PetKeen Review of PetPace // December 7, 2023

Have you ever wondered what’s going on inside your dog’s body? Are they healthy and happy, or hurting and doing their best to hide it from you? The PetPace smart collar was made to answer these questions and so much more.

You can think of the PetPace collar as a highly intelligent Fitbit-type wearable device made specifically for dogs and cats. This highly intelligent sensor measures seven major vital signs and utilizes AI algorithms to create a comprehensive picture of your pet’s health. It even contains GPS to track their activity levels and help you find them if they ever wander off.

The key is in the thousands of data points this collar collects every day. Over time, this data can be compared to a database of millions of data points gathered from other dogs and cats that match your pet’s age, breed, and gender.

Using this vast amount of information, PetPace can determine things like pain level, wellness score, and sleep quality. It will even warn you if there is a sudden change in your pet’s vitals that might indicate illness, stress, or other issues that require intervention.

I had the opportunity to try the PetPace collar on my dog, Ragz. Because she is getting up there in age and dealing with some joint pain and stiffness, I was very curious to find out how well she is doing on the inside.

Keep reading my full PetPace product review to find out what insights I gained from using PetPace on my dog for just two weeks. And to get more information on what this high-tech pet gadget has to offer.

About PetPace

PetPace was developed by a group of veterinarians, IoT pros, engineers, algorithms experts, and data specialists, who are also devoted pet parents. By studying recent advancements in human wearable sensors and working with veterinarians for over a decade, they were able to create PetPace, the most advanced pet health tracker on the market.

This American company is based out of Burlington, Massachusetts.

What Does PetPace Measure?

The PetPace collar continuously measures seven vital statistics, including:

• Heart rate
• Temperature
• Respiration rate
• Heart rate variability
• Activity
• Sleep
• Posture

This data is compiled and analyzed by AI to generate information about your pet’s overall well-being. By comparing this data to other users’ data and research archives, PetPace can warn you of potential disease, pain issues, and more.

The company’s website features a number of case studies highlighting how this collar has helped uncover unknown health conditions in its users.

One owner used PetPace to monitor the recovery of her husky, Moli, after a car injury, documenting changes in pulse rate, HRV, activity, and posture. The collar helped by ensuring the husky’s well-being during the acute phase and reassuring progress throughout her recovery.

Another owner found her senior dog had a far lower-than-average heart rate and heart rate variability. After tests, it was determined the dog was suffering from cardiac issues and was treated to avoid further heart damage.

In addition to monitoring vital signs, the collar also contains a GPS that can be used to track movement, activity, and location. Parts of this aspect of the PetPace system are still in development. When complete, it will be possible to set a boundary around your home to receive push notifications on your phone if your dog or cat leaves your property.

Which Pets Is PetPace Best Suited For?

PetPace is an excellent option for small, medium, and large dogs. Currently available for these categories, PetPace is actively in development for extra small dog sizes and other pets such as cats.

See size charts with breed examples:

PetPace proves to be an exceptionally valuable choice for specific scenarios, particularly for senior dogs. It provides crucial data that may go unnoticed, making it an invaluable tool for pet owners. Additionally, it is highly beneficial for pets recovering from surgery or coping with any kind of illness or disease that requires constant monitoring.

Furthermore, PetPace is ideal for high-risk pets prone to diseases or illnesses due to their breed. This includes pets at risk or in need of extra monitoring due to their health conditions. Whether your pet is at an increased risk or undergoing recovery, PetPace ensures that you have access to essential data for their well-being.

Overview

Here is an overview of what you can expect from the PetPace collar, including information about the collar itself, connectivity and battery life, the phone app, warranty, and pricing.

Collar

The PetPace collar is meant to be worn with the sensor centered on the dog or cat’s neck. It needs to be a little tighter than the average collar, but you should still be able to comfortably stick two fingers under the band.

The collar itself is made of nylon and has a rubber cover that sits over the front section. This rubber piece has a number of cones that press against the pet’s neck. Contrary to what I first thought when I saw them, these cones are actually acoustic sensors, not something meant to help keep the collar in place.

The collar and sensor box are water-resistant and highly durable. The buckle is a standard clip style with an adjustable tab on each side so you can get the perfect fit for more accurate readings.

Connectivity

PetPace uses a wifi connection for setup and to transmit data. In instances when wifi is not available, such as on walks, it will transmit data via cellular.

I did receive a number of “lost connection” notifications during my test period. Luckily, the connection always seemed to restore itself quickly and without me having to do anything.

Battery

According to the website, the battery in the collar should last between 2 days and 6 weeks, depending on which operation mode you are using and how active your pet is.

This is the one area where I ran into the most issues with my collar. I had it set to standard data transfer mode (every 15 minutes) which should allow the battery to last between 2 and 3 weeks. This was not the case for me.

The longest my collar lasted was 6 days on a full charge. The shortest was just 27 hours.

It’s possible my collar has some sort of battery defect. Time will tell if the charging schedule becomes more normalized.

Phone App

Overall, I found it relatively easy to navigate the phone app considering how much data and information the app gives you access to. It was easy to set up Ragz’s profile and upload her picture. And after a brief warmup period, I started getting data that I could graph and compare.

The home page shows you current readings or qualitative scores for all seven vitals. Meanwhile, the analytics page gives you extra insight into your pet’s health by compiling averages and comparing their information to similar users.

Through the settings on the app, you can set variables for things like temperature and heart rate alerts.

The app also provides a roadmap of different data milestones you can hit to get even more information about your pet’s health. While all vitals information is available right away, comprehensive insights such as health profile, wellness score, and pain score, are only available after the collar has collected multiple months’ worth of data.

I did encounter a few minor issues with the app, which you can read about in the “Our Experience” section below.

