Maitland start-up Smart Sports Solutions helps develop doglogbook app with University of Sydney’s Faculty of Veterinary Science

doglogbook is a program that optimises canine socialisation and health through data logging and analytics.

Catalyst chose to feature the app in a two-part series on making dogs happy.

The idea was founded by the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Veterinary Science professor Paul McGreevy. 

Prof. McGreevy saw the need for such an app when he became a veterinary behaviour specialist 20 years ago.

“We’ve always needed something like this for vets to know what the dog’s doing beyond the vet clinic,” he said.

The veterinary faculty’s Dogmanship team called for tenders to create the app.

Maitland’s Smart Sports Solutions had designed StatsOne for soccer players to track their results and access analytics.

StatsOne was the closest to what the Dogmanship team were looking for, and Prof. McGreevy said the Smart Sports team had not let them down.

“They’ve been very good to work with,” Prof McGreevy said. “They’re clearly experts in their field.”

Smart Sports Solutions CEO Pierre Malou said their approach to the app was that a dog was an athlete, a dog owner a coach, and a vet clinic a sports club.

In the app, dog owners log their pets behaviour, activities and enjoyment, which vets can access.

Prof. McGreevy said the app could not only improve quality of life but save lives.

“We know that the main killer of young dogs is behavioural problems,” he said.

“It’s really important that they are exposed to new stimuli and events [at a young age].”

The app rewards points for exposure to social situations.

“Dogs can easily be socialised so they do not display the common behavioural problems that relate to anxiety,” Prof. McGreevy said.

Prof. McGreevy said he was extremely pleased with the final product.

“It’s very satisfying to know that we can offer this gift to dogs of the future, because they deserve it,” he said.