WHAT IS ACTIVITY?
Activity is simply what your pet does on a daily basis. Running, eating, sleeping, and everything in-between – all this can provide significant medical value, in addition to satisfying the natural curiosity of pet owners about how pets spend their days.
WHAT DOES ACTIVITY HAVE TO DO WITH DOG OR CAT HEALTH?
How much should my dog sleep?
Do older cats still play?
These, and other similar questions regarding pet activity and exercise habits, are not easily answered. First of all, there is significant individual variability, not unlike what we see in people. More importantly, this field of study is still in its infancy.
What is known is that monitoring and analyzing activity patterns and levels can provide valuable medical insights. For example, a decline in activity levels may indicate the development of a disease causing pain or weakness.
BREED-SPECIFIC ACTIVITY-RELATED CONDITIONS
Changes in activity levels can indicate a number of possible conditions in specific breeds of dogs, for example:
- Epilepsy – German Shepherd, Beagle, Keeshond, Belgian Tervueren, Border Collie, Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever
- Allergies – Boxer, Bull Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Chow Chow, Cocker Spaniel, French Bulldog, Fox Terrier, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Irish Setter, Labrador Retriever, Poodle, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Shar-Pei, Viszla, West Highland White Terrier, Bichon Frise, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Jack Russell Terrier, Great Dane, And Silky Terrier
- Hypothyroidism – Boxer, Doberman Pinscher, Giant Schnauzer, Golden Retrievers, Irish Setters, Great Dane, Cocker Spaniel, Dachshund, Poodle, Miniature Schnauzer
- Hyperthyroidism – Domestic Short Hair Cats
HOW CAN PETPACE HELP?
Changes in activity patterns and routines may indicate the development of acute or chronic health problems. Continuous measurement of your dog or cat’s activity levels and habits gives clinicians and caregivers important insights into health status.
The PetPace collar can help your veterinarian determine if your pet’s activity level is inappropriate for his or her condition, and examine whether a disease process is indicated. Moreover, PetPace can measurably assist caregivers during a pet’s recovery from surgery or treatment for any disease where controlling and monitoring activity is important for good clinical outcome.
SET ACTIVITY GOALS FOR YOUR DOG
The built-in Activity Page on your PetPace app makes it easy for you to set and track a daily high activity goal for your pets, how many minutes a day you want your dog to exercise in high activity.
CASE STUDIES
(Examples for the use of PetPace activity data in real clinical cases)
Activity monitoring facilitates exercise restriction in a Pit Bull treated for Heartworm infection