11 ms·

If you are a non-attentive, dis-interested pet owner you probably don't care enough to buy this. If you are attentive and interested in your pet this device tel

If you are a non-attentive, dis-interested pet owner you probably don't care enough to buy this. If you are attentive and interested in your pet this device tells you nothing new. Fitbit works because you can correlate the data to your personal well being. Unless this device magically discerns the dog's well being I don't see how it provides any actionable statistics.

picklefish 13y ago
The only thing I could see something like this doing is alerting the owner if the dog is barking all the time while they're out or something. You could always just set up a webcam for that though. Also, I wonder how much you have to charge it. Can it survive rain and mud?
danielpal 13y ago
Disagree 100%. Just pre-ordered one. I am a very attentive and interested dog owner. Here's what I'll get: 1. I pay a dog walker to exercise my dog every-day for 1 hour. I want to make sure he is actively walking and not just sitting around the park. 2. Dog Sleep: I want to keep a healthy sleep vs activity percentage. I think this is great. I love this trend of constantly tracking vs going to the vet every 6 months to find out whats wrong.
- pdeuchler 13y ago
  Do you not trust your dog walker? That would be a problem this device cannot fix. I can tell the minute I get home if my dogs got a good walk or not. I'm also interested in how you plan on acting upon this new knowledge about your dog's sleeping habits.
  - kmfrk 13y ago
    I think it's pretty clear that there's a startup opportunity here. "Uber for dogs". DAE ...? EDIT: FFS, I hate this world: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10677391.htm http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10677391.htm.
  - pajop 13y ago
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust,_but_verify http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust,_but_verify Доверяй, но проверяй
  - danielpal 13y ago
    Trust, but verify: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As6y5eI01XE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As6y5eI01XE
- tapatio 13y ago
  Out of curiosity how much do you pay your dog walker for a one hour walk?
  - danielpal 13y ago
    $15
- dfc 13y ago
  2. Dog Sleep: I want to keep a healthy sleep vs activity percentage. What is the healthy ratio? Are you a veterinarian?
  - streptomycin 13y ago
    I'd imagine that detecting an abrupt change in sleeping patterns could be a useful thing to know. It definitely is in humans.
    - dfc 13y ago
      So: 1. Detecting an abrupt change in sleep patterns in humans is useful. 2. Dogs are not humans. Ergo: Detecting an abrupt change in sleep patters in dogs is useful. Anthropomorphizing dogs is terrible. It is certainly one of the biggest causes for behavior problems in dogs. Maybe it is because I have only ever had dogs that were bred for protection but I do not want to think about what my dogs sleep patterns are/were. Does whistle monitor for sounds so that I can disregard the change in sleeping pattern due to a siren? Foot traffic on the sidewalk? Thunder?
      - streptomycin 13y ago
        It's not anthropomorphizing to realize that mammals have a lot of physiology in common. If a dog scientist tells me that sleeping patterns are completely irrelevant for dogs because of some peculiar evolutionary adaptation, I'll believe it. But failing that, a decent null hypothesis is that it's probably pretty similar to humans (notice that my post started with "I'd imagine", not "It is a fact"). Also, just because X might be optimal for a pet doesn't mean that you have to do it. There's always something more you can do for your pet, but perfection is never possible. And also, your incredible examples of confounding variables are not insurmountable, since sleeping patterns are successfully measured in humans even in suboptimal scenarios. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good!
      - alanchavez 13y ago
        Dogs as humans have selective hearing. Do you wake up when there's an ambulance passing by while you're sleeping? What if you change your statements to: 1) Detecting an abrupt change in sleep patterns in mammals is useful. 2) Dogs are mammals. Therefore, detecting an abrupt change in sleep patterns in dogs is useful.
- boca 13y ago
  To your first point, if you don't trust your dog walker then you may also want to think and worry, and therefore question your decision of buying this, about the possibility of him/her taking the whistle off from your dog and attaching it to something else to give an impression that your dog was actively walking.
  - alanchavez 13y ago
    that's way too much elaborated for a lazy person whose job is walking a dog.
- Timsalabim 13y ago
  Attentive and interested dog owner <--> I pay a dog walker to exercise my dog You don't need a device, you need to walk your own dog and bond with him/her. This is like having kids, hiring a full time nanny and then saying you're a great parent because you have a camera on her to make sure she's nice to them whilst she's raising your children.
btrautsc 13y ago
