Ever wondered what your fur baby is up to while you are at work? Do you wish to see them or talk to them while you’re at the office? The technology today gave us the comfort of owning a smart pet treat camera, so we can be up to date with the activities of our little fur rascals all day long. The great news is that they will get to hear your voice too and won’t feel so lonely while you’re away. So, in the text to follow, I’ll review three pet treat cameras I was fortunate to use in the past period.

Pawbo Life Wi-Fi Pet Camera (2nd Gen) – Our Pick

This 2^nd generation Pawbo Life camera offers a 720p HD live video, 130° wide-angle lens, along with 4x digital zoom, so you can capture and record every precious moment via your smartphone. This pet treat camera comes with a built-in microphone so you can listen and talk to your pet, a treat dispenser so you can reward your pet with a snack, as well as a laser, so you can play with him while you’re at work. The setup is fairly easy – all you need to do is to download the Pawbo Life app (Android and iOS compatible) and follow the instructions. It is simple to navigate through. As for the wifi, you’d need 2.4GHz connectivity with WPA2-AES encryption (this is a bit limiting for some).

With the Pawbo, you can take photos and videos via the app and instantly share them with your friends via any social media, or store them on Dropbox or Google Drive. The best thing is that you can connect up to 8 users at the same time and control multiple cameras for best shared experience. There are different ringtones, so you can get your dog’s attention.

You can place the Pawbo pet treat camera on the floor or hang it on the wall if you think that this is more suitable. However, if you have a large dog, you may want to hang it somewhere higher so they don’t mess with it to get the treats. The video quality is great and the photos are clear. Basically, you can place few small treats in the dispenser and latter dispatch them via the app. There are even sounds available like meowing or sound of a plastic bag to get instant attention from your pet. My dog goes nuts when he hears the plastic bag sound!

There are some smaller issues though. The laser option can be a bit improved to move faster (especially for those having cats). Additionally, the monitor is fixed and it cannot turn and offers a limited angle. If this is improved, we may have a perfect product.

Pros and Cons of the Pawbo pet treat camera

As anticipated, here’s that list of pros and cons, starting with the pros, naturally:

• Great video/image quality and instant response
• Take photos and instantly share them on Facebook
• Great treat dispenser operability and fun selection of sounds
• Laser option to play with my dog

And the cons:

• Fixed monitor that does not move, offering a limited view
• The laser may be improved to move faster

Furbo Dog Camera

With the Furbo pet treat camera, you can see what your pet is up to via a 720p HD video streaming, a 120° wide-angle view, 4x digital zoom and a night vision option. It is easy to set up and use via the Furbo iOS/Android app on your phone, however you’d need an internet connection with a solid wifi signal for the best experience. It has a built-in microphone too, thus acting as a two-way audio transmitter, allowing you to clearly hear and talk to your pet. It also has intelligent sensors that send alerts on your phone when your dog is barking, so you can turn on the app and check if there’s any issue. Furbo has a night vision function and built-in infrared LED lights, so you can get a clear view of your pet during the night.

The most fun part is the treat tossing option. With a simple swipe across the app, you can throw treats in the air from the camera dispenser, so your pet can chase them around. You can fill the device with up to 30 pieces of your pet’s favorite treats and play fetch remotely. It works with many types of treats, but those that are round and non-crushable would be best. You can take many adorable photos and videos of your pet and share them with your friends too.

There may be some connectivity issues with this pet treat camera, however, the customer service is excellent and they’ll walk you through the difficulty. Additionally, there are some complaints by users where the device won’t toss treats or transmit video.

Pros and Cons of the Furbo Camera

To summarize, I’ll present a simple list of pros and cons for the Furbo pet treat camera. First, the pros:

• The option to talk to my dog via the two-way audio transmitter
• The night vision, so I can see what he’s up to while I’m out with my friends
• The option to toss his snacks in the air, so he can have fun while I’m at work

And the cons:

• Solid wifi connectivity is needed, and often connectivity issues are a drag
• Some break up in the video transmission and tossing out treats

Petzi Wi-Fi Pet Camera

Petzi pet treat camera is a really fun way to connect with your furry friend from anywhere and treat him with his favorite snacks, just by a few clicks on your smartphone. All you need to do is to download the free, secure Petzi App on your smart device and follow the setup instructions. With a tap on your screen, you can see your pet, speak to him, treat him with a snack and snap an adorable photo to share with your friends on any social media (Petzi’s Social Network is one option as well).

This smart pet treat camera is especially great if your dog suffers from separation anxiety – it would give him a piece of mind when he hears your voice. It can be very useful if your pet is on therapy, so you can keep a close eye on him.

The setup is fairly easy and you can train your pet to come to the camera when they hear the sound of the camera starting. The camera would only start when you open the app on your phone. If you are gone for a longer period of time, then you can see your pet via the camera and call someone if you doubt that he’s not doing so well. Their customer support is really great and they care about their product and their customers (in my opinion this is crucial).

There are some issues that may occur, though. You must keep in mind to use only small treats since larger ones may jam the dispenser. The model may be improved by making it more industrially strong (if you have a larger breed, they may break it). The camera is fixed and it does not move, and the overall lens scope is not that wide (maybe a fisheye lens would come in handy). There is also an issue with some users’ wifi encryption, where they needed to change this mode in order to connect it, especially once the app updates were made.

Pros and Cons of the Petzy treat camera

Let’s go through the pros of this pet treat camera first:

• Easy to use and setup
• Snap and share photos
• Treat dispenser to pamper your pet
• Great customer support

And the cons:

• Fixed camera with a narrower lens scope
• Treats may sometimes jam the dispenser
• Stronger plastic for production may be better
• Few wifi encryption issues

The Verdict

Experimenting with these pet treat cameras was the most fun I had for a while. My dog had a blast too!

Even though all of the three worked well, I’d have to go with the Pawbo camera. It offers a wide lens scope (even though it’s a fixed monitor) and a cool laser option to play with my dog. I enjoyed the instant photos sharing and the nearly flawless connectivity. And, what really got me going was the best selection of sounds to attract my dog’s attention (the plastic bag sound was a real hit!).

It’s not that the Furbo and Petzi cameras don’t perform well, but they did seem to have some more substantial shortcomings. The Furbo showed to sometimes break up the video transmission or load the content with a delay. Both Furbo and Petzi had some connectivity issues and wifi encryption problems. To be honest, having this type of issues really kills my enthusiasm for a new product.

Basically, same as with deciding on and purchasing any smart product, you need to know what kind of product would fit in with your routine best. Regardless of what you’d decide to get, having a smart pet treat camera will definitely be a positive change for you and your pet.

Read more: iBaby M6S vs Withings Baby – HD Baby Monitor Review