The Separation Anxiety Monitor watches how your dog behaves while you're out, and tells you if they seem restless or upset. You start it when you leave and stop it when you're back.
What it is
Here's how the app introduces it:
Worried about how your dog is doing when they're alone? Monitor changes in their behavior when you're apart.
What it watches
While a session is running, the Monitor looks at two things from the collar: how much your dog barks and how much they move (their step count). Sleep is also taken into account when the session is judged overall at the end.
How you'll be told
If your dog displays anxious behavior, such as increased activity or barking, you will receive a notification with how many steps they've taken and how many times they barked.
Every alert arrives as a notification titled Separation Anxiety Monitor, and tapping it opens a full-screen summary of the few minutes that triggered it. There are three alert levels — Unsettled, Distressed and Severe — and all three notify you.
A Severe alert also leaves a card in your pet's location timeline titled Severe separation anxiety signs, with a subtitle like "42 barks · 310 steps in a few minutes", so you can find the moment again later.
It's a session, not an always-on feature
The Monitor only runs when you start it, and stops when you stop it. That's deliberate:
Starting the Monitor turns on bark detection on the tracker so barking can be counted, and turns it back off when you stop. It's off the rest of the time to save battery.
If you leave a session running, it finishes on its own after 24 hours and bark detection goes back to how it was.
Before you start
- Your tracker needs to be paired with a pet. If it isn't, you'll see "This tracker is not bound to a pet."
- Only one session can run per tracker at a time.
- Alerts go to you and to any family member who has permission to track your pet's location.
- A paid plan is required to use a GPS tracker at all.
Important: The Ask A Vet tracker is not a medical device. While it can detect behavior trends, always seek advice from a vet.
Related articles - How to start and stop the Separation Anxiety Monitor - Separation Anxiety Monitor alert levels: what Unsettled, Distressed and Severe mean - Separation Anxiety Monitor problems and error messages - What is bark monitoring on your Ask A Vet tracker?