According to recent surveys, more than 50% of dogs in the United States are overweight or obese. This is bad news for our beloved pups because being overweight can significantly shorten a dog’s life expectancy – and lower their overall quality of life due to health problems caused by the obesity.
A large, lifetime study of Labrador retrievers found that even being moderately overweight can reduce a dog’s life expectancy by nearly two years compared to their leaner counterparts.
Obesity in dogs is also associated with numerous health problems, including: cancer, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, hypertension, osteoarthritis and faster degeneration of affected joints, urinary bladder stones and anesthetic complications.
But it’s not just quality of life that gets impacted when your pet is obese – it’s also an owner’s wallet. Obesity-related health issues can lead to significantly increased veterinary costs for pet owners.
There’s no beating around the bush here: keeping your dog or cat at a healthy weight should be of utmost importance to pet owners. That’s why Korea based company Pet Ground has developed an easy-to-use pet body fat measuring device designed for both pet owners and veterinarians.
The device, dubbed Pet Ground, measures both PMI for pets (a play on BMI for humans) and PCS (a play on body condition score for humans).
Pet Ground, which uses near infrared sensors, has already participated in several clinical trials, with the company’s goal to have tested over 10,000 cats and dogs. Ultimately, Pet Ground says that their device will offer 95% reliability by the time it’s released later this year.
The easy-to-use portable device only requires being held up against a pet’s ribs for 10 seconds to produce results.
Based on the recorded measurements, an accompanying app will provide pet owners and vets with customized pet diet recommendations to help get their fur baby on the right track towards a healthier lifestyle.
Pet Ground will be launched on Kickstarter and Indiegogo this October for a price around $200.
In addition to being made available to the public through these channels, Pet Ground plans on distributing the device to vet clinics for use, and hopes that the vet clinics will offer the devices for sale directly to owners.
What’s next for Pet Ground?
Pet Ground plans to expand its devices to offer exercise and heart rate monitoring too.
Beyond dogs and cats, Pet Ground has plans to expand the capabilities of their devices to testing horses, as well as cattle and pigs, so that the livestock industry can afford better quality control over animals, before they’re butchered.
Sources: VCA Hospitals
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