Case study · 2026

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Sirius Dog Fitnessthe dog fitness trail that finally works

Animal physiotherapist Susanna Vartiainen's Sirius started as a mobile app that suffered from bugs and eventually stopped working. I rebuilt it as a web app: guided exercises with video, a dog's life calendar, paw points and Premium subscriptions.

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Client: Animal physiotherapist Susanna Vartiainen
Launched: Early 2026
Languages: Finnish, English, Swedish, German
Scope: Design and full-stack build

Checkpoint 01 · Story

An app that deserved a second chance

The idea behind Sirius is simple: an ordinary walk becomes a fitness trail that strengthens the dog's body. The idea was good from day one; the technology couldn't keep up.

2017

A mobile app is born

Sirius – koiran kuntopolku launched on Android and later on iPhone. Guided exercises, a dog profile and a calendar went along on every walk.

The old Sirius site in 2019 with App Store and Google Play badges — siriusdog.fi in 2019

In between

Bugs, then silence

The app suffered from bugs and eventually stopped working. Several developers tried to rescue the project, but they either quoted too high or gave up halfway.

The old site with a glitch effect, illustrating the broken app — Illustration: an app that no longer worked

Illustration: an app that no longer worked

2026

The new Sirius on the web

I rebuilt Sirius from scratch as a web app that runs on phones, tablets and computers without any app store. Susanna's vision, now working and expanded.

siriusdog.fiLive

The paw menu, siriusdog.fi 2026

Checkpoint 02 · Inside

What's behind the paw

Sirius's signature is its paw menu. Press the pads to see what's inside the app.

siriusdog.fi

The balancing exercise opened: photo, video and instructions

Fitness paths

Guided exercises with video

Expert-guided exercises with text, images and video: balancing, climbing, obstacle walks, swimming and more. Exercises can be combined into a weekly plan.

Checkpoint 03 · Audiences

Two dogs, two needs

The same app serves two very different users. Pick a dog.

Joy in everyday life

A profile for the dog, memories and health data in the calendar, and wellbeing tracked over time.

Dog profile and weight tracking
Dog's life calendar
Paw points
Mobility test

Checkpoint 04 · Devices

In your pocket, no app store needed

The new Sirius opens straight in the browser on phones, tablets and computers. There are no updates to download from a store, and the interface works in four languages.

FIENSVDE

Fitness path exercises on a phone — Exercises

Checkpoint 05 · Tech

The engine room, out of sight

Users see a paw and a forest trail. Underneath, each service does one job and Next.js ties them into a single app.

Dog owners
Next.js
App and APIs
MongoDB
Dogs, users and calendar
AWS S3
Exercise videos and images
Stripe
Premium subscriptions
Resend
Emails

Checkpoint 06 · Result

A dream come true

A project that had already failed once became a working web app. Sirius has been live since early 2026, serving owners of companion and sport dogs alike.

went live: 2017
interface languages: 1
audiences: 0
app stores needed: 2

Visit the site Explore the app

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