Scales, harnesses and dummies: Keeping dogs healthy and safe with load cells
If you own a large dog, you’ll know the issue of weighing them once they grow up. As a puppy it’s simple. You hold them in your arms, step onto a set of bathroom scales, check the weight, step off the scales, put the puppy down and weigh yourself. The difference is the weight of the pup (unless it’s sitting on the scales chewing your shoelaces, or has just dropped its heaviest toy on your foot, etc!)
However, once larger breed dogs approach their adult weight, this method can be a problem. According to the Dogs Trust,
“In the UK, Health and Safety guidelines for the workplace state that men may lift up to 25kg (3.9st) and women up to 16kg (2.5st) without assistance. Consider how much your dog weighs, their body shape and whether you feel safe and confident lifting them yourself, or whether you might need assistance.” (6)
Dog scales for Milli
Hackaday member Saren Tasciyan decided to build some dog scales for Bernese Mountain dog, Milli. Saren’s stroke of genius was to integrate the scales into the frame of Milli’s bed, using upcycled items they had lying about, including a Wi-Fi microcontroller, with TCP/IP networking, and microcontroller capability, and a small LCD display.
By using a set of four brand new 50kg load cells, the bed could weigh up to 200kg. That’s a bit of overkill, as according to the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain, Milli’s adult weight would be between 45 – 55 kgs. (1)
“If the load cells are not at the edge, then she could step on the edge (and) tilt the bed with her weight. This could (and was) enough to scare her. She gets scared very easily. That would mean that she would lie on her bed anymore 😢. Also, if the “ground” under her soft bed would have large gaps, she would not like this either (and she didn’t).” (2)
For another example of an under crate dog weighing system using load cells, see this link.
Load cells and leads
Any owner of a dog that pulls on its lead has probably wrestled with the issue of how to restrain them and minimise impact on the dog’s physical welfare and behaviour. Owners often struggle to choose between traditional collars that fit around the neck, harnesses that fit around the dog’s torso and shoulders, and halter-style head collars that wrap over their noses.
A team at Hartpury College & University Centre investigated collars and body harnesses to assess if one caused the dog less stress than the other. The study used miniature load cells to record data on the level of force experienced at the point of restraint. (3) The study showed that:
“The force exerted on the neck and throat when wearing a collar is more localized, with the potential to cause damage or exacerbate existing injuries, while the force exerted when wearing a harness is distributed over a larger area, hence reducing the impact of the force. The data collected can be used by concerned pet owners to make a more educated decision.” (4)
Load cells and pet safety
Load cels are also used to test dog car safety harnesses, as we explored in a previous blog:
Dogs in the car: loads cells and pet safety harness testing
What’s changed since then is the development of accurate body shape crash test pets. Pet restraint and carrier company Sleepypod have added two new crash test pets to its range. The new crash dogs recognising that specific dummies are required to test the products for the different shapes of dog breeds.
As Automotive Testing Technology International magazine explains:
“Dash 1.0 is the first Sleepypod crash test dummy designed to represent the sighthound dog breed, characterized by long legs, a deep chest, a wiry body and a lean head. Dash’s weight can be adjusted from 75 to 90lb, and its steel skeleton features an articulated waist and legs. Equipped with a point-of-view camera in the neck and a g-force sensor, Dash records valuable crash test data.” (5)
For more on their range of crash test dogs and cats, see https://sleepypod.com/pages/research
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