Deep learning classification of canine behavior using a single collar-mounted accelerometer: Real-world validation

Collar-mounted canine activity monitors can use accelerometer data to estimate dog activity levels, step counts, and distance traveled. With recent advances in machine learning and embedded computing, much more nuanced and accurate behavior classification has become possible, giving these affordable consumer devices the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of pet healthcare. Here we describe a novel deep learning algorithm that classifies dog behavior at sub-second resolution using commercial pet activity monitors. We built machine learning training databases from over 5,000 videos of over 2,500 dogs and ran the algorithms in production on over 11 million days of device data. We then surveyed project participants representing 10,550 dogs, they provided us 163,110 event responses to validate real-world detection of eating and drinking behavior. The resultant algorithm displayed a sensitivity and specificity for detecting drinking behavior (0.949 and 0.999, respectively) and eating behavior (0.988, 0.983). We also demonstrated detection of licking, petting, rubbing, scratching, and sniffing. We show that the devices’ position on the collar has no measurable impact on performance. In production, users reported a true positive rate of 95.3% for eating (among 1,514 users), and of 94.9% (among 1,491 users) for drinking. The study demonstrates the accurate detection of important health-related canine behaviors using a collar-mounted accelerometer. We trained and validated our algorithms on a large and realistic training dataset, and we assessed and confirmed accuracy in production via user validation.