Ten Practical iPhone Apps for Pet Lovers

By Linda Cole

New technology is always fun, especially when it's in a phone. Today's iPhone has apps for pretty much anything a phone user could want. And if you're a pet lover, there are apps especially for you. If you need to find the nearest dog park or just want to catch up on the latest pet news, there's an app for that. The following apps are all compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Pet Acoustics: this app gives you streaming music designed especially for your dog, cat or horse. For pets that are afraid of thunderstorms, firework or other loud noises, this app plays soothing music to help keep them relaxed. Helps relieve stress while you wait at the vet's office as well. Requires iOS 3.1.2 or later. $1.99.

Pet Notebook gives you one place to keep your pet's important information like birth dates, medications, vet number, ID information and microchip number. It can store information for multiple pets. Requires iOS 3.0 or later. $.99.

PetMD Pet Services Finder helps you locate pet friendly hotels, dog parks, emergency clinics, veterinarians and more. Requires iOS 2.2.1 or later. Free.


PetMD Dog First Aid: this app gives you a fast way to find help for common emergencies for your dog. They also have an app for cat first aid. It gives you advice on what to do if your pet needs help and what you should do until you can get your pet to a vet. Requires iOS 2.2.1 or later. $1.99.

Petoxins comes from ASPCA. Pets are always munching on something, it seems. They have no idea if the plant they are chewing on is good for them or not, and most of us aren't familiar with all the plants we find in our yards, on walks or while hiking. Many plants are toxic for pets, and this app helps you know if what your pet just ate is poisonous or not. It shows you pictures and lists symptoms to watch out for, and it has one touch dialing to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. This app includes information for dogs, cats and horses. Just keep in mind that this is only for the most commonly found plants. Requires iOS 3.0 or later. $2.99

PetSnap. Getting that perfect picture of your pet is usually left to chance. The PetSnap app has 32 different sounds you can play that are guaranteed to get and keep your pet's attention. Requires iOS 3.1 or later. $1.99.

Dog Whistler. A dog whistle is a good tool to use to teach your dog to come. Once you adjust the pitch and find the setting that your dog responds to, a whistle is a great training tool because it's more precise than your voice. Dogs can also hear a whistle at a greater distance than your voice, and if he should ever become lost and you've taught your dog to come to a whistle, it gives you a sound they recognize that can help lead them back to you. Requires iOS 3.0 or later. Free.

If the Dog Whistler is an app for you, this article, “Training Dogs to Respond to a Silent Dog Whistle” can help you train your dog to come to the whistle regardless of whether the sound is silent or not.

Pet First Aid is similar to the PetMD Dog First Aid app, but it has emergency information for cats, dogs, puppies and kittens. You can find videos and pictures that help explain how to give your pet first aid and deal with cuts, bruises, shock, choking or bleeding, and it even shows you how to give a pet CPR. This app is a little more than the other ones, but it's well worth the money for all the great emergency information every pet owner needs access to. Requires iOS 3.0 or later. $3.99.

MyPetEd is a universal app that lets you keep important information about your pet in one place, keeps track of appointments and vaccinations, and has a place for your vet's phone numbers. The nice thing about this app is you can also find pet related articles. Requires iOS 4.2 or later. $1.99.

All Pets Radio is a streaming radio station that gives you news, tips and fun facts on a variety of pets. This app will keep you up to date on the latest news about pets. Requires iOS 2.2 or later. Free.

Photo by Sephiroty Fiesta

Read more articles by Linda Cole