Warranty

Each PetPace collar comes with a 1-year warranty that protects it against manufacturer defects.

Pricing

PetPace collars cost about $300 for the device itself. To get access to the data, you need to purchase a subscription plan.

A one-year plan costs $150. If you opt for the 2 or 3-year plan, you’ll receive 20 to 30% off the total subscription package.

In Summary

Key Features

Smart Data Analysis

Much like the Apple Health app does for humans, this collar helps provide insights into your pet’s overall health by analyzing multiple data points using AI. Not only do you get real-time metrics for many vital measurements, but you also get an easy-to-understand breakdown of what those measurements tell you about your pet’s overall health.

Measures Multiple Vital Stats

The electronic, thermal, audio, and movement sensors in this collar provide a wealth of information on cardiac functions, activity, and mobility. By tracking seven different vital statistics, PetPace is able to draw conclusions about your pet’s pain levels, overall health, and important changes in behavior and vitals. The app makes it easy to look at current readings as well as track averages using graphs and datasets.

Globally Connected

Not only does PetPace use information about your pet to provide health insights, but the app also pulls from its vast user data and research to tell you how your pet compares to others that are the same age and breed. If needed, your vet can even access your pet’s PetPace information to track their progress after diagnosis or surgery.

Is PetPace a Good Value?

The PetPace collar isn’t exactly cheap. And it requires an ongoing subscription to use.

But, for pet parents worried about their pet’s health, I think both investments are more than worth it. Even for my dog, who is relatively healthy and has no ongoing issues, I feel the price is worth paying in order to keep a closer eye on her as she ages.

FAQ

Is PetPace safe?

Yes, PetPace is safe for pets. Like other wearable health sensors, this one conforms to FCC regulations in terms of radio frequency and electromagnetic fields. It emits less of both than the average smartphone.

When can I expect to see data?

PetPace starts transmitting real-time health data almost immediately after connecting the collar with the app. More advanced features, such as health scores and pain scores, take longer to deliver as more data is needed to calculate them. You can expect to get all of the insight PetPace has to offer within 12 weeks of starting your journey.

Is PetPace V2.0 different from PetPace V1.0?

The newest version of PetPace, V2.0, is the only one currently available. It has many advancements over the original, including AI algorithms, more advanced sensors, better connectivity, and GPS.

Our Experience With PetPace

I was very excited to get started with PetPace for my soon-to-be 13-year-old Dalmatian mix, Ragz. She has always been very healthy. But as she’s gotten older, she has slowed down and started to have some mobility issues.

While many aspects of this product are appealing, I was especially excited to see how the pain scoring worked. And more importantly, if I could use it to determine the effectiveness of different supplements and medications to help her feel more comfortable.

Getting the app set up and connected to the collar was super easy. After a brief warmup, I started to see her vital information come through on the app. Once I had a few days of data, I was able to look at her averages and compare graphs to see a broader picture of her health.

I used the collar for two straight weeks before beginning this review. This was enough time to gather plenty of real-time data and to unlock her workout score. I still have about a month until I get her full health profile and about two months until I can see her pain and wellness scores.

But even in this short amount of time, PetPace has been incredibly informative and a great tool to have. I can already tell from her posture score that she is dealing with more pain and stiffness than I thought. I’m also impressed by how much exercise it takes to get her heart rate up—I think that’s the sighthound blood in her!

One thing that I love about this product is the real-time heart rate notifications. Ragz has a history of anaphylactic shock and we still don’t know what she is allergic to. If she ever were to go into shock again, the collar would sense the drastic heart rate change and alert me on my phone right away—even if I’m not home.

This gives me some serious peace of mind.

There is plenty to love about this collar, but also a few issues I ran into.

I liked the phone app a lot, though I did have to spend some time exploring it because it has so much to offer. But one minor issue I encountered is that it takes a moment to load each page as you navigate through the app. Even going from the home page to a detailed look at a specific vital and then back to the home page requires time to reload.

A bigger issue, though, is that the GPS feature does not seem to work well. The GPS never records our walks and the data it provides from Ragz walking around the house is not overly accurate (it shows her wandering well beyond our property lines even when she’s confined indoors). I know the company is still working on updates to this since the “safety zone” feature is not yet available, so maybe this will be fixed with time.

Also, in addition to the battery issues I wrote about above, I also had issues with the low battery notification. I only receive the 20% warning about 15 to 30 minutes before the collar dies completely.

Despite these minor setbacks, I have been really impressed with the PetPace collar. I have already learned a lot about Ragz’s health in just two short weeks. And I am confident that once I make it through the 12-week startup period, I will gain even more valuable insights into her well-being.

Conclusion

If you’ve ever been worried about what your pet isn’t telling you, the PetPace collar is exactly what you need. This highly advanced device uses multiple sensors, AI algorithms, and over a decade’s worth of research and constantly growing data to provide a clear picture of your pet’s health and well-being.

By monitoring seven vital statistics and compiling data points to provide unparalleled insight into health and pain levels, PetPace tells you what your dog or cat can’t. This collar has already helped Ragz, and I know it will only prove more valuable as she gets older.

Written By: Sara Seitz, PetKeen

Sara is a professional freelance writer with decades of experience working in the pet industry. She is a certified dog trainer and graduated from CSU in Fort Collins, Colorado, with a Bachelor of Science in Biology with an emphasis on animal behavior. After college, Sara spent 5 years as the general manager of a successful dog daycare and pet boarding facility. She is passionate about pet nutrition and finding products that help owners give their furry and feathered family members the best care possible. The Seitz family includes Ragz the Dalmatian mix, Papyrus the Chihuahua, Mickey the Red-Bellied parrot, and a revolving door of foster pets.