How to Spy on Man’s Best Friend

If you can’t bear to be parted from your pet, or you just want to make sure Rover isn’t destroying your living room, there’s a new solution. Petcube works in a similar way to a nanny-cam – a Wi-Fi enabled camera, placed at a suitable height, connects to your mobile phone and delivers real-time, high quality footage so you can see exactly what your pet is up to when you’re not around.

Petcube was funded through a Kickstarter campaign that garnered inventor Alex Neskin $251,225 from 1,758 backers. It’s no replacement for actual contact with a pet, but it can certainly help stave off cravings to see that cuddly face, and make your pet feel a little less lonely.

Neskin came up with the idea after his neighbours’ incessant complaints about his dog’s incessant howling. After setting up a makeshift camera, he realised how lonely the dog was when devoid of stimulation and his answer was to install a remotely operated laser pointer that could be activated from anywhere in the world. When his invention actually worked, and Rocky stopped driving the neighbours barking mad, he realised that Petcube was too good a gadget to keep to himself.

What does Petcube have that an ordinary Wi-Fi camera doesn’t?

Anyone can set up a camera to spy on their beloved pet, but what makes Petcube unique is its interactivity. On top of the laser pointer, Petcube has in-built two-way communication so that you can hear when your pet is distressed and talk back to them (being careful not to let your colleagues hear you).

You can also share and upload footage of your furry little monster – useful for budding YouTube stars – and, for the times you just can’t be bothered, the camera has shared access so someone else can take responsibility for spying.

The only thing that might be difficult to stomach is the lack of action your pet gets up to when you are out of the house or, conversely, the frustration of watching them chew up your new carpet in real-time while you are unable to intervene.

More from your canine buddies

Do you love dogs? If yes, we have lots of fascinating and unbelievable articles on Labmate! For example, did you know that dog food additive could reduce pain in cancer patients? Or that sniffer dogs can smell cancer?