and fit dog that, like most pets, have days when they are ‘under the weather’. These states are difficult for pets to express to their owners and this is where PetDialog+ comes into play.

PetDialog+ is the next generation of pet wellness monitors that follows on from PetDialog which was created in conjunction with vHive Veterinary Health Innovation Engine and partner Zoetis. A vet is able to see a pet for 10 – 15 minutes only, and rely heavily on the pet’s owner for most information. But seeing as most owners aren’t vets themselves, they may not be assessing their animals in the right way. This new monitor aims to plug the gap. Unlike human monitors, PetDialog+ aims to track more than just activity. It aims to connect a wearable device with an app via bluetooth which will enable owners to add in extra information about their pet, such as weight, and how much they are feeding it.

PetDialog+ monitors the pet 24/7, 7 days a week and shows eight different states such as walking and sleeping along with data on feeding and drinking.

vHive’s role in this new technology lies in the independent validation side.

“PetDialog+ is going through more rigorous testing than many current human fitness monitors”. – Dr Ingrid den Uijl, Lecturer in Animal Health Surveillance DVM, PhD, MRCVS