Technology can make all of our lives easier, particularly one that is close at hand – our cell phone. Cell phones are great for taking fun videos and pictures as well as tracking some important information about your dog. Additionally, there are various apps for dog owners that can keep your dog healthier and happier.
Videos
How many times have you gone to your vet and the cough your dog had suddenly disappeared? Or the skin rash mysteriously vanished? You have the best proof there is for your veterinarian to diagnose or treat a condition by taking a video of your dog.
Pictures
How many pictures do you have of your dog? Probably hundreds. However, you can also take pictures if your dog has ingested a foreign substance or has something in his stool that the vet needs to see. Not the most glamorous pictures but important!
Medical Conditions
Does your dog have epilepsy or diabetes? Here are two health tracking apps that are free:
Royal Veterinary College Epilepsy Tracker
Royal Veterinary College Diabetes Tracker
The epilepsy app allows you to track your dog’s seizures and when the next dose of medicine is due. The diabetes app has a medication reminder function, a reminder to change the insulin injection sites, and a calorie counter. Both apps can help your vet record the factors that are important indicators of success or failure with these illnesses.
Other Health Tracker Devices
Many times when your dog goes to the vet, his heart or respiratory rate could be elevated because of stress. With a wearable activity monitor for dogs you can track your dog’s vital signs in the comfort of his “den”.
Wellness Apps
Here’s several smartphone apps that will help you take care of your dog’s health, exercise and overall wellness.
- Dog Buddy Free can help you track your dogs’ weight, save your dog pictures, and track your dog’s veterinary, medications, vaccinations, allergies and other information relevant with your dogs.
- Pet Care Services Finder is a must have for pet owners who travel with their dog. Using GPS, it points you to the nearest vet, pet-friendly hotels, dog groomers, dog walkers, and pet stores throughout the U.S. and Canada.
- AskPetMd lets you ask questions about your dog’s health and receive a free vet qualified answer within 24 hours.
- PupTox identifies more than 250 things that can be toxic to your dog or cat.
- PetCoach is the leading source of free veterinary advice. Ask questions about your pet’s health, nutrition, behavior, or any other topic, and obtain trusted answers for free from verified veterinarians and other pet experts.
- Pet First Aid by the Red Cross is an ideal app for both cat and dog lovers!
Identifying Breed
What to identify the breed of your dog in case it has genetic traits that cause you worry? There is a new pet app called doggzam, where you load up a picture of the dog and it tells you the breed.
Internet
The Internet has many answers, but don’t believe everything you read. Stick with sites that are affiliated with respected organizations and have good reputations.
When in doubt, use your cell phone as a phone – to call your vet. Most vets have vet techs that are very knowledgeable and love to help pet owners with questions and solutions.