You know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and it’s certainly true that we miss our canine companions when we have to go, and they need to stay. But with today’s technology, you can lessen the sting of separation from your dearest doggo and ease any concerns that crop up about how they’re doing when you’re out and about.
A niche market was born when it became clear that pet owners were using technology like infant monitoring cameras to keep an eye on their fur babies while out of the house. Since then, pup-specific cameras have come a long way. Nowadays, there are some incredible options out there that include pet-tailored perks like alerting you when your dog is barking, 2-way communication so they can hear you too, and even the ability to dispense treats! DoggyAdvice has compiled a list of our favorite dog monitor cameras along with the low-down on what we love about each.
Best Treat Dispensing Dog Cameras
Of all the ultra-cool canine connection methods available with these cameras, we think that the treat dispensing function is by far the most fun. Our list starts out with a few different cameras with this distinguishing feature that lets you both monitor and reward your Fido from afar.
1. PetChatz Interactive Pet Camera
Topping our list is a device the company bills as a “luxury Greet & Treat™ two-way videophone” that provides “digital daycare for the home alone pet,” and from what we can see, they’re not just crying “woof”. You’ll get all the standard features you’d expect from a pet monitoring device, plus bonus features that will make any doggo’s sweetest dreams come true.
First things first, there are 4 different ways for this pet cam to dole out delicious dog treats, manually, via the app, through PawCall, or from Alexa. Directly from their site, you can order a variety of compatible PetChatz Certified Training Treats, which the company has vetted as having the ideal size and shape to dispense from their device with accuracy and consistency.
What’s PawCall, you ask? It’s literally a way for your pup to reach out and make contact at the touch of a paw. Your doggo can use the PawCall button to send messages to your phone, which you can answer via the two-way audio-visual interaction feature. You’ll never have to worry about missing a bark either because this cam has both sound and motion sensors that trigger recordings for your review.
The complete pet-pampering package, this device also enables you to soothe an anxious animal companion with their totally unique aromatherapy dispenser. Plus, when your pup is in the mood to chillax, you can stream DogTV through the device to keep boredom at bay or use PawCall to provide pet entertainment in the form of engaging games your pup can play by pressing the button.
2. Petcube Bites Dog Camera
This canine cam boasts some pretty cool options in terms of our fav feature, treat tossing. You can customize how far it will send the treat for Fido to fetch, and you can also elect to set the treat dispensing to a pre-programmed schedule, or treat at your leisure when doggo does something especially deserving, or just because treat time is fun.
It’s compatible with many varieties of dry, crunchy treats and has a 2-pound storage capacity for containing said treats. Also, you never have to worry about running out of those delectable dog treats if you choose to sync up with Amazon Dash Replacement and allow the camera to auto-order additional treats when it’s running low.
In terms of tech, this camera has got some pretty paw-some features, as well. Fully compatible with Alexa, the 138-degree wide-angle view lets you zoom in up to 3x to get up close and personal with your darling doggo. The 1080 mp camera also has night vision, as well as sound and motion alerts, so you’ll never miss a thing, day or night. Cloud storage options are available, 4-hour storage and playback come free with your purchase, or you can subscribe for 24/7 playback access.
Plus, the 2-way audio feature lets you listen in and respond anytime you feel the urge to fawn on your fur baby with some praise or let them know when they need to stop a less than desirable behavior.
3. Furbo Dog Camera
In this dog cam, the treat toss feature we’re so fond of allows you to fill the camera with your favorite treats and dispense them anytime you like so you can feel good about staying in contact and giving your pup a little love as needed. What dog won’t dig that?
Aside from treats and eats, this pup camera is really something to bark about in many ways. Connecting yourself and your canine companion is easy. You’ll need to download the Furbo app, available on iOS and Android, and connect the camera to your wi-fi. From there, it’s fully compatible with Alexa, and its 1080 mp HD camera with night vision will feed you a 24-hour live stream of your doggo’s doings about the house from its 160-degree wide-angle lens, which even has a selfie mode.
As if that weren’t already pretty pup-tastic, the camera also has a bark alert that sends push notifications to your phone when doggo gets to talking, and you can respond via 2-way audio.
4. Skymee Dog Camera and Treat Dispenser
The coolest thing about the Skymee treat-tossing cam? Your pup can be trained to get treats at the wave of a paw. Once they master the motion for treat dispensing, the camera’s PetTalk AI will notify you via your smartphone through the app each time they help themselves to a treat.
Like PetCube and Furbo, this model is Alexa compatible, and the similarities don’t end there. It also has a HD and IR camera so you can live stream your canine day or night and lets you connect via the 2-way audio feature to facilitate conversations with your furbaby.
Everybody gets in on the fun with Skymee too, up to 8 different people can be connected to the camera at once so you can be sure someone is on pup-monitoring duty at all times.
