Pitpat vs Fitbit

Pitpat dog activity monitor vs Fitbit human activity monitor – review

What are activity monitors?

FitbIt Activity Monitor

I have been using my Fitbit Charge 4 for almost a year and I love it! I often use it to track my walks with clients dogs especially during Groundwork Training. It allows me to track time, distance, activity type, and calories.

Pitpat ACTIVITY MONITOR

I have just started using my Pitpat dog activity tracker. It also allows me to track my dog’s activity type (walking, running, playing), time, distance, and calories.

How do Pitpat and Fitbit compare?

Statistics from Google, Fitbit, and pitpat

I walked from the Queen Victoria Memorial in Hove along the promenade to the Brighton Fishing Museum Coffee Shop.

Google Maps tells me this is 1.3 miles each way and it should take me 25 minutes each way.

I was walking and talking with a friend so we took this at a leisurely pace. Fitbit tells me this took me 28 minutes and I used 206 calories.

We stopped at Brighton Fishing Museum Coffee Shop for about 30 minutes (they sell great coffee!).

Fitbit tells me walking back took me 25 minutes and I used 190 calories.

Pitpat tells me my dog Pickle (large Chihuahua cross) spent a total of 60 minutes moving. 50 minutes of this was running (she was off lead the whole time) and 10 minutes playing (this could be her moving around whilst we were drinking coffee). It says she covered 2.8 miles and used 214 calories in total.

Summary

Pitpat seems incredibly accurate in measuring distance. Google said we covered 2.6 miles and Pitpat 2.8, but this includes the dog’s movement as we drank coffee.

Fitbit says I used 396 calories in total (I had cake with my coffee so we can call that quits). Pitpat says my dog used 214 calories. Pitpat uses your dog’s breed, age, sex, and weight to help calculate this figure. I have no idea how accurate her calories estimate is.

Products reviewed

I have no association with either company. I purchased my Fitbit Charge 4 a year ago. I received my Pitpat free with my insurance renewal a few days ago. Both products are available on Amazon:


Mike Garner is a dog trainer and behaviourist at Rainbow Dogs in Brighton & Hove, Sussex.

Follow Rainbow Dogs on Facebook.

Dog feeding for enrichment

How do you currently feed your dog?

Many people just put their dog’s food in their bowl.  This is a wasted opportunity for enrichment!

Why should you feed your dog using the enrichment method?

  • Your dog’s food provides a simple but effective opportunity to provide some mental stimulation.  This is particularly important for active dogs.
  • Using enrichment methods of feeding has the added bonus of slowing down your dog whilst they are eating.  This is useful for dogs that ‘wolf’ down their food.

What feeding methods can I use for enrichment?

Don’t skimp on dog food quality just because you are feeding for enrichment.  Check out my blog post on food choices.

Feeding dry dog food for enrichment

Dry dog food can be scattered, hidden, or placed in toys for enrichment. 

Scatter feeding your dog for enrichment

  • This is the simplest method of feeding if you are short of time.  This takes no more time than putting food in your dog’s bowl.
  • Get a handful of kibble and throw it out on the kitchen floor.
  • Once your dog gets the hang of this you could throw it out on to the garden patio.  For a greater challenge throw it out on to the lawn.
  • You may wish to consider using a smaller size kibble so there is more to find.

Hiding your dog’s food for enrichment

  • This uses your dog’s sense of smell to find the food.  This is an excellent choice since searching for food is a very natural behaviour for your dog.  Your dog has a large area of his brain that is dedicated to scent detection for this purpose.
  • Put your dog away and then place individual bits of kibble around the kitchen.  Let your dog in to find the kibble.
  • Once your dog gets the hang of this you could hide the food under or behind things.  Just be careful that your dog is not going to knock something valuable over to get to the food!  You can progress this by hiding your dog’s kibble in the garden.
  • You may want to consider using a smaller size kibble so there is more to find.
Pickle the Chihuahua searches for her food

Using dog food toys for enrichment

There are many enrichment toys on the market that you can put your dog’s dry food inside.  These are some of our favourites.

Kong Wobbler
Kong Wobbler Dog Toy
  • Kong Wobblers are a great toy for active dogs who enjoy working for their food.
  • You simply unscrew the base and put the kibble inside.
  • The toy has a hole in the top so that when the dog knocks the toy then food drops out.
Snuffle Mat
Snuffle Mat Dog Toy
  • Snuffle Mats are fleece feeding mats that are excellent for dogs that enjoy using their nose to search out or ‘snuffle’ for the food.
  • Just hide bits of kibble within the strands of the mat.
  • You dog doesn’t need a lot of space to use this enrichment feeding method.

