Pebby: Your Pet's Robotic Babysitter

"Smart" pet toys seem to be the current trend and the Pebby aims to take internet connected pet devices to a new level.

Currently in "Kickstarter" phase, the Pebby is a wireless/Bluetooth enabled system that is made up of a ball, collar, charging "kennel" and mobile app. Like other similar toys, pet owners are able to watch, interact, and capture their pets movements/activities while away from home through the ball. Built from durable, shatterproof polycarbonate, Pebby is designed to withstand rough play and the occasional dip in the water bowl. It looks like you'll also be able to easily change the look of your ball  with magnetic caps in a variety of colors/patterns.

The part of the Pebby system that excited us the most is the charging "kennel" which wirelessly charges your ball. Simply drive the ball into the kennel and it will self dock and begin charging!

The least exciting part of the system has to be the collar, which serves to provide movement/activity tracking. If you don't already have a pet activity device this is a nice integrated add, but not sure if it's going to challenge any of the existing leaders in the market.

Pebby is currently offering a limited edition early bird special ($135) that is 45% off the retail price, so make sure to head over to their Kickstarter page if you're interested in learning more!

Petcube Unboxing and Review!

Happy New Year!

Hope you and your family all had a wonderful holiday season!

We spent Christmas in California, which while not snowy and cozy was delightfully warm and sunny.  And while there were lots of presents for Paddy under the tree.... this year's big ticket item was our Petcube (see our pre-review here)! Yes, it finally arrived!

Here's a shot of the package - it's super sleek looking:

Setup was very easy. There is a quick start guide that will walk you through connecting your camera to your home wi-fi network and downloading the app on your phone. You do not need to be connected to wi-fi to access the camera through your smart phone - as long as you have data, you can load the camera.

Size-wise, the camera is not too big/not too small. We have it on a bookshelf across from Paddy's bed so we can keep an eye on her when we're not at home. (Excuse the weird screenshot... but wanted to have some human legs in there for scale! It's also a little dark because the room was dark, it's not the camera.) The sound quality is pretty solid, both from the perspective of what the camera picks up and what it broadcasts. It would be nice to be able to control the speaker volume on the cube though.

The laser pointer, while a cool feature, is not of much interest to Paddy, so we don't expect to use it. That said, it is cool how the laser is operated/guided by the touch screen on your smart phone. We played with it, and the laser is super responsive without much delay (at least when you're on the same wi-fi network).

This is the left hand menu that window-shades when you're dialed into your camera:

Ahh, a much better shot! As you can see the picture is nice and clear/crisp with good lighting. No zoom or pan, so you need to position it exactly where you want it to be.

One big piece of feedback: it would be great if you could setup permissions when sharing access to your Petcube to friends/family/others. For example, while we might want to let our friends turn on the camera, we don't want them to have the ability to play with the laser or the sound. This level of granular permissions may exist, but we are hesitant to share access to our camera without knowing this first.

There are some additional social network/content sharing features that we haven't checked out yet, but it looks like Petcube is trying to build a community for their users which sounds neat.

Overall, we are super in love and happy with our investment! This is a completely finished product that is easy to setup/use, and does exactly what we wanted it to! 

Features we love: 
- Ease of setup and app use
- Two way audio
- Taking photos from the video is really intuitive (literally just double tap the screen)

The Petcube ($199) is available for purchase from their website, and it looks like they'll be rolling out some new products this spring.

What are your thoughts? Do you have a pet camera?

Kickstarter: Schnuzzle

Kickstarter is one of our favorite things, and we can always rely on it to deliver products we didn't even know we needed to our inbox. Recently, we got pinged about a new project out of Australia called Schnuzzle. Instead of rewarding your pets with treats, pets playing with Schnuzzle get a burst of delicious dog-friendly scent. While we're on the fence about whether this is actually as satisfying as the folks at Schnuzzle suggest…. we like the concept and the way the Schnuzzle looks.