5. Petzi Treat Cam
Petzi may not be as glitzy as the top three treat-tossing cams on our list, but its bonus is greater affordability. We don’t list specific prices here as the pricing on all the cameras varies according to third-party vendors, but this one has a consistently lower price tag no matter where you dig it up.
A more accessible price-point doesn’t mean missing out on too much either. Like the Petcube Bites cam, Petzi also has Amazon Dash Replacement to keep you from running out of puppy love to dispense. Although it doesn’t have Alexa connection capability, it does have an app to keep you in contact via your smartphone. You can also connect to social media and share sweet snapshots of your pup on all your social platforms from the app.
You won’t be able to hear your pup or get alerts about their activities since it lacks motion and sound sensors, but you can drop in and say hey to your furry friend through the 1-way audio function all day and night because it is equipped with night vision. Overall, this little pup cam is worth the bark for considerably fewer bucks compared to the others.
Best Standard Dog Cameras
If you’re looking for something a bit more straightforward in terms of dog monitoring, we’ve got a few options for you in this category too. These devices might not come with all the frills and thrills of the above options, but they’re still solid choices for keeping an eye on your canine companion while you’re away.
6. Tooge Wi-fi Pet Monitor
350-degree pan and 80-degree tilt combine with this cam’s 4x zoom capacities to create a canine monitor that captures abundant angles for trailing your tail-wagger all about the house. Time of day makes no difference in your ability to find Fido either since dual infrared lights equal the ability to see up to 16 feet even in the dark of the night.
Download the camera’s app and connect via your iOS or Android smartphone or tablet. Fun for the whole family, you can even use multiple devices to access the camera’s feed from different locations at the same time.
From any connected device, you can take advantage of 2-way communication so you can hear what your pup has to say and also be able to speak up when you need to. Motion detection means you can also receive updates on your doggo’s activities and actions with push notifications.
7. TENVIS Security Camera
Although this swivel cam device isn’t specifically designed for pet parents, it offers one of the greatest range of vantage points from which to view your furbaby. Because the 1080 mp cam can both tilt and swivel, you’ll get 355-degree coverage horizontally and a 120-degree vertical range. Those numbers add up to a full 360-degree range, making it practically impossible for doggo to ditch this camera’s watchful eye.
Its infrared night vision mode has a range of up to 32 feet, so you can make sure your pet is sleeping sweetly when you’re out for evenings. During the day, If you have an especially active pup, you’ll love the fast frame rate, which allows it to keep up with your dashing doggo-on-the-go.
You can also connect it to any smart device via the app, giving you access to the camera’s 2-way audio and remote camera control.
Plus, with its 128GB of storage, you can check-in for live streaming or replay video when needed. If you can pinpoint your pup’s fav spots around the house, you can even set up to 8 different auto-positions to toggle through with one touch.
Additionally, even if you don’t elect to keep the camera up and running at all times, you can take advantage of the device’s motion-sensing capacities. When motion is detected, it triggers a 15-second video recording and will alert you within 3 seconds with a notification on your phone.
8. KAMTRON Wi-fi Camera
Again, while not exclusively made for monitoring furry friends, this little swivel cam more than performs in the pup-watching department. It offers remote-controlled 360-degree coverage, including 100-degree vertical rotation, making it easy to view your pet wherever they like to paw around.
Easy to connect via wi-fi, the 1080 HD camera can be on dog-monitoring duty both day and night as the infrared LED lights lend it high-quality night vision capabilities. It’s compatible with Alexa and offers motion sensing notifications, sending messages to your phone via the downloaded app. It’s also got 2-way audio communication to keep you and your pup in touch at all times.
You can choose from dual storage options for your dog-watching data as well, opting for the 128GB memory or available cloud storage.
Benefits of Buying a Dog Camera
In an ideal world, you and man’s best friend could pal around together, all over the place, at any time. But that’s just not the case, and we know that leaving your canine companion alone without their human counterpart can cause anxieties for the both of you.
Dog cameras are an excellent way to keep up communications and can give you both a sense of continued connection when you have to be away. Not only will you feel more secure knowing what your pup is up to, but they’ll also feel reassured by the next best thing to your presence.
Which Dog Camera is Right For You
Advancing technologies can give you a paw up in the pet-monitoring department and help ease the difficulties of time apart for both you and your dearest dog friend in a variety of ways. Some options are simple, offering camera-only capabilities or additions like 1-way audio, allowing you to talk to your dog when needed. Other camera choices have available fancy features like treat dispensing, 2-way audio and/or visual capabilities, and even games and entertainment.
As you can see from the list, you can take a variety of routes in monitoring and connecting with Rover. Like all things, your unique needs and your pup’s personality will be the defining factors in deciding which camera option is the best one for you.
