Is This the Future of Dog Wellness?

Issue #249

October 1, 2025

Quick Hits:

😢 Texas A&M Aggies say goodbye to Reveille IX 

🍎 Bark is bringing a dog-first “Farmer’s Barket” to NYC

📱 There’s a growing army of creators posting content exposing unethical breeders

👃 A startup is using canines and AI for early cancer detection

🌭 This badger hunting breed is climbing the ranks in popularity

🫰 This might be one of the most sophisticated car travel systems for dogs we’ve seen

It's 6:30pm on a Tuesday evening. You roll out the mat, pull up a workout video on your phone, and get ready to move.

But you're not the one doing burpees tonight. Your border collie steps onto a set of interlocking blue and yellow platforms as you press play on a 45-second training reel.

This isn't a veterinary clinic or an agility class. It's a home workout for your dog, and it represents something significant happening in the pet industry.

A once-niche toolkit of wobble boards and balance balls is moving into everyday routines.

Pet owners are embracing canine fitness gear for structured exercise at home, and FitPaws' new FitKinect system exemplifies this shift.

The modular hardware pairs with bite-sized instructional content and a dose of professional credibility, effectively turning living rooms into dog gyms. For pet businesses, the message is clear—canine fitness equipment is edging into the mainstream, bringing both new opportunities and new challenges.

What FitKinect Is (and Why It Matters)

FitKinect is FitPaws' latest flagship product, a patent-pending modular training system designed to build dogs' strength, coordination, and body awareness. Unlike standalone fitness props, FitKinect markets itself as a system that "grows with" the dog's abilities.

Its components include octagonal and rectangular platforms, interlocking tubes, and connectors that can be arranged in countless configurations to support exercises from beginner to advanced levels.

Every design detail appears intentional. The kit's primary colors are blue and yellow, the colors dogs see most clearly, to enhance engagement. Surfaces are textured for neural stimulation, encouraging paw grip and body awareness, while the material is non-slip and scratch-resistant for safe daily training.

FitKinect positions itself as a universal fitness, recovery, and performance platform adaptable enough for post-surgery rehab or high-energy agility workouts.

The product launched this week with two configurations. The Core kit is listed at a promotional $99.95 (regular $149.95), and the Xtra at $149.95 (regular $224.95) on the FitPaws website.

Add-on packs, like an extra tube and connector set for around $30, allow owners to expand the system over time.

What FitPaws hasn't disclosed are broader distribution plans or long-term bundle pricing. Initial sales run through DTC channels, with future retail availability (Chewy, Walmart, etc.) likely to unfold as interest grows.

FitKinect signals that canine fitness gear is evolving into integrated systems rather than single-purpose products. By combining modular hardware with guided routines, it positions itself not just as a product but as a program promising to keep dogs active "at every stage of life".

This hints at where the category is heading—toward higher-value kits that drive repeat engagement and add-on sales instead of one-and-done purchases.

A beautiful combo of physical and mental enrichment that’s incredibly dynamic and modular to keep things interesting, challenging, and rewarding.

From Rehab to Routine

The rise of at-home dog fitness gear stems from a convergence of professional pet rehabilitation practices and shifting owner attitudes about exercise. The veterinary rehabilitation services market reached nearly $1B in 2024, with projections of approximately 11-12% annual growth through 2034.

Over the past two decades, this rehab sector has built an ecosystem of specialists and trusted protocols. Programs like the University of Tennessee's Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner credential (the first university-based rehab certification for vets and physical therapists) have certified practitioners worldwide, as has the Canine Rehab Institute's Certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist program.

These professionals have been using balance discs, wobble boards, and cavaletti rails in clinical settings for years to help injured dogs recover strength and mobility. In doing so, they've proven the value of structured conditioning and created a playbook of exercises now filtering into regular homes.

Pet parents who've worked with a rehab vet often want to continue maintenance exercises with their own dogs for general fitness or injury prevention. Meanwhile, demand from pet owners regarding canine fitness and weight management has reached an all-time high.

In 2024, 35% of dog owners reported that their pet was overweight or had obesity, a jump from just 17% the year prior. This spike likely reflects growing awareness rather than a sudden obesity epidemic (which has been a growing problem). With an estimated 59% of dogs in the U.S. overweight in recent surveys, many owners are looking beyond simple diet fixes.

Structured exercise routines, essentially doggy aerobics in the living room, are increasingly appealing. This is especially true for owners of breeds prone to joint issues or for senior dogs who can't handle strenuous hikes.

