As sales soar, some say trackers can help animal anxiety or weightloss while others advise leaving diagnoses to the vet
Pet health and activity trackers are bounding on to the market but experts are split on whether they are the cat’s pyjamas or barking up the wrong tree.
As owners monitor their own step count, heart rate, skin temperature and calories burned via wearable tech, a host of companies have developed devices to do the same for pets. According to a report by Future Market Insights, the market for pet fitness trackers is expected to grow to $450m (£333m) by 2035.
Bryan Becker, 52, who lives in Wisconsin, said pet health trackers have been helpful for his two-year-old rescue dog, Kodak, who is anxious, deaf and sight impaired.
“He was always on guard; he would pace and he wouldn’t sleep well,” said Becker. “So we were using [the health tracker] to get a baseline of his activity and his sleeping.”
