Clever ‘Smart Snout’ app uses dogs’ unique NOSE PRINTS to help identify and reunite lost pups with their owners
- Users enter information like name, breed and colour, and upload a nose picture
- If a dog is found, the finder can simply scan the snout to identify the owner
- The app is free, but costs £4.99 annually if you want to register your dog’s details
The idea of losing your dog is something that fills any owner with dread, but a new app could make it easier to identify and reunite with your pooch, should it go missing.
The app, called Smart Snout, can track missing dogs by treating their noses like a fingerprint.
Smart Snout is the brainchild of Bradley Watson, 44, who came up with the idea after watching a police show on TV.
He saw officers using fingerprint technology to collar crooks and realised that the same idea could be applied to pooches.
It is thought that every dog’s nose has a pattern that, when coupled with the shape of its nostril openings, is distinctive enough to identify it.
Smart Snout’s backers claim the app will eclipse microchipping, which is currently a legal requirement in the UK.
The app, called Smart Snout, can track missing dogs by treating their noses like a fingerprint
How does it work?
1. Download the Smart Snout app
2. Enter your basic details – email address, dog’s name, colour and age
3. Take a photo of your dog’s nose
4. If your dog is safe, leave your status as ‘OK’ on the app. This means that if anyone takes a photo of your dog’s nose, no details will displayed
5. If your dog goes missing, change your status to ‘Missing’ on the app. Now, if your dog is found and a picture of their nose is uploaded to the app, your details will appear
6. You can then communicate via email to reunite with your dog
The app is free to download but costs £4.99 annually if you want to register your dog’s details.
Paying customers are asked to enter some basic information like name, breed and colour, as well as uploading a nose picture.
Then, once that information is in, if it were to be lost or stolen and then recovered, the finder could simply scan the snout, Bradley claims.
At this point, the owner and the finder will be alerted to the dog’s identity – reuniting to get the pooch home safely.
Smart Snout was only launched properly eight weeks ago but already has more than 2,000 subscribers – with even more downloads, Bradley said.
The company is also trying to get police forces across the nation to back it in a bid to further deter criminals.
Bradley, from Bramford, Suffolk, said: ‘We’re doing really well – we’ve just applied to go onto Dragon’s Den!
‘The reviews are absolutely amazing. It is – in theory, at the moment – an unbeatable system.
‘It’s working really well, and we’re hoping, if we can get enough bodies on board. There’s no way it can be beaten, unlike the chip – which is just cut out.
‘I’ve been watching the growth of dog thefts, and I’ve witnessed it first-hand from customers.
‘I’ve always tried to find a way – like I said, I was just watching police interceptors. They did a roadside scan of a fingerprint suspect.
‘It brought up all their details on the system, and I thought, “now why can’t we do this with dogs?”.
‘From start of life to death, a dog’s biometrics on its nose doesn’t change – that’s where [the idea] came from.
‘I then got in touch with a few investors and started working with an app team in London, and it works amazingly.’
Once the dog’s information is in, if it were to be lost or stolen and then recovered, the finder could simply scan the snout, Bradley claims
Smart Snout was only launched properly eight weeks ago but already has more than 2,000 subscribers – with even more downloads, Bradley said
Dog thefts soared in lockdown
A huge rise in heartless dog thefts has been blamed on the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of dogs stolen in Britain in 2020 doubled, making it the worst year ever for the crime, the volunteer service DogLost claims.
The group, which reunites missing dogs and their owners, says the thefts have left thousands of families devastated as pets are snatched from gardens and cars – and even during walks.
More than 320 cases were reported to police between January and August 2020, the organisation said, up from 170 during the whole of 2019.
Experts say the demand for canine companions has boomed under coronavirus restrictions, forcing the value of some breeds to triple.
Read more here
Bradley, a lifelong dog trainer, estimates that around £15,000 has been spent on the app so far.
It’s free to download, but costs just shy of £5 a year to submit your dog’s details – which are necessary for it to be found.
Explaining how it works, Bradley said: ‘It’s so so simple. You download the app, and you put in your basic details: email address, dog’s name, colour, age.
‘Then it comes to the magical part. You have two photos. One is a facial recognition system.
‘And the second photo is the picture of the dog’s snout. If you zoom in – phones are so good now – you get that biometric print.
‘Once you’ve done that, if you just leave your status as “okay” on the app, anyone who walks past your dog and takes a photo – no details will be found.
‘But if you change your status to missing…if I took a photo of a dog I found on the street, it will say, “congratulations, you’ve found a dog”.
‘And it will also tell the owner – it’s an instant notification of data straight away. You can then communicate via email.
‘Unlike with a chip, which you can cut out – that’s just impossible with our system. You’d have to cut the dog’s nose clean off. And no one is going to do that.’
Smart Snout has received financial backing from businessman James Khan, 43, after he was pitched the idea.
And Bradley has also teamed up with an ex-police officer who is well-versed in catching missing dogs.
Bradley, a lifelong dog trainer, estimates that around £15,000 has been spent on the app so far. It’s free to download, but costs just shy of £5 a year to submit your dog’s details – which are necessary for it to be found
Phil James, 45, left the emergency services ‘quite a while ago’ but, for the last 18 months, has been finding missing dogs with his drone.
He said: ‘My day job is flying drones. But, in my spare time, I find people’s missing dogs in Nottingham.
‘Last year I found 49 and assisted in over 200 searches. Because of that, I have gained quite a big following on Facebook.
‘People have got to know me and, any dog that goes missing in Nottingham – they ring me.
‘I saw Smart Snout on Facebook. I contacted Bradley and James – I thought it was an amazing idea.
‘I loved it – I love the concept. My main aim is to get rid of microchipping. People find it quite intrusive.
‘Since Covid, dog thefts have gone up, and [the thieves] have started cutting the microchips out.
‘Smart Snout is a bit of a breakthrough. You can’t chop off a dog’s nose. I have been spreading the word across the East Midlands.’
Phil, from Nottingham, said he has also been meeting with Nottinghamshire police in a bid to build a relationship, and is hoping that will spread across other forces.
He added: ‘People trust the police. I want their crests on the top of the app. That will help publicity.’
WHAT ARE THE TEN COMMONLY HELD MYTHS ABOUT DOGS?
It is easy to believe that dogs like what we like, but this is not always strictly true.
Here are ten things which people should remember when trying to understand their pets, according to Animal behaviour experts Dr Melissa Starling and Dr Paul McGreevy, from the University of Sydney.
1. Dogs don’t like to share
2. Not all dogs like to be hugged or patted
3. A barking dog is not always an aggressive dog
4. Dogs do not like other dogs entering their territory/home
5. Dogs like to be active and don’t need as much relaxation time as humans
6. Not all dogs are overly friendly, some are shyer to begin with
7. A dog that appears friendly can soon become aggressive
8. Dogs need open space and new areas to explore. Playing in the garden won’t always suffice
9. Sometimes a dog isn’t misbehaving, it simply does not understand what to do or what you want
10. Subtle facial signals often preempt barking or snapping when a dog is unhappy
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