Have you ever wondered what your dog gets up to when you’re not at home? I think I know what Ted gets up to (namely showing his contempt by dragging a blanket from one of his numerous beds across the floor in protest and then sleeping!) but I’d love to know for sure!

So imagine if you could not only keep an eye on your four-legged friend but also communicate with them when you’re out of the house (and give them a treat or two!) Well, you can! I was approached by the team behind the Furbo Dog Camera, which does exactly that. Let me tell you about it (and whether it’s actually any good!) *Spoiler alert – it is!

Ted’s ready for Furbo fun!

WHAT IS THE FURBO DOG CAMERA?

Furbo is everything you could ever need (in my opinion) if you’d like to watch, communicate and interact with your dog when you’re not at home. Launching last year by International tech startup Tomofun, it was the most successful pet tech product on crowdfunding during 2016…and there are many reasons why; here are a few!

1) The Look: The first thing which struck me is how pleasing to the eye Furbo is; the sleek design means it will look great in any home.

2) Picture Quality: The Furbo has a 120° wide-angle camera which means it can capture a good proportion of your room and the clarity of the picture is great too. The Furbo also works both during the day AND night (so you can even check on your dog when you’re in bed!) Amazing!

3) Interactive: The Furbo has a built-in microphone and speaker, enabling you to not only listen to your dog (you can schedule an alert via the app if your dog is barking so you know when to check in) but you can also talk to your dog! This combined with the treat dispenser could be good for dogs (or owners!) with separation anxiety as it helps them hear you as well as using their brains to find the treats! It will all be dependent on your dog though (nobody knows your dog better than you, so you’ll know whether each of the elements would be soothing or not).

So now you know a bit more about Furbo, how does it work? Let me tell you the basics…

IS IT EASY TO SET UP?

Simple answer. An emphatic YES!! All you need to do is plug the Furbo in (ideally in a room where your dog regularly spends times) and ensure it is out of their reach (although the 3M double sided strips to the base or the ability to connect to a tripod means your dog won’t be knocking it over anytime soon!) Once plugged in (and small treats or kibble are added) you then just need to download the App!!

With any kind of new tech, I always dread it a bit e.g. is this going to take forever?! Am I going to be able to do it? I can honestly say setting up the Furbo was super easy and literally takes a few minutes. Don’t believe me?! I’ve set it out for you below so you know what to expect…Step One & Two will literally take you seconds. Just go to the App store on your phone, type in ‘Furbo’ and download the App (for free!) You’ll then need to set up an account (don’t worry, all they ask for is an email address and a password…)

Step Three & Four are also super easy. Just follow the instructions once you’ve downloaded the app and give Furbo some time to set up on your phone (it says 3 to 5 minutes but mine seemed a lot faster!) Your Furbo then needs to find your phone via bluetooth (and you’ll also have to have your Wi-Fi code to hand as you’ll need this during the setting up process).

Now you’re ready to go!! (Told you it was easy!) Press the microphone icon if you want to talk to your dog and click the cookie sign to throw a treat to your dog. You can easily record your dog using their Furbo too by pressing the camera icon for a photo as shown above or swipe the bar next to it to record up to 60 seconds of video. So simple!! Love it!

BEFORE THE FUN BEGINS!

As with anything, when introducing your dog to something new, take your time! I must admit I was a little unsure how Ted & Millie would take to the Furbo (they like to think they’re a tough little girl & guy but the reality is sometimes they can be a little unsure of new things). So imagine my surprise when they took to Furbo like ducks to water!

Take time to introduce the Furbo to your dog (show it to them before securing it somewhere else). Let them sniff it and hear the various sounds from it (don’t toss a treat when they’re standing right in front of it as you don’t want to scare them). If they don’t like the sounds, you can even record your own voice to tell them a treat is coming (cute!)

Let your dog have a good old sniff!

Let your dog get up, close & personal with Furbo initially

TREAT TIME!!

So you’re all set up, you’ve prepared your dog so there’s only one thing left for it…it’s FURBO TIME!! See how Ted & Millie react to their Furbo…

PAWFECT PET TECH!!

I’ve always been a bit wary of Pet Tech (or any tech!) to be honest but I can truly say, I am 100% converted thanks to Furbo! From the ease of set-up, to how it looks and functions and for the peace of mind I know I’m going to have from using it. The reason I love it the most though is the fact Ted and Millie absolutely adore it too (I just love watching their faces when they hear the ‘beep’ and know a treat (or my voice) is coming through – who am I kidding, it’s all about the treats!

This is definitely an investment addition; it is currently retailing at £199.99 from Amazon, which I appreciate isn’t cheap (!) but it’s certainly worth saving for. While there are cheaper products on the market, I’m yet to see one which matches the efficiency of this one. Should you fancy learning more – take a peek HERE – trust me, you won’t be disappointed!

What do you think? Would you want to watch & interact with your dog when you’re not at home? Pop us a comment below and tell us your thoughts about this or Pet Tech in general. We’d love to hear from you!

Sarah, Ted & Millie xxx

*Thank you to Furbo for gifting this to us. We LOVE it!! Whilst a gift, the review is entirely independent and honest (you know we only ever tell you about products we really believe in).