When it comes to connected smart home technology, the ability to track, monitor, and control the goings-on inside (and outside) of the house is greater now than ever before.
With intelligent connectivity like this now more affordable, compatible, and user-friendly than ever, it’s little wonder that smart home tech is now taking some of the major stress out of owning a pet.
From smart cameras and monitoring systems that allow you to keep an eye on your pet from afar, to smart trackers that provide peace of mind when attached to a collar, smart pet tech is changing the game of pet ownership.
In this guide, we’ve taken a look at the best in smart pet technology to make owning and caring for your four-legged friend a whole lot easier.
Smart Pet Technology – The Essentials
When we’re talking about smart technology for pets, we’re really looking at those connected devices designed for use with dogs and cats.
The format that this kind of technology takes can vary in the detail, but ultimately, these kinds of devices tend to focus around various forms of monitoring (think visual monitoring and health tracking), automated feeding systems, and of course, collar-based trackers.
There are also some smart devices which sit on the periphery of being considered ‘pet-specific’ smart technology but that may be very much designed with pet owners in mind – a good example of this would be a robot vacuum cleaner designed to handle the cleaning of pet households specifically.
Smart Pet Cameras and Remote Visual Monitors
Pet cameras are a little like smart baby monitors in that the goal is to allow you to remotely keep watch over an area of your home, wherever you are.
In the case of a smart pet camera, this could mean keeping an eye out on the happenings at home if you’re away at work, or even just monitoring the activity of your pet from another room of the house.
The common element of all kinds of smart home camera or monitoring system is the ability to access this visual feed remotely through an interface on a compatible smartphone, tablet, or PC.
Additionally, these kinds of smart pet cameras will often include additional functionality such as two-way audio (useful for communicating with wayward pets who you catch in the act of mischief), as well as motion and sound detection, and night vision capability.
Petcube Bites 2
Right off the bat, arguably the best thing about the Petcube Bites 2 is that it combines a remote treat dispenser and smart pet camera in one device.
What this means in practice is the ability to reward (or just treat) your pet when you’re not around to do so in person.
This proxy-treat functionality is just the start however and the 1080 HD camera that makes up the visual monitoring element of the Petcube Bites 2 is just as impressive.
As well as offering a 160 degree field of view, the Petcube Bites 2 also provides night vision and the ability to detect both sound and motion.
The audio offering of this smart pet monitor is equally impressive and features two-way communication, an array of 4 microphones, and best of all, comes with Alexa built-in as standard meaning the device can handle any of the voice-activated tasks without the need to install a dedicated smart speaker in the room.
Learn More About the Petcube Bites 2 Here
Google Nest Cam IQ Indoor
Sometimes what you want for monitoring your pet is just a solid and reliable smart camera.
If this is the case, then the Google Nest Cam IQ Indoor is one of the best in the business, offering a ton of smart features that make it ideally suited for all of your remote pet watching needs.
The camera itself delivers a 1080p picture at 30fps and with HDR imaging. All of this means that the quality of the footage the camera is able to pick up is excellent – perfect for clarfiying exactly what your pet is up to.
Paired with motion and sound detection alerts as well as two-way talk (with three on-board microphones) and you’ve very quickly got an excellent pet monitoring camera for keeping a watchful eye over the happenings at home.
The latest and greatest smart devices will often look to integrate some form of smart assistant system and in the case of the Google Nest Cam IQ Indoor, this unsurprisingly comes in the form of the excellent Google Assistant.
Add to this list of smart features extra functionality such as night vision, 12x digital zoom, and echo suppression for the microphones, and the IQ Indoor is undoubtedly one of the very best smart pet cameras on the market today.
Learn More About the Google Nest Cam IQ Indoor Here (Google) and Here (Amazon)
Pet Trackers and Smart Collar Systems
The purpose of pet trackers is (as the name suggests) to know the whereabouts of your dog, whenever they decide to go for an impromptu walkies.
Basically, GPS pet trackers – also sometimes known as smart collars – allow you to find out quickly where your pet is if you lose site of them or should they wander beyond a pre-set boundary zone.
When this happens, the best pet tracker systems will send an alert to your smartphone and let you know the location.
Whistle GO Range
One of the most popular names in the world of pet tracking devices, Whistle have developed a reputation for the quality of their devices.
Size and battery life are understandably important considerations when it comes to pet trackers and in both instances the Whistle GO has the bases covered with a slimline design and the battery life of up to 20 days.
Live location tracking allows for the tracking of pets up to 3000 miles away and the inclusion of a 24 hour timeline means you can view the activity log of your animal to get an insight into just how active (or not) they’ve been over the course of the day.
Learn More About the Whistle GO Range Here
Smart Pet Feeders
Automated pet feeders have come a long way from the days of Back to the Future and today’s smart feeding systems are the perfect way to make sure that your cat or dog is fed at just the right time, every time.
PetSafe Smart Feed Automatic Dog and Cat Feeder
At the top of our list when it comes to smart automated feeders is the PetSafe Smart Feed which comes replete with all of the smart functionality to keep even the most demanding companion satisfied at meal time.
Out of the box, the PetSafe Smart Feed delivers all of the functionality you’d expect from a smart automated feeder which means automatic scheduled feeding (dry food only) for up to 12 meals at a time.
As well as automatic scheduling, the Smart Feed can also be activated remotely via the companion Smart Feed app on your smartphone.
One of the major benefits of smart pet feeders is the ability to serve precise portions of food to your pet (particularly useful if following a strict diet) and the Smart Feed makes this even easier through its ability to serve meals between 1/8 cup to 4 cups depending on your requirements.
Learn More About the PetSafe Smart Feed Automatic Dog and Cat Feeder Here
