Elsa was given a PitPat Activity Monitor when we met up with their team at Crufts! We were delighted to receive this new gadget and couldn't wait to start using it...

Unboxing & First Impressions...

The PitPat is a small, lightweight gadget that attaches to your dog's collar and measures various activities including time spent playing, walking, running and resting. You can use it to set goals to make sure that your dog is getting the right amount of exercise. Since Elsa could do with losing a few pounds this is the perfect opportunity for us to assess how much exercise she is currently doing, and how we can improve her fitness regime.

We absolutely love the quirkiness of the packaging!

Inside the box we found the activity monitor and a quick start guide. The monitor has a soft Velcro strap which can be extended if needed. This type of Velcro is perfect because it won't snag Elsa's fur, but it still fits very securely to her collar and we can easily swap it onto different collars too.

We love the fact that this product is designed and manufactured in the UK. If their name sounds familiar that may be because they were featured on Dragon's Den when PitPat’s founder Andrew Nowell sought investment to grow the business in the UK and abroad, and to raise awareness of pet health.

The tracker has an accompanying app, available to download for free from both the App Store and Google Play. Once installed, setting up the app is quick and easy. Syncing the PitPat to the app is done via Bluetooth and takes a matter of seconds.

Once you enter your dog's details, including age and weight, the app will then recommend an exercise guideline. Elsa's initial recommendation is to do 40 minutes of exercise per day. So that's it... we're ready to go!

 Elsa's 4 Week PitPat Fitness Diary

We've decided to track Elsa's activity with the PitPat over the next few weeks to see if we can improve her fitness levels and help her shed some weight.

Notes: In week 1 we will be gathering data about her normal, everyday routine so we can see how her current activity levels stack up against the recommended goal.

Start weight: 11kgs | Goal weight: 10kgs

Week 1 | Start Date: Sunday 12th March

Daily Activity Goal recommended by PitPat: 40 minutes

PitPat Data at the end of the week:

 Weight at the end of the week: 11.2kgs | Goal weight: 10kgs

Notes: We were surprised to learn that Elsa is a lot more active than we thought! Her most active day over the past week was on Wednesday.

Her weight has been hovering around 11-11.2kgs for a long time now and we really need to help her shed at least 1kg. It's crept up a little this week, so we will need to have a look at her diet and cut down on some treats... Now that the weather is starting to improve a little and the days are longer we will also increase her activity levels slightly to make sure she is burning off some of the extra calories!

Week 2 | Start Date: Sunday 19th March

Average Daily Activity last week: 65 minutes | New Daily Activity Goal: 70 minutes

PitPat Data at the end of the week:

Weight at the end of the week: 11.4kgs | Goal weight: 10kgs

 Notes: Last weekend we decided to adjust Elsa's food allowance so that she had slightly more per day, but we cut out the majority of the treats that we would normally give her... Unfortunately her weight has gone up even more, so we might have to look at switching her food to one that is slightly less rich because the volume that we give her normally just doesn't seem enough...We have to give her less than the recommended allowance just to keep her at 11kgs!

 On a positive note, the PitPat data shows us that Elsa is getting plenty of exercise! Her most active day last week was on Tuesday 21st March when we took her for a walk around the lake at Trentham Gardens. With the days getting longer we have been taking her for more adventurous evening walks too.

 Week 3 | Start Date: Sunday 26th March

Average Daily Activity last week: 77 minutes | New Daily Activity Goal: 80 minutes

PitPat Data at the end of the week:

Weight at the end of the week: 11kgs | Goal weight: 10kgs

Notes: Yay! Elsa's weight has gone down so it looks like we're heading in the right direction! We re-adjusted her food and have made sure to keep the treats to a minimum. We haven't met our goal of 80 minutes of activity every day this week as it was raining on and off, so we didn't walk as much as we normally would, but it looks like we've got a good balance of activity with an average of 75 minutes.

When the weather allows, we also like to get Elsa moving around the agility course!

It was great to find a PitPat on sale in one of our favourite dog shops - Doggie Fashions at The Trentham Estate!

 Plan for Week 4 | Start Date: Sunday 2nd April

Average Daily Activity last week: 75 minutes | New Daily Activity Goal: 80 minutes

PitPat Data at the end of the week:

Weight at the end of the week: 11kgs | Goal weight: 10kgs

Notes: Elsa's most active day so far has been Sunday 2nd April when we took her for a walk around Trentham Gardens and then spent an hour at the Luosko Freedom Field; over the course of the day she was active for 170 minutes and she had so much fun! Although we had a few days where she didn't meet her goal of 80 minutes, her average activity level is still high at 85 minutes so we're quite pleased with that.

Luosko Freedom Field

Elsa's weight has stayed the same this week...We have started introducing some new, lighter food to her diet so that we can increase the volume that we give her, but keep the calories stable. We have also cut out any unnecessary treats and swapped things like Dentastix for healthier options like Fish4Dogs Sea Jerky Fish Twists. So, all things considered, we are very pleased to see that her weight has stayed the same and hopefully we've made the changes necessary to ensure that her weight loss is stable and healthy.

Introducing new healthy, low calorie treats

Conclusion:

-Click here to get your own PitPat-