I'm not quite as ready to jump into HN attack mode.I immediately wanted to buy and/or help this company somehow. I've literally stayed up worrying about my dog because of lack of intel. But you're right, the intel is not quite there (yet). I have 2 chocolate labs, and immediately was thinking how amazing this is as one is getting older - however, I'd like to think I am an 'attentive' pet owner (if not over-attentive by my wife's standards). Your point about what the device can/can't discern is important. That is where I hope to see this go. Unfortunately for pet owners, your dog often doesn't communicate with you very well regarding their health. Sure, weight is relatively easy to discern, as are superficial wounds. But infections, arthritis, skin/coat health - all could be studied to give an owner insight if it is time to visit the vet. Ala preventative medicine. Too many times an unusual throw up, limp, sleepless night can cause a vet trip and be nothing, but even slight trends could tell you a lot about the dogs health.
- reeses 13y ago
  There have been enough times that one of my pets has changed their behavior in a way I've only realized after a vet visit. Spending just a little more time on the couch, approaching something from only one side, peeing slightly more/less often than usual, etc., that would be nice to note as an opportunity to intervene preventatively. It's clear when something is way off kilter, such as the dog peeing every five minutes or never getting off the couch, but by then you know the animal is acutely suffering. My wife can tell me if her neck hurts. If she says it five times in a month, I can tell her that she may want to make an appointment with a doctor or see what has changed about her work/home environment. It would be nice if I could get the same sort of signal for my dog. (And be able to tell my vet yes/no when they ask if anything has changed.)
physcab 13y ago
I imagine there will be more people who will buy this because they want to be more connected to their dog (as silly as that sounds) than interested in their health in a fit-bity way. I can see my whole family having this app for our dog.
lowboy 13y ago
The data from Whistle can be an indicator of aspects of the dog's health, just like Fitbit is for humans. The correlation seems to be similar.
jessedhillon 13y ago
Are you unaware of the distinction between qualitative and quantitative knowledge? Or are you suggesting that "attentive" owners have nothing to learn from measurements? I work out every day, but I still wear my Bodymedia armband. I already know that my caloric burn was high yesterday, and I still get value from knowing how high.
GhotiFish 13y ago
nope. Kennel owners who have concerns about the activity of some of their dogs could find this a very useful tool. I actually happen to have a candidate. An older Deerhound with a nervous disposition (odd for deerhounds) and some weight problems, maybe she's inactive? If we could monitor here base line activity level, then see what happens if we put her on diet food. That could be useful information. We need a diet food that doesn't malnourished her. It's not being inattentive when you have 6 dogs and a life and you're not the sole source of activity for your dogs.
bradleyland 13y ago
I actually think your argument works against you: * If you are attentive and interested in your pet this device tells you nothing new. Attentive and interested does not equate to "has a spreadsheet tracking their pet's activity". This device, just like Fitbit, is a personal (extra-personal, in this case) data collector. To say that tells you "nothing new" applies just as well to Fitbit. * Fitbit works because you can correlate the data to your personal well being. Unless this device magically discerns the dog's well being I don't see how it provides any actionable statistics. I'm not really sure what it means to correlate Fitbit to your "personal well being". I'm assuming you mean things like weight, resting heart rate, etc. Anyone who has spent much time with dog owners can tell you that managing your pet's weight can be as much trouble as managing your own. I don't use Fitbit, but I track fitness data in other ways using some ad hoc tools. There are differing perspectives on the benefits of personal data logging, but one of the more common is that it increases visibility in to your real patterns as opposed to your perceived patterns. In other words, the data doesn't lie. The data becomes a source of accountability, and even motivation. It's really hard not to look at the data and thing about obtaining a "high score". Pets are reliant on humans for their fitness needs. In the wild, a dog gets all the fitness it needs, because it has to chase down every meal. This puts the responsibility of wellness on the human, and these data collection tools provide the same benefits as they do for humans.
- pdeuchler 13y ago
