During a dog's senior years and end-of-life, wearable technology can be a boon

Homing in on what our pets are doing on a day-to-day basis is important throughout their life, though no other time than while in their twilight or hospice seems more pressing. 

Through the years, being a caregiver to pets – dogs, namely – in their very late age has been a big part of the [peace] work that I carry out each day. 

It can be tough for those sharing life with pets in their twilight or hospice: bladders aren't as trusty; joints, more stiff; health issues more complicated. I am often contacted by families with older dogs to help out during this time when they can't be home due to work or other obligations. Having a hand to ensure their furry friend gets potty breaks, a little tender companionship and most of all, to be the eyes and ears to monitor things is certainly a boon (not to mention the opportunity to have a brief mental break from the situation).

A lot of what goes on in the final months and weeks has to do with being aware of what is happening, as well as being honest with oneself about what is observed: appetite changes, sleep habits, willingness to engage and activity levels tell the story. The latter can be hard to judge if one is away tending to work responsibilities, of course, and few people have the luxury of being able to be home as often as they'd like to keep track. Those that are frequent business travelers come to mind most prominently.

Technology has come a long way in the years since I started as a professional caregiver. That sector has opened up to the pet product market, and wearable technology for pets has seen a surge – a multibillion dollar one – and one product that I had written about a while ago came to mind as I was considering how fortunate I am to be able, largely unencumbered, to tend to my own 15 year-old dog, Gretchen as she meanders through hospice.

The Whistle and other products like it can provide valuable data about how much activity a companion animal has each day (and track changes), helping to flesh out an accurate overall picture about what's going on with them. Information like this can be relayed to the primary vet, resulting in better communication with the clinician, and in the end optimal health management and comfort for the animal. 

Attached to a dog's collar, the Whistle – which is waterproof – tracks physical activity and syncs the information automatically via an app to one's smartphone. 

The app and device are also capable of tracking and communicating information about food intake and medication (by manually logging each in), two things that are vital in monitoring dogs in later stages of life. This is especially helpful if inappetence is an issue, and as is in so many cases, multiple medications are given daily.

We know that pets that are in the midst of a tender time of life fare physically and emotionally better having people around with whom they have a bonded relationship. But while any technology can't replace what that provides, it can enhance and empower their humans to better care for them if used mindfully.


Lorrie Shaw is a freelance writer -- most recently as a contributor on MLive -- and owner of Professional Pet Sitting. Shoot her an email, contact her at 734-904-7279 or follow her adventures on Twitter.

Wearable technology for dogs? Researchers are working on big things

Flickr photo by Bob Haarmans

Wearable technology is a hot topic right now, and for good reason: It's designed to make life easier and more productive. It's a boon to many, and though it's not a topic that I ever thought that I would be writing about when it comes to dogs, here I am.

When you think of wearable technology, what comes to mind? Google Glass? FitBit?

The advances that are here are pretty interesting to say the least, and the current trends were debated as far as usefulness and safety on a recent segment of the Diane Rehm Show. 

Where this technology is going is exciting, and it goes beyond the FitBit-like Whistle, now available for dogs. 

One application of wearable technology that's piqued my interest for obvious reasons, was with the use of dogs with jobs: those certified as service dogs, sniffing out bombs, cadavers and live victims of catastrophes. 

Thad Starner, technical lead/manager of Google's Project Glass and director of the Contextual Computing Group at Georgia Tech expanded on just one idea during the show that can help with the process of search and recovery efforts.  

Starner discussed his part in 'facilitating interactions for dogs with occupations', or FIDO during the show.

FIDO's purpose is to develop wearable technology to help dogs with jobs convey information more effectively with their handlers. 

What else do they have in store?  

FIDO's others teammates — also with Georgia Tech — associate professor and director of BrainLab Melody Jackson and Clint Zeagler, a research scientist focused on textiles are equally teeming with ideas. 

The team is working to fine tune search and rescue efforts, for example.

"We're making basically vests for these dogs with textiles and sensors in them where, you know, if you have, say, a dog who's out on a search and rescue mission, say, in the mountains in the Sierra Nevadas and you're looking for a lost child," noted Starner. 

(Click here for a transcript of the show.)

Jackson saw that wearable technology could be very useful in this field. 

Currently, search and rescue dogs need to work an area that's within the line of sight of their handler, recognizing hand and voice signals – and using a unit called a bringsel (a device that hangs from the dog's collar). When the canine locates a person, for example, they put the bringsel into their mouth and run to the handler to signal to them. 

"But what if that bringsel was electronic? And if the dog hit it, it would geolocate to a GPS satellite and tell the whole team, the rescue team, the handler, everybody exactly where that person was at that moment," said Jackson in an interview with BusinessInsider.com.

"And then the dog could stay with the person and do whatever needs to happen with that person until the team got there."

Other applications bring explored include fine-tuning the abilities of assistance dogs to communicate with their handlers. 

Jackson, who has also trained canines for assistance dog work since 1995, sees many enhanced possibilities in this area, and canines trained in assisting the hearing impaired is just one.

"You can train the dogs to differentiate the sounds, in fact we’re doing that right now with one of our demo dogs, and then they could press a different button the vest for different sounds so you’d know that it’s the tornado siren," continued Jackson.

"So the dog could say, 'That’s the tornado siren,' and the owner could make a much better decision on how to react."

Click here for more on wearable technology and dogs, including where it might go in helping bomb-sniffing dogs do their jobs. 

Lorrie Shaw is a freelance writer and owner of Professional Pet Sitting. Shoot her an email, contact her at 734-904-7279 or follow her adventures on Twitter.