High Tech Pet Gear & Gadgets
One of the best times to own a pet is right now. Today\’s innovation makes way for modern pet gadgets that can make your dog\’s life better, and your life easier. High tech pet gear first started taking off in 2009 when the category first became popular on Amazon. Since then, inventors and pet enthusiasts have collaborated on some really cutting-edge pet products.
Ranging from the practical to the strange, tons of high tech pet gear is available for you and your doggo. Even those who can\’t own a pet due to allergies or living-facility restrictions may have options soon. Robotics researcher, Steve Yohana, developed what he calls the Haptic Creature—a robot designed to re-create touch based communication. The robot looks like a rabbit, with short fur on its belly and two ears. The Haptic Creature simulates purring, breathing, and ear twitching. Peculiar, yes, but Yohana says he\’s had enough requests to make him interested marketing the product after his research is completed.
The availability of the quirkier gadgets makes sense as the pet industry continues to swell. More people own pets in the U.S. now more than ever. Meaning, more dogs to care for with high tech pet gear. In 2016, pet owners spent $66.75 billion. As the Millennials replace the older generations as the primary pet owners, many want their dog to have the best care available. This means going outside of the traditional toy box to find some updates on old classics and new gadgets to teach an old dog new tricks.
High Tech Novelty Items
Market experts say that high-tech novelty items are the most widely sought after products from pet parents. Items like gear that translates your cat\’s meows into human languages. Or, treat feeders that give you the power to launch treats across the room like a T-shirt cannon at a baseball game are filling up aisles at pet stores.
- The Woofer
Putting clothes on dogs is cute, but it\’s old news. Most pet boutiques have all the stylish clothing your dog needs, but few have clothes that are also speakers. The Woofer is a dog jacket that plays music! Now you can play music as you run with your dog or even turn the dog park into a dance party.
Yes, we\’re thinking what you\’re thinking. Veterinarian specialists have approved The Woofer as safe for your dog\’s acute sense of hearing. The speaker is located on the backside of your dog, away from their ears, and volume levels are in the safe zone. The jacket comes in four sizes to fit breeds from a Jack Russell to a German Shepherd.
- Pet Snack Launcher
There are few companies making these hand held pet treat launchers that make giving your dog a treat make you feel like you’re in Kubrick\’s “2001 Space Odyssey.” Most treat launchers are pretty cheap, but not all function the same, so ask your pet groomer or read reviews to get the highest-quality launcher.
Simply load up your dog\’s favorite treats into the top cartridge and push the button. This interactive toy makes treat-time more of a game. You can master launching the treats into the eager jaws of your doggo for a seamless chomp.
- The CATTERBOX
There are a bunch of apps available on smartphones to help you decipher your dog’s bark, or your cat’s meow, into human languages. The most popular of all these devices is a collar called CATTERBOX. The collar translates your cat’s meows and generates a human voice deciphering the point your cat’s trying to get across. Usually, feed me. The collar works with the developer\’s app and gives you various options for your cat\’s new reproduced voice.
Cats aren\’t the only ones having fun. There are dog translator apps available on the smartphones and the What\’s Yapp dog collar is in beta version. These items combine hard science, imagination, and a fun ability to suspend your skepticism.
Functional Items & Practical Gadgets
Novelty products aren\’t the only things you might consider getting for your dog. A variety of new high tech pet gear designed to make tedious parts of owning a dog less effortful are entering the marketplace too. For therapy dogs working with owners that have limited mobility, there are products that perform the physical parts of fetch for you.
- GoDogGo
This is automatic ball launcher is the world\’s first fetch machine. The launcher has been around since 1999 and is now in its fourth generation of development. The way it works is simple. Train your dog to place the ball into the upper bucket part of the toy. The ball is then launched into the air for Fido to catch. Different weighted balls determine how high the ball will fly. A tennis ball will launch 6 feet high and be propelled about 11 feet from the device. A weighted GoDogGo ball will launch up to 15 feet away at the same vertical height.
This piece of high tech pet gear is perfect for dogs that are obsessed with fetch and demand that ball is thrown every minute of every second of the day.
- MagneClip
This is a low tech innovation with high tech functionality. This is one of those products that\’s so simple you’re hitting yourself in the head for not thinking of it yourself. The MagneClip is a clip that attaches your dog\’s collar to their leash. It uses a magnet instead of a spring loaded latch. Simple, but very handy!
Many dog owners know the struggle of holding waste bags in one hand, a water bottle in the other while trying to finagle the leash clip onto their dog\’s collar. With spring loaded latches, the process becomes painstaking. Spring loaded clips jam and are meticulous. The MagneClip makes attaching a leash to a collar one fluid motion.
- Litter Robot II
This litter box looks more like a part of a space shuttle than high tech pet gear. But trust us, if you get one for your house, you\’ll never go back to the low-tech life. The Litter-Robot is a litter chamber that that has an upward-facing entryway where your cat can enter to do his business. The litter is sifted after every use and is automatically deposited into a drawer for reduced spilling and easy disposal which conserves litter. A self-adjusting weight sensor detects a cat\’s\’ weight so every cat you own can use the Litter Robot.
Pet Safety Items
Having a pet is almost the same amount of responsibility as having a child. Fortunately, there are awesome products out there to help pet owners mitigate that responsibility. As the future becomes the present, pet owners can care for their pets even when they\’re not home.
- Petcube
This company is pioneering the ability for pet owners to interact with their pets remotely. Both the Petcube play and Petcube bite feature 2-way audio that lets your pet hear you and vice versa. Each also streams 1080p HD video equipped to rotate on a 138° wide angle view with 3x zoom capability.
These features make it so that you can see your pet wherever he is in the room. Motion detection helps the family keep in touch and alerts you when your pet wakes up or if there are any disturbances in your home. The Petcube play comes with a built-in laser toy while the Petcube bites allow you to give your dog a treat from your phone.
- Komfort Pets Climate-Controlled Pet Carrier
For pet owners who find themselves frequently traveling with their animals, this climate-controlled pet carrier will keep their dogs cool even in scorching temperatures. The carrier can hold dogs up to 150 lbs and will cool and heat as needed with an LED monitor used to control the temperature.
- Voyce Dog Collar
The Voyce dog collar is a non-invasive and autonomous data health metric tracker. The collar uses IoT technology to give owners analytics on their dog\’s health in real-time. It\’s like a Fitbit for your dog!
Voyce Measures the following:
- Heart Rate Variability
- Blood Pressure
- Quality of Rest
- Resting Respiratory Rate
- Resting Heart Rate
- Distance Traveled
- Calories Burned
- Activity & Intensity
- Light
- Core Body Temperature
The data Voyce collects is seamlessly delivered in adaptable integration options with easy-to-navigate viewing dashboards. Voyce can also be integrated into other sensor technologies. Now pet owners have access to clinical data at all times which is backed up on the cloud.
The Future of High Tech Pet Gear
Every day engineers and inventors are dreaming up even cooler high tech pet gear every day. Stay posted to Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique for even more updates and reviews!
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