  I completely agree with you, but you assume that this device has capabilities that it doesn't. I wish I could edit my previous post, as I feel like it would be helpful to address at the top, but this will have to do. Whistle Tracks: Type of Activity Duration of Activity Whether or not the user holding the iPhone w/ Whistle app is near their dog wearing the Whistle (I'm assuming that's how it tracks who the dog is with) Whistle Does Not Track: Speed of activity Distance of activity Calories burned Type of Sleep etc. etc. (getting this from the website) So unless you're simply tracking "My dog ran for 2 hours at 3pm" in a spreadsheet, I don't see how this helps you. All those nice little statistics people track using a Fitbit or other tools are not provided here. So to re-iterate (and not harping on you bradleyland, just for the benefit of the majority): If you are a attentive and interested dog owner you probably already know the activity and duration of your pet. Intensity of said activity would be quite useful, no doubt. But that is not provided by Whistle. Location of said activity would be useful. But that is not provided by Whistle. Distance traveled during said activity would be useful. But that is not provided by Whistle. If there was, say, a Whistle with GPS, accelerometer, heart beat monitor, etc. (possibly something that measures skin excretions?) it would be fairly useful. This is not that device. edit: Downvote brigade is out today! I would appreciate it if you would let me know how I am wrong instead of simply voting me down. At the very least it prevents me from looking like an idiot and allows me to retract/modify my statements edit edit: On further reflection, this could create some false data. A dog chasing it's tail for 2 hours in a kennel could be recorded as meaningful exercise ("running for 2 hours" according to the Whistle), leading you to make decisions off bad data ("I have no idea why she is so hyperactive, she get's plenty of excercise!"). Maybe. Just a thought. edit edit edit: A nice analogy... Whistle is the Moves app for Dogs. Except it costs $100 more and requires extra hardware.
danielhonigman 13y ago
Amen. If you're taking care of your dogs already, you don't need this, unless you want another status symbol to go with your hypo-allergenic mini-poodle. (Or schnoodle.)
- andyjsong 13y ago
  I love my hypo-allergenic lab/poodle mix. He doesn't shed, doesn't make me sneeze and can sleep in my bed. He's awesome, but I won't be buying this product.
bargl 13y ago
Ok so I have to disagree. I'm a very attentive dog owner. Matter of fact I'd say I'm really good. And my memory is also pretty good. I'm going to lay out what's nice about this device. 1) You have a lifetime of data on your dog (and with further improvements to the device I'm sure you'll get heart rate as well as movement). This is awesome, and here's why. My dog blew her knee out. She got a lot less exercise and is finally recovering. But how can I SHOW myself that she's running better other than this vague feeling I get as her owner. I can't, but with this device I could. 2) I can compare Sophie to other dogs her age, and possibly with help see that she's not running as much. That could have potentially alerted me to her knee issue (which is something you can NEVER learn about too early). 3) I can watch what she's doing no matter where she goes or who's watching her. I get data on her. This also has implications about lost dogs and your dog getting out of the yard (but for most attentive owners that isn't a problem). I think you are attempting to argue away the value of this data, and I for one completely disagree. Sure I want more data, possibly gps/heart rate monitor. But I'll support someone who is taking a step in the right direction.
- myko 13y ago
  Dammit you've just convinced me I need to get this. Who doesn't love more data on everyday things anyway? This seems really cool.
  - bargl 13y ago
    I honestly can't tell if you are joking or not, because I love actually do love more data on everyday things, and this is hacker news so I'm inclined to lean toward serious on a statement like that... I.E. I downloaded a sleep app and very much enjoy seeing how I've slept over the past few weeks. Also thanks to one of the other commentators I'm going to download move and check that data out. Do you know of any place I can get at my data from Google to see what my internet footprint looks like?
    - myko 13y ago
      Totally serious. Google's Monthly account activity emails available: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/2478305?hl=en https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/2478305?hl=en Shows how many searches on has made, YouTube video watches, and other stuff. Pretty cool!
kapilkale 13y ago
There's a serious possibility that people are more interested in putting fitbits on their dogs than they are on themselves. Wealthy pet owners will spend an irrational amount of money on their dogs in almost the same way that wealthy parents will spend anything on their kids. I don't own a dog, but every person I've spoken to who does has told me that this is awesome and $99 is pretty small relative to what they spend on their pet. (Granted, most of these people have a reasonable disposable income that they're willing to spend on their dog.) So I'd really love it if the people commenting would disclose whether they own a pet or not. I suspect a lot of the skepticism is from people who don't own pets.

