Today is the first day of Global Pet Expo, the pet industry’s largest trade show, in Orlando, Florida. This is not a regular consumer pet expo like I often attend. This event is a vendor to buyer pet product show, and has over 900 booths covering 30,000 square feet. That is like thirteen football fields!
Now, stop and think about me, Preston. I hate to admit it, but I’m not a big dog. I only weigh 19 pounds. It is a lot of work to walk the show floor every day for three days straight. For every step you humans take I probably take four. At last years event, on the third day I was napping at the booths and in the isles when we stopped to talk. This year I decided I HAD to get in shape and actually train for Global Pet Expo so I can be the best doggie reporter in attendance. I don’t want to be caught sleeping on the job this year … well, at least too much. There are a lot of companies with dog beds to try out after all.
To help with my efforts, I reached out to my pals at StarWalk (well, after I got new head and wrist bands … hehehe) and asked them to help me with my crate to global pet expo training program. I am a dog with a type A personality, so I needed a device to help me track my progress and reach my goals. They sent me their awesome fitness device called the StarWalk.
The StarWalk is an activity tracker. It keeps up with how many steps I have taken and the distance I walk each day. Then, it syncs regularly with an app on my rents phone. You set a goal and the StarWalk lets you know either through the phone app or right on the StarWalk how your progressing. The small device that I wear on my collar has lights that light up per 20% increments towards the goal. It is very similar to the fitbit device I see a lot of you humans wearing.
The phone app is very easy to set up and even lets you put a photo of your pup right in the app. It also ask some personal questions like how much they weight, how tall they are, and what is their breed The StarWalk will compare how your dog stacks up compared to other dogs of the same breed in their system. Mom left the default of 8,000 steps the first day to see how active I was. I admit I was a lazy couch dog. I had only 4,039 steps. Not to make excuses, but it was a cold damp day and I just wanted to sleep on the couch and cuddle. But when mom showed me the app I realized I have to get moving if I wanted to visit all the booths at Global. So I put on my headband and went to work! The next day I asked for an walk and played with my toys and chased my siblings I logged 8,719 steps!
When I was in San Diego for the Amazing Pet Expo this past weekend I decided to mix up my training and went out on the dog beach. I love that the StarWalk is waterproof too. So I didn’t worry about getting it wet at all. I logged 13,077 steps! But between you and me walking in sand is much harder than on grass so I think those steps should count as double.
Another awesome feature of the StarWalk is the night walking mode. You can make your StarWalk flash in six different colors. So besides being fun it is a great safety feature so cars can see us at night since I am flashing hehe. You can also use the flashing light to remind you rents of important doggie things such as feed us or give us our medication. Reminders can be set through the app.
If you have multiple pups you can manage all their StarWalk monitors through one app. I told Elvis we are going to get him and Daisy one and we will have a fitness challenge. I am not sure if I can beat Daisy (that girl has to much energy sometimes) but I know I could beat Elvis. See the key is if you plan a competition always stack to the dog deck so you have one dog lazier than you hehe.
The StarWalk retails for $99 and you can pick one up here .
But follow me on my Facebook and Twitter accounts this week as I take the StarWalk to Global Pet Expo and see if my training prepared me to cover all 30,000 square feet of great pet products! I will also be stopping by the StarWalk booth to learn more about this great product.
Disclosure – This products was provided to my rents and I free of charge. However, opinions expressed here are my own.
Your Pal,
