Apps have improved many aspects of our lives, and pet ownership is definitely one of them. We are blessed to have so many smart and often fun digital tools to make dog ownership a little easier right on our smartphones. New apps are coming out all of the time that can help make pet ownership simpler, from ways to connect with local dog sitters to apps that can scan your dog and guess at his or her breed. From the most whimsical apps to the most practical, we’ve collected a list of the 11 must-have apps for dog owners that you should check out.

1. Bring Fido

Vacations are better when you don’t have to worry about how your dog is handling a kennel. Planning a pet-friendly vacation is simpler with BringFido. This app shows you hotels and attractions where your dog is welcome. Grab dinner, head to an outdoor fair, and then grab a hotel all with your dog at your side. The app has a built-in concierge feature that ensures you are booking a pet-friendly room and doesn’t charge a booking fee for the privilege. Check out their travel blog for some great dog vacation ideas too.

doggy time

2. Doggy Time

One of the hardest parts of having a puppy is those first few weeks of housetraining. The Doggy Time app is designed to help you focus on potty training, with some fun extras that help you make the most of the fun of owning a puppy. You can create alerts for and track your puppy’s food and drinking, potty times, treats, walks, medication and more. You can share the information with someone else in your family to coordinate your efforts.

Dog Breed Scanner App

3. Dog Breed Scanner App

New to the dog park? Foster a lot of different dogs? It can be a ton of fun to have this dog breed identifier app on hand. There’s no guarantee that it will pick out a mixed-breed dog’s ancestry, but it’s a useful tool to make an educated guess or to help you learn new breeds. Whether you’re a volunteer at a shelter or just trying to learn new dog breeds, this app is a lot of fun.

4. Rover

If you don’t know someone who can watch your dog, Rover is a great app to help you get in touch with someone. You can choose between many different dog sitters, all with ratings and reviews from the community. The quality of dog sitters on the app is high, with 95% of people giving out five-star ratings for the dog sitting they received.

5. Dog Training App

You might be able to find a few different dog training apps to help you, but this one from Dogo has the functionality of a handful of different apps. It has useful guides that can help you teach your dog tricks. It has a built-in clicker that you can use to make that consistent sound that is so useful for training. If you are in over your head, the app also lets you reach out to real dog trainers for help.

dog walk

6. Dog Walk App

Have you set a goal to walk your dog for longer each day or week? Or, are you trying to keep track of an older dog’s waning energy levels and potty time? The Dog Walk app can help. It tracks the route, distance and duration of your dog’s walk. If you like, you can add your dog’s pee and poops (and their specific location) to track their habits, focus on housetraining, or keep track of their health. You can add pictures to the walks too, which is a bit more fun!

7. Dog Health App

You might forget when your dog last got a rabies shot, a flea treatment, or another medication. Calling the vet for this might be a hassle, and what happens if you switch vets? Plus, there are plenty of home dog treatments that you might give that you want to keep track of. This Dog Health app is a great solution. You can log everything from your dog’s weight to medications, vaccinations, and visits at different clinics. It will also allow you to track information for more than one dog.

8. DOGTV

Anyone who leaves their dog behind during their workday will appreciate the goal of DogTV. This app has special dog-specific programming that can entertain or calm your dog while you’re away. They also have a special program to help accustom dogs to noises that might otherwise bother them, like doorbells. There is a scientific rationale behind all of the programming, and you can try it out on your dog before you buy. And, for you, there is also a ton of human-focused programming about dogs, including shows about feeding dogs, dog trivia, and a dog adoption show.

Dog First Aid 9. Dog First Aid

While you may have taken a first aid course for humans, chances are you didn’t take one for dogs. What happens if your dog needs your help and you don’t know how to respond? The Red Cross has made a first aid app that can tell you what to do. It teaches you how to handle your dog’s emergencies. Plus, it has interactive quizzes to help test your knowledge, so you’re prepared. Rest assured that professional veterinarians and experts made the content on the app.

10. Chewy

Are you looking for a new place to buy dog foods or treats? Chewy lets you cut out the middleman at the pet store and choose from a much wider array of pet foods, including hundreds of niche brands and products. The app will allow you to save your favourite pet products and auto-ship food that you buy regularly. It’s kind of like an Amazon for just food products for pets.

11. Weather Puppy

This last app, Weather Puppy, can be fun whether you own a dog or not. It adds an animated dog to your wallpaper, or as part of a weather app. The puppy you choose, from 800 puppies, will respond to the weather and time of day. It’ll brighten your mood to see your pup sleeping at night orwearing rain booties for wet weather. You can choose from popular breeds, or upload photos of your own dog instead.