Nestlé's Purina PetCare is adding another mobile application to its growing repertoire with a big focus on helping dog owners train their pets.

The new Purina Pro Plan P5 mobile app is in support of a new product extension to the Purina Pro Plan line of dog food called Sport, which includes three formulas meant to address the nutritional needs of active dogs. The app offers special mobilized lessons in agility, dock diving, flying disc, obedience, running and strength training.

?The new Purina Pro Plan P5 app is the next generation of dog training applications for smartphones developed to help supports pets and their owners on their personal journey to greatness, through professional training and activities tracking,? said Robert Tochterman, brand manager for Purina Pro Plan.

?And we?re introducing P5 at the same time we are launching our new Purina Pro Plan Sport product line, which offers three formulas to fuel athletic dogs based on activity level ? from everyday exercise all the way to competitive performance,? he said.

?The new P5 app will play an important role in the marketing of our new Sport product line. The two are complementary products ? the combination of high-quality nutrition with our Sport products and the simple training tools in the P5 app give dog owners the support they need to lead their dogs on their own personal journey to greatness.?

Proprietary algorithm
The Purina Pro Plan P5 app can be used with dogs of all breeds and sizes. It uses a proprietary algorithm developed by an internal team of experts, including a PhD nutrition physiologists and a canine exercise physiologist, to enable dog owners to set and track personalized fitness goals for their dogs, based on breed, weight and body condition.

A dog?s fitness goals and achievements can also be shared.

Users first set a goal and then they can develop a weekly training plan comprised of a combination of high and low impact activities, agility and obedience training sessions.

The Purina Pro Plan P5 app contains step-by-step video demonstrations and instructions to guide users through each lesson.

Owners and their dogs can also earn Greatness Points and individual badges for achieving weekly goals and completing specialized lessons.

Step-by-step instructions
The app is available to download for free from the Apple App Store. The Purina Pro Plan Sport products are available at specialty pet retailers.

As part of the Purina Pro Plan's P5 launch, professional football player Daryl 'Moose' Johnston has teamed up with Purina Pro Plan to train his own dog using the app. Mr. Johnston began training his dog with the P5 app in early January and will showcase the results at the "Canine Combine," a football inspired performance and training exhibition taking place on Jan. 30 in New Orleans.

?We?re really proud that the P5 app offers easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions from professional trainers ? in the form of high-quality videos and written instructions ? that help dog owners work with their dogs so they can reach their full potential,? Mr. Tochterman said. ?We?re also excited that dog owners can track their dog?s progress on the P5 app and share it with their friends through their social media communities.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York