Your dog (or cat) shouldn’t have to feel left out of the cool gadget party!

Aah, modern technology. There’s a solution for everything!

Increasingly, these solutions are being extended to the animal world. If you have a special fur-baby, you might want to check out these gadgets to make their (and your) life easier, safer and more fun. 

Pet trackers

Scouring the streets and putting up posters because your pooch or puss has done a runner is so last century. Instead, get hold of a GPS tracker for their collar.

The most advanced pet trackers will not only show you via wifi the exact location of your pet, they allow you to set up a virtual fence that alerts you if they stray too far. You can find devices that are fully waterproof and will even let you know if it is too warm and your animal is in danger of overheating.

With the help of a connected app, smart pet collars tell you what your pet is up to while you’re not at home. They also send you vaccination and medication reminders. 

Look for products like Petreck, Dogtelligent, Nuzzle and Podtrackers.

FitBark

Exercise is as important for dogs as it is for humans. This gadget tracks your pet’s activity and sleep patterns, turning progress into ‘BarkPoints’ and letting you track by day or week. It is a great inspiration to keep your dog moving.

The information, which is gathered based on your dog’s size and breed, gets sent to an app on your phone. It will also link with your own Fitbit - giving you motivation to work out together. 

Fitbark ships worldwide for free via http://www.fitbark.com/. 

GoPro Fetch

GoPro Fetch™ (Dog Harness. Photo courtesy: GoPro

This special harness is made to hold a Go-Pro camera, allowing you to get a pet’s eye view. If you have a highly active or hilarious dog, or you just want to know what your cat actually gets up to when you’re not around, this can be a handy and fun way to take footage.

Buy from GoPro, or for a similar solution, check out the Petcam. 

Automatic pet flaps

Pet doors are great, but not if they allow possums (and rats - yuck) to come and go as they please. An automatic pet flap reacts to a sensor on your dog or cat’s collar, meaning it only opens when they approach. With one of these doors, you can also set the times when your pet is allowed outside, keeping them safe indoors at night or when you’re away from home.

Check out Petsafe.net for automatic dog and cat doors. 

Petnet

Photo courtesy: Petnet press kit.

Not at home and don’t trust the neighbours to feed your darling doggie? There’s an app for that!

Connect your iPhone to a gadget like the PetNet Smartfeeder and you can manage feeding times and portion sizes when you’re out and about. This device is great for pets who tend to overeat and for people who have long days at the office or find themselves away overnight at short notice.

Visit the website http://www.petnet.io/

PetCube

Photo courtesy: PetCube press kit.

This one became one of Kickstarter’s most funded projects when it was launched on the platform in 2013.

This nifty little wifi device has a wide angle camera, a microphone and a speaker so that you can tell your dog “No!”, even from your desk at work. What’s more, it has a little laser pointer that you can control from your phone, letting you interact with your pet and watch them play. You can also connect and share pics with other pet lovers.

Get one here.

iPad

Purrhaps not originally designed with pets in mind, iPads are no doubt a winner with cats. They get caught up in the screen and will play ‘fur hours’.

Some of the most popular apps for kitties include:

iOS

●  Catch the mouse

●  Paint for cats

Android

●  Friskies Cat Fishing

●  Crazy Cat

You’ll get a just as much of a kick out of watching your cat play iPad as they do.