picklefish 13y ago

The only thing I could see something like this doing is alerting the owner if the dog is barking all the time while they're out or something. You could always just set up a webcam for that though. Also, I wonder how much you have to charge it. Can it survive rain and mud?

danielpal 13y ago

Disagree 100%. Just pre-ordered one. I am a very attentive and interested dog owner. Here's what I'll get: 1. I pay a dog walker to exercise my dog every-day for 1 hour. I want to make sure he is actively walking and not just sitting around the park. 2. Dog Sleep: I want to keep a healthy sleep vs activity percentage. I think this is great. I love this trend of constantly tracking vs going to the vet every 6 months to find out whats wrong.

pdeuchler 13y ago
Do you not trust your dog walker? That would be a problem this device cannot fix. I can tell the minute I get home if my dogs got a good walk or not. I'm also interested in how you plan on acting upon this new knowledge about your dog's sleeping habits.
- kmfrk 13y ago
  I think it's pretty clear that there's a startup opportunity here. "Uber for dogs". DAE ...? EDIT: FFS, I hate this world: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10677391.htm http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/prweb10677391.htm.
- pajop 13y ago
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust,_but_verify http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust,_but_verify Доверяй, но проверяй
- danielpal 13y ago
  Trust, but verify: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As6y5eI01XE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As6y5eI01XE
tapatio 13y ago
Out of curiosity how much do you pay your dog walker for a one hour walk?
- danielpal 13y ago
  $15
dfc 13y ago
2. Dog Sleep: I want to keep a healthy sleep vs activity percentage. What is the healthy ratio? Are you a veterinarian?
- streptomycin 13y ago
  I'd imagine that detecting an abrupt change in sleeping patterns could be a useful thing to know. It definitely is in humans.
  - dfc 13y ago
    So: 1. Detecting an abrupt change in sleep patterns in humans is useful. 2. Dogs are not humans. Ergo: Detecting an abrupt change in sleep patters in dogs is useful. Anthropomorphizing dogs is terrible. It is certainly one of the biggest causes for behavior problems in dogs. Maybe it is because I have only ever had dogs that were bred for protection but I do not want to think about what my dogs sleep patterns are/were. Does whistle monitor for sounds so that I can disregard the change in sleeping pattern due to a siren? Foot traffic on the sidewalk? Thunder?
    - streptomycin 13y ago
      It's not anthropomorphizing to realize that mammals have a lot of physiology in common. If a dog scientist tells me that sleeping patterns are completely irrelevant for dogs because of some peculiar evolutionary adaptation, I'll believe it. But failing that, a decent null hypothesis is that it's probably pretty similar to humans (notice that my post started with "I'd imagine", not "It is a fact"). Also, just because X might be optimal for a pet doesn't mean that you have to do it. There's always something more you can do for your pet, but perfection is never possible. And also, your incredible examples of confounding variables are not insurmountable, since sleeping patterns are successfully measured in humans even in suboptimal scenarios. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good!
    - alanchavez 13y ago
      Dogs as humans have selective hearing. Do you wake up when there's an ambulance passing by while you're sleeping? What if you change your statements to: 1) Detecting an abrupt change in sleep patterns in mammals is useful. 2) Dogs are mammals. Therefore, detecting an abrupt change in sleep patterns in dogs is useful.
boca 13y ago
To your first point, if you don't trust your dog walker then you may also want to think and worry, and therefore question your decision of buying this, about the possibility of him/her taking the whistle off from your dog and attaching it to something else to give an impression that your dog was actively walking.
- alanchavez 13y ago
  that's way too much elaborated for a lazy person whose job is walking a dog.
Timsalabim 13y ago
Attentive and interested dog owner <--> I pay a dog walker to exercise my dog You don't need a device, you need to walk your own dog and bond with him/her. This is like having kids, hiring a full time nanny and then saying you're a great parent because you have a camera on her to make sure she's nice to them whilst she's raising your children.

