Because dogs need treadmills too
According to research conducted by the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association half of British households have an animal, with the country overall brimming with 51 million pets; barking, playing, and scratching their unmentionables. Spoiling these pets is big business. In the US, pet owners spend a huge $69bn a year on pets while in the UK, people spend £18m a year on dogs and cats alone.
The pet tech industry is both barking and booming. In the bad books with your dog or cat and need to spoil them to show that you really care? Pedigree Chum just won’t cut it. A bit of tech, from an automatic ball thrower to a camera with two-way radio, will do the trick.
Read this: The best pet cameras and treat dispensers for cats and dogs
We’ve found some of the top gizmos shown off on Instagram by the very best pet-grammers so that you can get on top of the latest trends and back in the good books.
Petcube
There’s something curious about the lives of our pets the minute we leave them in peace. Are they smoking cigarettes and playing cards when we pop to the shop or nosing the worktops for scraps?
This neat little package of a 1080p smart camera and two-way radio will reveal all. As the owner of these two California Border Collies shows off the latest version comes with a treat dispenser, so your dog doesn’t know it’s being spied on.
iFetch
Launched as a Kickstarter campaign back in June 2013, this interactive, automatic throwing device comes in three sizes for big and small dogs, indoors and outdoors including the iFetch Frenzy that fires miniature tennis balls.
Once you’ve selected the distance – 10m, 20m/25m, 30m/40m or random – your dog can drop the ball into the top of the device and it’ll fire straight back out. Great if you’ve got a pet T-Rex.
PetChatz
This device allows pet owners to interact with their furry friends from a distance but it works in a different way from the Petcube.
PetChatz grabs the attentions of cats and dogs with all the senses, it’s aimed at easing pangs of separation as much as supervision with the inclusion of calming scents and a Paw Call function that lets your pet call you. It also mounts on the wall for stylish home integration.
MOAI
This startup for your aquarium has built a robot that helps keep your fish tank clean, prevents algae building up, and also captures the thrills and spills under the water in HD.
The camera bot connects to Wi-Fi for 24/7 live streams, bookmarks positions on the glass, where certain fish hang out for instance, and can Auto-Cruise to explore the tank horizontally. MOAI was 450% funded by November 2017 and it’s arriving in July this year.
Frolicat
Keeping a cat occupied is a full time job. Frolicat’s range of kitty interactive toys has got you covered. This jack-in-the-box style device shots out a tail so that Tabby can get some playtime whilst you’re out at the office.
There’s also a laser toy that is designed to appeal to a feline’s natural hunting instincts – and also makes funny videos of a cat effectively chasing shadows.
Smart collars
Smart GPS tracking collars for pets need to fit two requirements. They need to look the part and not chomp through data. And when they look good they’re shown off on social media, as shown by Edinburgh-based pet photographer dogtraxinsta. The RAWR Collar is even more streamline, also functioning as a temperature sensor it will keep pet owners alerted if your dog gets too hot.
Meanwhile, PitPat, another tracker is like a Fitbit for dogs, measuring doggy activity by monitoring minutes of walking, running, resting, as well as calories burned. The clip on waterproof and lightweight tracker, with accompanying app, also let’s you program a set workout routine for your dog, making it ideal for pets recovering from an injury or illness.