A sizable segment of pet parents are proactively seeking ways to improve their dogs' fitness and mobility at home, creating fertile ground for gear like FitPaws'.

The industry remains careful with claims, however.

Even as rehab techniques go mainstream, companies avoid positioning home products as medical therapies.

The framing centers on enrichment, balance, and "pre-hab" (preventative rehabilitation). FitPaws markets its tools for building strength and stability to help prevent injuries rather than to treat specific conditions.

The idea is to empower owners to do more than just walks (or play supplement roulette), to incorporate vet-approved fitness routines that keep dogs limber, without crossing into the territory of diagnosing or treating clinical problems.

This nuance is crucial for credibility.

The Gear That Converts

A key reason canine fitness gear is gaining traction is that products come packaged with know-how. FitPaws has built a catalog that guides customers from simple to advanced, effectively creating an entry-to-hero-to-add-on ladder of involvement.

Many owners start small.

FitPaws' balance discs and targets are popular first steps.

A set of four FitPaws Targets (flat, paw-sized mats) retails for around $35 and is marketed for "low-impact balance and weight-bearing exercises" to build a puppy's confidence or a senior's stability.

The targets can be a fun game, teaching a dog to place paws on them, introducing concepts of paw awareness and position without any wobble.

Similarly, FitPaws' basic balance discs (inflatable round pads, 14-22 inches) start at about $40-$60. These are essentially the canine version of a BOSU ball. Even partially deflated, they create a gentle unstable surface.

Owners can immediately try a few beginner exercises, like having the dog stand with front paws on the disc, and see improvement in stance and confidence.

FitPaws provides free guidelines and videos for these products, including advice to adjust the disc's air inflation based on the dog's level so a senior or puppy gets a softer, more stable surface at first.

This hand-holding through day 1 builds owner confidence.

After the basics, there's a natural upsell to more specialized gear.

For FitPaws, one hero product has been the FitPAWS Peanut, an inflatable peanut-shaped exercise ball. The Peanut (in sizes from roughly 20 to 40 inches length) runs around $75-$100 and enables a range of core and limb-strengthening drills.

Another hero item is the K9FITbone, a bone-shaped balance platform (approximately $87 for regular, $155 for giant size), often seen in social media clips of dogs doing balancing tricks.

These mid-tier products deliver visibly impressive results.

Dogs learn to stabilize on a wobbly peanut or do "four-wheel drive" stands with each paw on a small FitBone.

The visual progress, and the Instagrammability of these exercises, often convinces other pet parents to try. FitPaws leans into this by providing short training protocols (such as a four-week challenge guide for the FitBone) and emphasizing that these tools "grow core strength, balance and coordination".

The hardware itself is only half the equation. The how-to content, such as a quick tutorial on teaching a puppy to crawl over a series of balance discs, is what converts interest into actual use.

Once an owner has a few pieces in their dog gym, the final step is linking them together. This is where a modular system like FitKinect shines.

FitKinect's interlocking blocks can serve as stepping pods, low hurdles, or combined into a balance platform, effectively replacing an ad-hoc collection of gear with a coordinated set.

FitPaws explicitly markets that modularity.

One day the setup can be a low balance beam for a senior dog's stability work, the next day reconfigured into a plus-shaped hurdle for agility practice.

This not only sells more equipment but also creates more content surface area.

Owners have new exercises to try and share. FitPaws' blog touts that their kits are "chock full of our best products… an exciting way to start or grow your dog's fitness and conditioning toolbox". The idea is a fitness journey, maybe start with a simple target-touch game, progress to balancing on a wobble board, then to synchronized exercises using multiple tools.

Each progression is straightforward, often a tweak to a familiar exercise, so owners don't feel lost.

Social Proof and Community

One of the smartest moves companies like FitPaws have made is turning dog workouts into shareable content. In the pet fitness space, "show, don't tell" is the rule.

A dog confidently rocking a stability exercise on video is far more convincing to consumers than any brochure copy about muscle groups.

@mazethedoberman

My doberman is back in the jungle gym today working on some core strengthening! #doberman #fitpaws #catoboard #fitbone #dobermanpinscher #... See more

FitPaws has cultivated a robust online community, especially on Instagram with roughly 27K followers and over 2,000 posts. The brand's social media feeds are a steady stream of short reels and photos showcasing dogs using the equipment, often tagged with #FitnessFriday, #MadeToMove, or #TeamFitPaws.

The content ranges from official demo clips to UGC videos that FitPaws reposts.

This consistent proof-of-concept content creates a flywheel effect.

