Introducing Yapper app – fun for your dog; rewards for you (it’s free!)

Would you and your hound like a wellness game with real rewards to boot? There’s an app for that, South Africa. Say hi to Yapper.

Yapper is a gamified web & mobile experience for you and your doggles. It lets you log your hound’s activities and complete tasks with him or her to earn points.  Your dog gets a happier, healthier life than the one you already offer (yes, apparently it is possible), and you get rewards for helping him or her get there. Those rewards include benefits (like discount vouchers) and (real) prizes from (actual) paw partners.

Basically, you log your pooch’s wellness activities and – as you and your fur-baby outshine other dogs – and their humans, heh, heh – you move up the leader board towards prizes.

When we say ‘gamified’, we don’t mean trivialised. It’s a legitimate process. For example, you won’t receive points for cleaning Spotty’s teeth if you can’t prove it with the digital paperwork! It’s also competitive. Yep, there are others to beat and there’s stuff to win. Real-life dog stuff.

How to join

Signing up is easy. Visit www.yapperapp.co.za on a Chrome browser for Android, and Safari browser for iPhone. Fill in details to sign up. Once you’ve verified your email, you can log in.

Then, it’s time to play.

1. Create pooch profiles.
2. Fill out daily activity, daily feeds and water, health checks. To ensure your pooch enjoys these necessities and courtesies in real life, you’ll be asked to verify tasks by uploading “a pic of the relevant page of your pet logbook or a receipt.” Those Images are checked in 48 hours.
3. When you’ve settled in and your points are piling up (you amazing pet parent, you!), try the MONTHLY CHALLENGE. From the 1st of every month, check out who you need to beat to get the treat. You can log your daily activity, feeds, and even weekly multipliers! Try to make it in the Top Ten on the leader board and Yapper will give you a gift box worth R1,000!

Real-life rewards

It’s not just peace of mind and a happier hound you’ll get using the Yapper web app. You can get vouchers from Paw partners, too. Trying to triple your Smart Shopper points? Can do when you buy Pick n Pay pet products as a Yapper member (registration required). Want a discount on pet air travel? Claim your PetLounge voucher through Yapper. How about 30% off a PetPA ID tag with unique NFC chip and QR code and access to its own dedicated ‘find my pet’ website? Yapper offers that, too. Check out the rewards page for details of how to redeem your rewards* .

Meet some of Yapper’s Paw Partners

There’s a family of paw partners offering you incentives to be a better dog parent. They include Pick ‘n Pay Pet Club, IdentiPet, @Frits (a pet hotel that we featured here), Fitbark, Petlounge (safe pet air travel which we featured here) and MuttMix, amongst others.

Points for you and your pooch

Wellness pays in so many ways.

Vaccinations will give you 5,000 paw points because it’s so important! “Vaccination remains the single most effective method for protecting against infectious disease in healthy animals”, highlights Yapper app. “Since vaccines wear off over time, periodic revaccination is necessary. Follow-up vaccinations “remind” the pet’s immune system to produce antibodies to protect against an overwhelming challenge of disease-causing viruses or bacteria.”

Deworming gets 500 paw points because it’s best to do it regularly.

Preventative oral care adds 2,500 paw points. There’s good reason for the high earnings on this activity. “Dental check-ups should be performed as part of your pet’s annual examination routine” Yapper points out, and “where necessary your vet will clean, perform ultrasonic scaling and polishing, and should even be able to teach you how to keep those gnashes clean at home.”

Sterilisation earns you 3,000 paw points. Wow. Did you know that “nationwide, more than 2.7 million healthy, adoptable cats and dogs are euthanized in shelters annually.” Don’t add to the sad, neuter or spay today.

Tick and flea treatment amounts to 500 paw points. You’d be surprised how much damage a flea can do. “How often you apply tick & flea treatment depends on which treatment you are applying, your area, and your dog’s activity,” advises Yapper. “Typical treatments range from monthly through to quarterly and reduce the likelihood of your pets falling ill from parasite-spread diseases and associated skin complications or discomfort.”

Microchip activation is a whopping 5,000 more paw points and much less stress if your pet goes wandering. “The technology of a pet microchip is simple and safe,” explains Yapper. “When a microchip scanner is passed over a microchipped pet, the implanted microchip emits a RF (radio frequency) signal. The scanner reads the microchip’s unique ID code which links back to a database with the pet owner’s details.” Read more on what you need to know about microchipping here.

Bonus board: a pet insurance declaration will give you 2 500 points. You’ve got pet cover, right? “No one is ever ready for a R50,000 vet bill,” Yapper sympathises. “You’re more likely to make a claim on pet insurance than you are to make a claim on your house or car insurance.” Eek. Get pet insurance with dotsure.co.za online , quickly and easily, then declare it!

Pet school gives you 2,500 paw points every year. Pet school isn’t just for puppies. It helps you and your pooch understand each other, socialise healthily with other dogs, and learn discipline.

Dig in, dog lovers! Life just got so much better for you and your best furry friend…

Check out their Insta feed here.

*T&Cs apply