btrautsc 13y ago

I'm not quite as ready to jump into HN attack mode.I immediately wanted to buy and/or help this company somehow. I've literally stayed up worrying about my dog because of lack of intel. But you're right, the intel is not quite there (yet). I have 2 chocolate labs, and immediately was thinking how amazing this is as one is getting older - however, I'd like to think I am an 'attentive' pet owner (if not over-attentive by my wife's standards). Your point about what the device can/can't discern is important. That is where I hope to see this go. Unfortunately for pet owners, your dog often doesn't communicate with you very well regarding their health. Sure, weight is relatively easy to discern, as are superficial wounds. But infections, arthritis, skin/coat health - all could be studied to give an owner insight if it is time to visit the vet. Ala preventative medicine. Too many times an unusual throw up, limp, sleepless night can cause a vet trip and be nothing, but even slight trends could tell you a lot about the dogs health.

reeses 13y ago
There have been enough times that one of my pets has changed their behavior in a way I've only realized after a vet visit. Spending just a little more time on the couch, approaching something from only one side, peeing slightly more/less often than usual, etc., that would be nice to note as an opportunity to intervene preventatively. It's clear when something is way off kilter, such as the dog peeing every five minutes or never getting off the couch, but by then you know the animal is acutely suffering. My wife can tell me if her neck hurts. If she says it five times in a month, I can tell her that she may want to make an appointment with a doctor or see what has changed about her work/home environment. It would be nice if I could get the same sort of signal for my dog. (And be able to tell my vet yes/no when they ask if anything has changed.)

physcab 13y ago

I imagine there will be more people who will buy this because they want to be more connected to their dog (as silly as that sounds) than interested in their health in a fit-bity way. I can see my whole family having this app for our dog.

lowboy 13y ago

The data from Whistle can be an indicator of aspects of the dog's health, just like Fitbit is for humans. The correlation seems to be similar.

jessedhillon 13y ago

Are you unaware of the distinction between qualitative and quantitative knowledge? Or are you suggesting that "attentive" owners have nothing to learn from measurements? I work out every day, but I still wear my Bodymedia armband. I already know that my caloric burn was high yesterday, and I still get value from knowing how high.

GhotiFish 13y ago

nope. Kennel owners who have concerns about the activity of some of their dogs could find this a very useful tool. I actually happen to have a candidate. An older Deerhound with a nervous disposition (odd for deerhounds) and some weight problems, maybe she's inactive? If we could monitor here base line activity level, then see what happens if we put her on diet food. That could be useful information. We need a diet food that doesn't malnourished her. It's not being inattentive when you have 6 dogs and a life and you're not the sole source of activity for your dogs.

bradleyland 13y ago

I actually think your argument works against you: * If you are attentive and interested in your pet this device tells you nothing new. Attentive and interested does not equate to "has a spreadsheet tracking their pet's activity". This device, just like Fitbit, is a personal (extra-personal, in this case) data collector. To say that tells you "nothing new" applies just as well to Fitbit. * Fitbit works because you can correlate the data to your personal well being. Unless this device magically discerns the dog's well being I don't see how it provides any actionable statistics. I'm not really sure what it means to correlate Fitbit to your "personal well being". I'm assuming you mean things like weight, resting heart rate, etc. Anyone who has spent much time with dog owners can tell you that managing your pet's weight can be as much trouble as managing your own. I don't use Fitbit, but I track fitness data in other ways using some ad hoc tools. There are differing perspectives on the benefits of personal data logging, but one of the more common is that it increases visibility in to your real patterns as opposed to your perceived patterns. In other words, the data doesn't lie. The data becomes a source of accountability, and even motivation. It's really hard not to look at the data and thing about obtaining a "high score". Pets are reliant on humans for their fitness needs. In the wild, a dog gets all the fitness it needs, because it has to chase down every meal. This puts the responsibility of wellness on the human, and these data collection tools provide the same benefits as they do for humans.