Feeding wet dog food for enrichment

Using dog food toys for enrichment

There are many enrichment toys on the market that you can use with your dog’s wet food.  These are some popular choices.

Kong Classic
Kong Classic Dog Toy
  • The classic Kong toy has been around since the 70s and is still one of the best products on the market.
  • They are available in sizes suiting very small to very large dogs.
  • The basic idea is you put food inside the Kong and then the dog licks the contents out.
  • You could just stuff the Kong with your dog’s wet dog food or alternatively add in a few bits of dry kibble for some extra crunch.
  • Dogs that find it too easy to empty a Kong may find one that has been frozen more challenging.
  • You could also smear a small quantity of some appetising food around the inside of the Kong.  Popular choices are peanut butter, Marmite, cream cheese, or pate.
  • The healthy option is to blend some fruit or vegetables then freeze the Kong so your dog get a fun ice lolly!
Pickle the Chihuahua eating from a Kong Classic
Kong Quest Star Pod
Kong Quest Star Pod Dog Toy
  • Kong Quest Star Pod toys have lots of sections so you can add different food to each.
  • This disc toy stays flat on the floor so is less prone to crash around or roll under a table.
Pickle the Chihuahua eating from a Kong Quest Star Pod
Trixie Snack Snake
Snake Dog Toy
  • Snake dog treat toys are the new big thing in dog enrichment.
  • You can use small treats, kibble, or wet dog food with this toy.
  • The snake is made of rubber with a slit along its belly for stuffing the enrichment food in.
LickiMat
LickiMat Dog Toy
  • LickiMats are great because most dogs love to lick. The act of licking can be calming for many dogs.
  • You can use lots of different types of food on a LickiMat, basically anything that is safe to eat and can go in a blender is good on a LickiMat.
  • Put you LickiMat in the freezer before giving it to your dog for a longer licking session.

Take Home Message

Every time you feed your dog is an opportunity to enrich their life.  Every time you just feed in a bowl you waste that opportunity.

Check out what’s available on Amazon and go enrich your dog’s life now!

Mike Garner is a dog trainer and behaviourist at Rainbow Dogs in Brighton & Hove, Sussex.

Follow Rainbow Dogs on Facebook.

Review: tug-e-nuff rabbit skin bungee tug for dogs

There are many excellent dog toy products on the market but unfortunately many more that are not fit for purpose.

One product I always take with me to a dog training session in a tug-e-nuff rabbit skin bungee tug.

Why do I like tug-e-nuff?

The tug-e-nuff rabbit skin bungee tug has these features that make it perfect for working with a dog outside:

  • It’s real rabbit skin!  This will trigger your dog’s prey drive.
  • The bungee part means when the dog grabs the toy the tug is super rewarding and acts as a shock absorber for your arm!
  •  It has a loop handle so I can keep hold of it securely.
  • It is very high quality.  I have been using the same one since 2015 and it’s still going strong.

So how do I use a tug-e-nuff bungee? 

It can be used as an indoor toy but I use it exclusively as an interactive toy out on walks. Dogs that are distracted on walks need something to break through to grab their attention.

When I first present it to a dog they don’t grab it. They just stand and sniff it intently for a few seconds. This is why I use the rabbit skin version!

They then grab hold of it and tug. I get them into a super exciting tug game to reinforce it strongly.

Once it is primed for the dog I then put it back in my pocket ready for action.

Dogs that have a desire to chase bikes, skateboards, joggers etc can then be given the tug game as a super motivating alternative.

It can also be used as a reward for a dog with poor recall, especially for dogs that are not very food motivated.

To maintain the toy’s high value, I only use it when outside on walks. I would never leave it down as a chew toy since being rabbit skin your dog will likely want to “kill” it as quickly as possible.

Available in 3 different colours

Orange
Purple
tug-e-nuff rabbit skin bungee tug for dogs blue
Blue

Please let me have your feedback below if you have tried this product.

Do you need help with your dog chasing things he shouldn’t or with his recall? Please contact Rainbow Dogs for help training your dog around Brighton & Hove.

Follow Rainbow Dogs on Facebook.