It’s not enough to make an app available on iTunes. It’s equally important to determine how well what’s on offer actually delivers. Specifically, I wanted to know how the effectiveness of a mobile application designed for canine weight loss compared to more traditional methods. But first, I had to quantify The Fat Dog App’s efficacy, overall.

With that goal in mind, I've designed The Fat Dog Diet as a tool that will also help capture data pet owners enter into the app and specifically elect to share. A weekly alert helps streamline this process and assists with compliance.

Using this anonymous, self-reported data results in access to a sizable population of dogs — a crucially important aspect of any research project. In fact, sampling a wide pool of dogs is fundamental if we hope to supply valuable scientific information to the veterinary community to help meet the following worthy goals:

• More dog owners with ready access to a simple, inexpensive tool that helps their dogs lose weight.
• Fewer dogs suffering painful and life-threatening diseases associated with excess poundage.
• Veterinarians spending less time discussing weight loss and more time tackling other important medical issues.

Brilliant, right? But the best part is that you can help us determine whether these goals are as palpable as they appear on paper. All you have to do is contribute your data by giving your permission when prompted in the app. 

Read my privacy policy for details on how I promise to keep your information private.

Want to learn more about our research and keep tabs on its progress? Stay tuned  to this page!