Sometimes all you need after a long day at the office is to get home to the unconditional love of your furry child — the family dog or cat. While they can help the world slow down and seem less stressful, the increase in technological advancements targeting our furry best friends continues at a rapid pace. Just because humans are the ones creating technology, that doesn’t mean other species aren’t occasionally the primary users or benefactors of it.
Technology has been spreading to every area of our lives and this has led to some impressive advances for our pets. Yes, our pets. And this isn’t just placing an iPad that’s made for humans in front of an animal; it’s advances that were made specifically for pets.
One of the simpler, yet genius, advances of pet tech has been Dog TV, a 24/7 television streaming service for dogs. Special content has been hand-selected and designed to entertain your dog while you’re away. Dog TV was developed by a number of industry experts, a team that consists of scientists, dog trainers and pet psychologists.
Dog TV costs just under $90 for a year subscription. While that may sound pricey, Dog TV claims to not just entertain your dogs, but also keep them healthy. The television streaming service is said to help a dog with increased confidence, reduced stress and reduced separation anxiety — which, if you have a pet with separation anxiety, is well worth the $90 price.
Link AKC is a company that offers both a software and wearable piece of tech. The Link dog collar GPS tracking collar gives dog owners peace of mind. Even if your dog isn’t prone to running off, the Link collar has additional features that help you make sure your dog is living their life to the fullest.
The Link AKC app and collar lets you set daily activity goals to assure your dog stays healthy and active. While you’re taking your dog on a walk or hike, you can save, record and share any of the adventures the two of you go on. You can also set temperature alerts to help you make sure you don’t overheat your dog during these activates.
On the app, you can see how much time was spent on moderate intensity and high-intensity exercise. The collar can also flash a light and emit a beeping sound — both of which can be used for training. The Sport version of the collar is water-resistant to 3 feet and very durable. You can also feel comfortable knowing the battery life on normal use is up to three days.
The collar itself will run you $129 and a one-year subscription costs around $90. If you’re worried about getting the right size for your growing pup, don’t. Link lets you upgrade your dog collar size one time after your purchase. All of these features plus a limited three-year warranty combine for a must-have product for anyone with a four-legged hiking companion.
Do you leave your cat or dog at home alone while you’re at work? Do you ever worry what they’re getting into or if they’re bored without you? If so, it’s time to elevate to the next level of remote pet interaction. It’s time to upgrade to the Petcube.
Petcube Play 2 is a camera, two-way microphone and an interactive laser pointer. This cube has an impressive 1080-pixel HD video, night vision, 4x zoom and a 160-degree view. When you combine this camera with a laser toy, you get a truly entertaining piece of tech. You can play with your cat remotely at any time, record the footage and send it to fellow animal lovers.
The Petcube and Petcube app are more than just entertaining. They are designed to help keep your animal healthy and to give you peace of mind while away. The app notifies you of activity and will auto-record for 30 seconds after motion. This is great for explaining some of the mysterious messes or missing treats throughout the house. And if your animal is being good, the Petcube Bites lets you launch a treat to them.
If Dog TV and Petcube are not entertaining enough for your pet while you’re gone, you will want to turn to a mobile app like Rover or Wag. These apps are on-demand dog walking, boarding, daycare and house-sitting services.
With an app like Rover or Wag, you can scroll through and choose one of the services’ vetted employees to take your dog for a walk while you are at work. You’ll be able to track them the whole time, get photo updates and even see where they went to the bathroom on the walk. The list of employees shows both rating and activity rate.
If you rather your dog get their energy out by playing with other dogs, you can drop your dog off at one of the Wag or Rover employees’ house for a daycare session. These apps aren’t just great for easy-going or healthy animals. Many hosts on these apps are experienced with handling disabled dogs, dogs requiring frequent medicine, dogs with separation anxiety and many other tough traits. With all the bases covered, you’ll be sure to find the right host for you.
If someone ever needed proof of how far we have advanced technologically, all you’d have to do is list off a few of the products and services above. Nothing says “tech-obsessed” quite like pet tech — and that is completely fine. Who knows, maybe the next big tech breakthrough will be software that was intended for pets but found an even greater use.
Bahar Ferguson is president of Wasatch I.T., a Utah provider of outsourced IT services for small and medium-sized businesses.