Pet wearables go beyond just tracking location

New smart collars for dogs and cats now monitor health metrics like heart rate and breathing patterns, something once limited to human devices. Instead of just telling you where your pet went, these collars claim to detect early signs of stress, allergies, or illness through motion sensors and AI analysis. Earlier versions mostly targeted dogs, but now a sleek, lightweight model specifically for cats offers similar tracking. Both collars send alerts to your phone if something seems off, like rapid breathing or unusual scratching. One collar even checks your dog’s scratch frequency, warning if it spikes due to skin issues.The dog version suits larger breeds and lasts weeks on a single charge. It tracks walks and marks safe spots so you know if your dog wanders too far. An AI dashboard compiles data to show trends over time, helping spot changes that might need a vet visit. Vets often care most about steady, long-term patterns in heart rate and breathing rather than real-time spikes. That means these collars could be more useful for tracking slow changes than emergencies. But they still need a strong mobile signal to work fully. The catch? These devices run on paid subscriptions. After buying the collar, owners have to choose between yearly plans costing up to $120 or longer commitments. Curiously, the collars log some data even offline, yet without a connection, the info stays hidden until you reconnect.