All pet owners want their dog to receive the best quality care. They also want you as a pet professional to understand their dog in detail. FAT provides a way for the client to give you detailed information in a structured way that documents the dog’s current status. The FAT graphic profile and report helps identify challenges, changes and needs, creating the talking points for valuable discussions.

FAT was designed to be highly intuitive, so that training on the use of the app is not necessary. For clients who are not tech-savvy, they may appreciate a staff member initially guiding them through the FAT assessment.

FAT was designed to be highly intuitive, so that training on the use of the app is not necessary. We recommend appointing a FAT champion – a staff member who is skilled with computers, and who is enthusiastic about the many benefits of FAT.

FAT sets a new bar for the detailed information necessary for best quality care. Details overlooked or not revealed can mean potentially serious issues for the dog. FAT provides a comprehensive structure that ensures the important questions will be asked. No need to rely on staff to remember to ask, or for owners to remember everything that needs to be told. The step-by-step app guides the user to detailed observations. The answers gathered result in a profile and a report that is easily accessed and understood by all, and that can be easily shared.

It’s up to you how often you use FAT to document a dog’s functioning. A good rule of thumb: If the dog is changing, FAT tracks the changes.

Good times to create a new FAT assessment include whenever there is:

• change in health status
• change in diet
• change in medication
• prior to any veterinary visit
• pre-surgery and post-surgery
• at initial assessment for trainers and veterinary behaviorists, as well as throughout the training or behavior modification program
• pre-, during and post-treatment (e.g., physical therapy, rehab)
• prior to intake for boarding kennel, daycare, dog walker, pet sitter training facility, organizations, rescues & shelters
• whenever a new caretaker is involved in the dog’s care
• change of ownership
• change(s) in household
• at key points in a program or protocol

Depending on the dog, routine FAT assessments might be just a few times a year. Or they might be as frequent as every day. If the dog or the dog’s world is changing, FAT tracks the dog’s response to these changes.

There is no limit on how many assessments you can create for each dog. At the moment, you can only do one new assessment per day.

Your subscription is based on the number of dogs that are active. You can choose to inactivate a dog at any time by “archiving” the dog. This will keep all of the dog’s data and files, but the dog is inactive. Any archived dog does not count against your subscription. You can choose to reactivate the dog at any time.

We understand that many pet professionals may only care for a dog intermittently. Your subscription is based on the number of dogs that are active, which is often a smaller number than your total number of clients seen in a year. You can choose to inactivate a dog at any time by “archiving” the dog. Archiving will keep all of the dog’s data and files, but the dog is inactive. Any archived dog does not count against your subscription. You can choose to reactivate the archived dog at any time.

This feature is particularly helpful for clients where the dog is only seen intermittently, such as boarding clients who leave their dog(s) with you just once a year, or veterinary clients who are seen just yearly for a wellness exam. This feature is also helpful for closely tracking a dog after medical treatment, emergency, surgery, etc. but then not seeing the dog frequently once the situation is resolved.

Should you exceed the number of profiles in your subscription, you will be unable to add a new pet until you archive one of the currently active pets. You may also choose to upgrade to a different subscription level.

Following up to track the dog’s progress is important to providing quality care. But chasing down meaningful feedback from an owner can mean multiple rounds of phone calls, texts or emails. And you still may not have the information you need! FAT provides an easy way for owners to give you and your staff the information needed to fine tune their dog’s care. Because “he’s fine!” is not an answer.

Each FAT assessment guides the user through a detailed approach to the dog on multiple domains. Use of the FAT app teaches your staff to think in details, and to work systematically to gather a comprehensive view of the dog. FAT’s color coding also helps provide context for evaluation of the scores, aiding in decision making. At a glance, it is easy to identify changes, improvements or areas of concern that need attention.

For organizations, FAT can provide the structure for consistent evaluations and clear communication across the team. Identifying the key points in your program will help you establish the right timetable or triggering events where FAT is necessary. For example, a FAT assessment at intake can be invaluable to set a baseline for a dog. This can then be compared to how the dog is functioning in a week or two.

In puppy raising programs for guide and service dogs, a monthly FAT report can help identify areas that may need support. Early identification of challenges and issues can alert the organization to a need for intervention or changes for that dog.

FAT was designed to be shared. Each assessment and each report can be downloaded, and printed out or emailed to anyone you like. A cage card can be printed out and put into the dog’s folder or attached to the kennel, cage or run.

You may upload photos, pedigrees, veterinary reports, vaccination records, registration information, and more. This feature makes it easy to keep important documents for your dog at your fingertips, and accessible via the FAT app through a cell phone anywhere in the world.

You may upgrade or downgrade your account to change the number of dogs in your subscription. If you upgrade, you are given credit for the subscription, and charged the difference. If you downgrade, you are refunded the difference.

You may archive any dog in your account for any reason. There is a place for the date of death to be noted. Disposition via placement, adoption, sale or release can be noted in the dog’s file before archiving.

If you do not renew your subscription, all files associated with your account will be inactivated and archived.

You may cancel your subscription at any time. You will have 30 days to download your files before they are archived.

You may download all of your files at any time. This could be a large file, depending on what you have in your account.