“Did anyone feed the dog?” A pet care tracker for the whole family
FridgeBoard puts your pet’s day on the shared screen in the kitchen and on every phone at home: breakfast and dinner with a tick and who fed them, walks with how long they took, and reminders for medicine, flea treatment, worming, nail trims and the vet. So the dog gets fed once, not twice, and nobody has to ask. FridgeBoard is made by Matt and Max the dog, and Max has opinions about dinner being late.
A dog feeding tracker that says who fed them
Every pet has its own meals, at the times you choose. When someone feeds Max, they tap his breakfast on the fridge or on their phone, and it shows as fed, with the time and who did it. Anyone walking past can see dinner’s done. A dog who’s already eaten can look very convincing, so this one matters.
Children can tick it off themselves on the shared screen, and the pet’s feed shows in their own list of what they did today. If you have more than one pet, each one gets their own meals and their own card.
A dog walk log
Tap Start when you clip the lead on and End when you’re home, and FridgeBoard records how long the walk was and who took the dog. With two dogs, it asks whether it’s just Max or both of them. The pet card shows today’s walks and a chart of the week, so you can see at a glance if the dog’s been short-changed. You can set a goal for walks a day, too.
Not every pet walks. You can also count other things: let out, brushed, played fetch, whatever you want to keep a tally of. And the dog poo in the yard can be an Any time job that whoever picks it up taps to claim. More about chores.
A pet care schedule: flea, worming, nail trims and the vet
The jobs that come round every few weeks or months are the ones that get missed. Add a pet and FridgeBoard starts them off with the usual care for that kind of animal: flea treatment and worming for a dog or cat, nail trims for a rabbit or guinea pig, testing the water for fish, and so on. Change any of them to match what your vet says, or take off what doesn’t apply.
Reminders can repeat from when they were last done (“nail trim six weeks after the last one”) rather than on a fixed date, so a late one doesn’t throw the rest out. Vet appointments can go on the family calendar with where they are.
Pet medication reminders
Pets get the same medicine features as people: a reminder when it’s due, a tick with who gave it, late doses in red, a photo of the packet, and a count of what’s left with a reminder to reorder. A tablet can go with a meal, so when someone feeds Max his dinner, his tablet is ticked too. Follow your vet’s instructions for what to give and when. More about the medicine tracker.
Works with Home Assistant
If your home runs Home Assistant, a button by the food bin can mark the dog fed, and a door sensor on the lead drawer can start and end a walk. FridgeBoard and Home Assistant.
How to stop the dog being fed twice: ideas that work
Useful with or without FridgeBoard.
- One place to check. Whatever you use, a whiteboard, a chart or a screen, it has to be where the food is kept. A record in someone’s phone doesn’t help the person standing at the food bin.
- Mark it when the bowl goes down. Not after the dishes, not when you remember. Straight away.
- Give each job one owner per day. “Ivy feeds Max in the morning, Bo at night” beats “the kids feed the dog”. Rotate it each week if it’s a fight. FridgeBoard’s chores can take turns for you.
- Let younger kids help. Feeding a pet is one of the first real jobs many children can do with a grown-up nearby. See our chores by age list.
- Keep the vet’s number handy. Put the vet and the after-hours emergency vet somewhere everyone can find them. FridgeBoard has a Handy numbers card for exactly that.
- Write down what “every month” means. Monthly flea treatment drifts when nobody knows when it was last done. Note the date each time, or let a reminder count from it.
Setting it up
- On your phone, go to fridgeboard.me and tap Try it free. Add who lives at home, and your pets, with what kind of animal they are.
- Set each pet’s meal times and walks. Check the care reminders it suggests and add any medicine.
- On the iPad, open Safari, go to fridgeboard.me, tap Open, then Use this as the shared screen. Scan the code with your phone.
- Put the iPad near the pet food, usually the kitchen. Add a pet card to Home so meals and walks are right there.
It works on any iPad from the iPad 2 on, including old ones that no longer get updates, and on Android tablets and computers. Turning an old iPad into a family screen.
Questions
Is there an app to track who fed the dog?
Yes. FridgeBoard shows each pet’s meals on the shared screen and every phone, and when someone ticks one off it shows who fed them and when, so the dog doesn’t get fed twice.
Can I log dog walks and how long they were?
Yes. Tap Start and End and FridgeBoard records the walk’s length and who went, with today’s walks and a chart of the week on the pet card.
Does it remind me about flea treatment, worming and the vet?
Yes. New pets start with the usual care for their kind of animal, such as flea treatment and worming for dogs and cats, and you can change each reminder to match what your vet recommends.
Can it remind us to give the dog its medicine?
Yes. Pet medicine works like people’s: a reminder when it’s due, who gave it, late doses in red and a count of what’s left, and a tablet can be ticked along with the meal it goes with.
Does it work for cats, fish, rabbits and other pets?
Yes. You choose the kind of animal, and FridgeBoard suggests care that suits it, with walks left off for pets that don’t need them.
Is it a subscription?
No. FridgeBoard is one payment for the whole household (US$24 plus tax in the US, A$39 in Australia), with every feature included and a 5-day free trial with no card needed.