Whilst dogs can be very independent creatures at times we’re often unaware of what goes on when they’re left to their own devices whilst we’re out the house at work or running errands.
If you’ve got a particularly needy dog or one that suffers from separation anxiety then you probably know that dreaded feeling when you shut the door on them and see their big eyes looking up at you.
What’s the solution to making sure your pet is ok when you’re out of the house all day? Dog sitters and doggy daycare kennels these days are way too expensive and it’s just not realistic to pop home every couple of hours to check on your pooch.
That’s where the Furbo Dog Camera comes in and saves the day for all dog owners alike. We’ll be giving you the low down on everything there is to know about the Furbo Dog Camera and why it’s one of the best pet care inventions we’ve come across so far.
Furbo Dog Camera Review
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Assembling & Set-up
There are only 3 components that come with the Furbo Dog Camera – the camera itself, the plug for the outlet, and the cable to connect the plug and the camera, so assembling is pretty self-explanatory and can be done straight away.
The Furbo is best placed around 12 to 20 inches off the floor, or somewhere that can easily view your dog’s activities around the room. You’ll also need it close to an outlet, so I keep mine on my media cabinet in my living room as Bella can come right up to the camera when I’m speaking to her.
You’ll also need to make sure you’ve got a smartphone, a good WiFi connection, and your Furbo Dog Camera plugged in to start the set-up process.
All the set-up steps are explained in the included manual and you’ll have everything running properly within 10 minutes, granted that you have no issues with troubleshooting your WiFi connection.
It did take a couple of times for me to get the connection to work properly and I followed the troubleshooting email from Furbo that explained how to reset the device to set it up correctly.
If you’re more familiar with tech stuff like this then all the instructions will be easy to follow, but it may be difficult for more elderly people to understand the WiFi and Bluetooth connection instructions so will need some support when trying to set it up.
Once you’re all connected, the app will run you through all Furbo’s features and also allow you to begin playing around with some of the functions.
Design
The Furbo design is modern and seamless and easily blends into your living space without obnoxiously looking like a piece of tech. Many of my guests were in disbelief when I pointed out what is what and were led to believe it was an automatic room freshener.
It stands at just under 9 inches tall and has an incorporated 1080p camera built-in that also has automatic night vision so you can keep an eye on your pooch even when you’re out of the house at night.
The Furbo also comes with a built-in microphone and speaker and has a treat dispenser that you can fill up with small treats for your dog. The treat dispensing holder can keep up to 100 treats at a time stored (depending on how big they are) so they won’t have to spend time regularly filling the holder back up.
Features
When it comes to dog cameras, Furbo is definitely on the premium end of the range when it comes to the features they’re incorporated into the design.
One of my favorite features about Furbo is the 2-way audio which allows me to speak to Bella, my Boston when I’m out of the house.
Granted it was a little confusing for her at first and it took her a while to navigate where my voice was coming from but now she normally knows that when she hears my voice checking in on her she’ll receive a treat from me.
If you’ve got a particular bark happy dog, then this is a useful feature as you can talk to them to try to calm them down so you don’t come home to grumpy neighbors.
You’ll also have the ability to be sent bark alerts to your smartphone so you can check in to see if there’s something wrong with your dog or if something has triggered them.
If you’d like extra peace of mind then Furbo also gives you the option to upgrade to the Furbo Dog Nanny Service which alerts you when your dog is continuously barking, howling, or crying.
Not only this, but the Dog Nanny Service will also serve as extra security for your home as it is a person alert which is great for detecting intruders in your home and will even tell you if your smoke alarm or your carbon monoxide alarm is going off.
The Dog Nanny Service also creates a 60-second highlight reel of your dog’s day so you can check-in at the end of the day instead of being continuously notified of their activities when you’re at your desk at work.
When you first get your Furbo, you’ll automatically get a 90 day free trial of the Furbo Dog Nanny Service and after that, it’s priced at $69 a year.
This extra service is not essential and whilst I enjoyed the extra features during my free trial, I didn’t commit to the ongoing subscription once it had ended as Bella is quite a laid back dog.
As aforementioned, Furbo also gives you the ability to give your dog treats throughout the day even when you’re not at home. You’ll find great joy in tossing your pooch a treat and humoring yourself whilst you watch them chase after it during the middle of your day.
You can also connect your Amazon Alexa to your Furbo, who’ll act as a nanny to your dog and command the Furbo to toss treats to them at certain intervals and will prevent you from having to regularly check your phone when you’re out of the house.
One handy feature of Furbo is that if you’ve got multiple dogs or a fairly large home for your dogs to explore whilst you’re away, you can set up up to 4 Furbo cameras around different areas of your home so you can keep tabs on their location and what they’re up to avoid any mess or destruction from happening all from just one smartphone.
Camera Quality
Furbo’s video quality is surprisingly impressive for such a small device, however, we’re not talking 4K ultra HD quality but it’s still more than adequate to see your dog and their activities. If your WiFi is being slow then the video quality will decrease slightly
The camera has a 160-degree wide-angle lens that will lend itself to be so beneficial when the Furbo is placed in big rooms as you’ll be able to see everything in one shot. It also comes with 4 times digital zoom so you move in closer with the camera to see what your dog is up to.
You can also take action shots with the Furbo camera, so if your pooch is up to mischief and you’d like to record to show your friends and family to get some laughs then this feature is so useful.
The Furbo camera can also switch to night vision mode, which will use infrared technology to detect your dog’s movement so you can still see them even when it’s dark in your home.
Pros:
- Image quality is great – Can see your dog in both day and night mode
- Treat tossing functions works well – Treat and reward your dog for good behavior
- 2 Way audio – Hear and speak to your dog when you’re not in the house
- Pairs with Amazon Alexa – Useful when you can’t be on your phone all the time
Cons:
- Bark feature is sensitive – you may want to disable repetitive notifications
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Final Verdict
Furbo’s design for their Dog Camera is simple yet effective but is not limited with its features, providing dog owner’s with the ability to leave their dog’s for a few hours with a clear conscience and confidence that they’ll be happy on their own and only a push of a button away.
If your dog is very well behaved, then you may not find the need to go for the premium Furbo Dog camera and a regular security camera may be more efficient for you.
However, if you’ve got a dog that plays up when you’re away then the Furbo will be a no-brainer to help reduce the stress of hearing your dog howling as you leave through the front door.
The dog treat dispensing abilities of the Furbo is what makes it stand out from the crowd and as someone who feels that feeling of guilt in the pit of my stomach when I leave my Boston Bella, I am relieved that I can still treat her when I’m not around.