pdeuchler 13y ago
I completely agree with you, but you assume that this device has capabilities that it doesn't. I wish I could edit my previous post, as I feel like it would be helpful to address at the top, but this will have to do. Whistle Tracks: Type of Activity Duration of Activity Whether or not the user holding the iPhone w/ Whistle app is near their dog wearing the Whistle (I'm assuming that's how it tracks who the dog is with) Whistle Does Not Track: Speed of activity Distance of activity Calories burned Type of Sleep etc. etc. (getting this from the website) So unless you're simply tracking "My dog ran for 2 hours at 3pm" in a spreadsheet, I don't see how this helps you. All those nice little statistics people track using a Fitbit or other tools are not provided here. So to re-iterate (and not harping on you bradleyland, just for the benefit of the majority): If you are a attentive and interested dog owner you probably already know the activity and duration of your pet. Intensity of said activity would be quite useful, no doubt. But that is not provided by Whistle. Location of said activity would be useful. But that is not provided by Whistle. Distance traveled during said activity would be useful. But that is not provided by Whistle. If there was, say, a Whistle with GPS, accelerometer, heart beat monitor, etc. (possibly something that measures skin excretions?) it would be fairly useful. This is not that device. edit: Downvote brigade is out today! I would appreciate it if you would let me know how I am wrong instead of simply voting me down. At the very least it prevents me from looking like an idiot and allows me to retract/modify my statements edit edit: On further reflection, this could create some false data. A dog chasing it's tail for 2 hours in a kennel could be recorded as meaningful exercise ("running for 2 hours" according to the Whistle), leading you to make decisions off bad data ("I have no idea why she is so hyperactive, she get's plenty of excercise!"). Maybe. Just a thought. edit edit edit: A nice analogy... Whistle is the Moves app for Dogs. Except it costs $100 more and requires extra hardware.

danielhonigman 13y ago

Amen. If you're taking care of your dogs already, you don't need this, unless you want another status symbol to go with your hypo-allergenic mini-poodle. (Or schnoodle.)

andyjsong 13y ago
I love my hypo-allergenic lab/poodle mix. He doesn't shed, doesn't make me sneeze and can sleep in my bed. He's awesome, but I won't be buying this product.

bargl 13y ago

Ok so I have to disagree. I'm a very attentive dog owner. Matter of fact I'd say I'm really good. And my memory is also pretty good. I'm going to lay out what's nice about this device. 1) You have a lifetime of data on your dog (and with further improvements to the device I'm sure you'll get heart rate as well as movement). This is awesome, and here's why. My dog blew her knee out. She got a lot less exercise and is finally recovering. But how can I SHOW myself that she's running better other than this vague feeling I get as her owner. I can't, but with this device I could. 2) I can compare Sophie to other dogs her age, and possibly with help see that she's not running as much. That could have potentially alerted me to her knee issue (which is something you can NEVER learn about too early). 3) I can watch what she's doing no matter where she goes or who's watching her. I get data on her. This also has implications about lost dogs and your dog getting out of the yard (but for most attentive owners that isn't a problem). I think you are attempting to argue away the value of this data, and I for one completely disagree. Sure I want more data, possibly gps/heart rate monitor. But I'll support someone who is taking a step in the right direction.

myko 13y ago
Dammit you've just convinced me I need to get this. Who doesn't love more data on everyday things anyway? This seems really cool.
- bargl 13y ago
  I honestly can't tell if you are joking or not, because I love actually do love more data on everyday things, and this is hacker news so I'm inclined to lean toward serious on a statement like that... I.E. I downloaded a sleep app and very much enjoy seeing how I've slept over the past few weeks. Also thanks to one of the other commentators I'm going to download move and check that data out. Do you know of any place I can get at my data from Google to see what my internet footprint looks like?
  - myko 13y ago
    Totally serious. Google's Monthly account activity emails available: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/2478305?hl=en https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/2478305?hl=en Shows how many searches on has made, YouTube video watches, and other stuff. Pretty cool!

kapilkale 13y ago

There's a serious possibility that people are more interested in putting fitbits on their dogs than they are on themselves. Wealthy pet owners will spend an irrational amount of money on their dogs in almost the same way that wealthy parents will spend anything on their kids. I don't own a dog, but every person I've spoken to who does has told me that this is awesome and $99 is pretty small relative to what they spend on their pet. (Granted, most of these people have a reasonable disposable income that they're willing to spend on their dog.) So I'd really love it if the people commenting would disclose whether they own a pet or not. I suspect a lot of the skepticism is from people who don't own pets.