When owners see dogs similar to theirs succeeding at an exercise, it reduces the intimidation factor.

FitPaws and its network of trainers also produce many progression videos, such as 30-second time-lapses of a dog improving balance over a few weeks, which are perfect for social media sharing.

It's easy to imagine a pet parent following along with a challenge posted by a canine fitness influencer, then sharing their own dog's attempt. This user-driven virality spreads awareness of the how, not just the product.

Every piece of gear sold has the potential to generate content, like a proud owner posting about Charlie's first wobble board session.

FitPaws' role has been to encourage and amplify this, turning their social channels into an ever-refreshing testimonial reel.

The social media presence around canine fitness gear has become a self-perpetuating asset. Short, engaging videos demonstrate exercises in ways a printed manual never could. This drives more owners to try the gear and share their own journeys, feeding back into broader adoption.

The Price Ladder

As the canine fitness category broadens, a clear price ladder is emerging that savvy operators can use for product assortment and channel strategy. Generally, there are three tiers.

Entry gear (under $75) includes items like FitPaws Targets, small balance discs, paw pods, and basic cavaletti sets.

These products typically retail in the $30-$70 range, making them impulse-accessible and ideal for initial trials.

Mid-tier hero products ($75-$150) are the more iconic, larger pieces like the FitPAWS Peanut and the FitBone platforms, and the newer balance ramps. These are the products that typically become the hero in marketing.

They're visually interesting and deliver clear results. Price-wise, they're a considered purchase but still within range for many dedicated pet owners, comparable to a premium pet bed or a month of doggy daycare.

Flagship systems ($150+ bundles) like the FitKinect system represent the high end of the category.

A customer might invest $200-$300+ in a full setup. FitKinect's Core kit is $149.95 MSRP (currently around $99 intro price) and the Xtra kit is $224.95 MSRP, with expansion packs ($30-$60) on top.

This is a considered purchase that typically only deeply invested pet parents or professionals will jump to immediately and the most likely to sow deep trust + brand loyalty.

Looking Ahead

What was once a quirky niche of dog rehab tools is becoming a mainstream expectation in pet care.

The launch of FitPaws' FitKinect system signals how far the category has come, from a few balance balls in specialist hands to full modular gyms for everyday dogs. It embodies the future - modular, adaptable equipment paired with professional-grade guidance, all packaged accessibly for the average pet parent.

As operators and investors eye this space, the core takeaway is that success will come from approachability and credibility. The winners will be those who combine user-friendly design (for both dog and owner) with science-backed, vet-endorsed content. Hype and gimmicks won't build a lasting brand here.

Demonstrating real outcomes and nurturing community will.

There are clear opportunities ahead.

Education platforms and services represent one glaring opening—think along the lines of subscription-based apps offering daily five-minute exercise routines tailored by dog age or goal.

Clinic and trainer bundles offer another promising channel, as veterinary rehab clinics and dog trainers could stock standardized kits for clients. The senior and special-needs dog niche is ripe for tailored solutions, with tens of millions of aging dogs potentially benefiting from gentle fitness routines.

Canine fitness gear will have its moment in the spotlight, and it won’t be a fad that fizzles out. It's an evolution in how we care for and engage with our dogs. Beyond the walks around the block, a new era of dog wellness is emerging, one where balance discs and FitKinects in living rooms are as normal as dog parks and chew toys. For the pet industry, that means opportunity knocks, with a simple mandate - keep dogs moving, and do it the right way.

Search interest in “events for dogs” has been climbing steadily over the past five years and that slope is starting to steepen.

Monthly volume has risen roughly 36% year-over-year, with searches now averaging around 11K per month. What’s even more telling is the spike pattern: interest consistently peaks during the warmer months, reflecting a strong seasonal appetite for outdoor gatherings, markets, and social meetups that include dogs.

That recurring surge suggests these aren’t just one-off queries - they’re part of a growing cultural norm around dogs as active participants in community life, not just companions left at home.

Zooming out, the overall trajectory shows how “dog events” have evolved from niche to mainstream.

Early in the dataset (2020–2021), interest hovered in the mid-thousands, but since 2023, the baseline has risen significantly, with multiple peaks hitting 2x previous levels.

This shift points to a few forces converging. Post-pandemic lifestyle changes prioritizing experiences, the rise of dog-friendly venues and pop-ups, and brands recognizing events as high-ROI community plays. For operators and marketers, dog-centric events are no longer just brand-building gimmicks.

They’re now a year-round growth channel with seasonality you can plan around and demand curves you can confidently build products and campaigns to match.

See you Friday!