While the project is being driven out of Australia, there is free-shipping for all those backers based in the USA. We also are big fans of the fact that all parts are being made in Australia or the USA. Head over to Kickstarter and check it out!

Just Right by Purina

We were recently invited to blog about the latest innovation in pet nutrition from Purina. Introducing, Just Right by Purina - a personalized dog food that combines an owners' first-hand knowledge of their dog and Purina's nutrition research to create the perfect blend to meet your dog's needs. Using information gleaned from specific questions about your dog's age, activity level, health, and body condition, Just Right by Purina then delivers your pooch's custom kibble straight to your front door.

For those pets that have grain or protein sensitivities, owners can also note this- taking the guess work out of what really byproducts could be going into your dog's food.

So, how does it work? It's super simple - head over to JustRightPetFood.com and create a profile for your pet. Next, answer questions about your dog to create your personalized blend, and voila! If you have any questions, Just Right by Purina has live experts on hand via online, chat or email to help.

As a pet parent who pays close attention to what her pup eats, I personally love the idea of knowing what -exactly- is in Paddy's kibble. We love that Paddy's specific needs can also be taken into account, and you can customize each order if necessary (ex. in winter we fight dry skin more frequently). Also, did we mention that all Just Right by Purina custom blends are made in the USA? Yup- in Iowa!

Starting at $24.99 for a 6lb bag (which is on par with the cost of most high-end dry dog food), shipping is included and owners can setup auto-fulfillment.

We are definitely looking forward to checking this out in more detail (as of now I'm traveling on the road for work a lot, so we're not going to mess with Paddy's current diet). What do you think? Is a custom blend of dog food something you'd do for your pup? 

Beckky Board Review - Walk On Nail Filing Mat

Hi Barkistas!

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2014-- from what we can tell already, this is going to be a good one!

One of our New Year resolutions is to be better about getting Paddy's nails to a reasonable length. (Such an exciting resolution, right?) Since she's a mostly indoor dog (though this is soon to change, spoilers!), she doesn't get the usual wear and tear that helps to keep nails to a healthy length. While we are absolutely petrified about trimming them ourselves, we recently stumbled upon the Beckky Board.

A walk-over nail-filing mat for dogs, its abrasive surface helps to wear down your dog's nails every time they walk on it. Think of it as a giant sand-paper mat. Gentle enough that you can walk over it in bare feet, Paddy barely noticed it when we put it down for the first time. In fact, she actually enjoys playing with her toys on it since she doesn't slip around as much as on our wooden floors.

Since we're in a small apartment, finding the ideal spot for the Beckky Board has been a little tricky, but if you were in a "normal" home there are definitely lots of spots where it would get ideal traffic (ex. front door, between kitchen and living room). There are two sizes, and we've included a picture below of Paddy (who is currently 6lbs and 2oz) on her Beckky Board. We've currently got ours between our "living" and "dining" space, so she has to cross over it in its full length several times a day. We also play fetch in this area, which helps to get her running over it a few times.

According to the website, we should hope to see results in about two weeks or so. While ideally using the Beckky Board will help the quicks of her nails to recede, we'd settle for less trims. Paws crossed!

Available directly from their website, we received our board about a week after ordering it. And even better, it's made in the USA. Yay :)

How do you keep your dog's nails in check?

Hello Canine Einstein! Introducting Dognition!

Stuck looking for a last-minute gift for the dog-genius in your life?

We recently stumbled across Dognition, which is like a Myers-Briggs test for your dog! How does it work?

The tests are designed to measure skills like: empathy, communication, cunning, memory and reasoning, and will assign your pup one of nine different profiles. Once you've got your breakdown, based on the package you sign up for, Dognition then provides monthly tailored tips and activities to help you continue to take utilize your new understanding of your dog's decision making process.

The coolest part, besides obviously have an intellectual profile of your dog, is that by participating you are contributing as a "citizen scientist" to a pool of data that is being used by researchers globally to advance canine cognitive knowledge. We also checked out the data part of the website and can't wait to dig in once we've got our results!

Pricing is super reasonable, with the basic toolkit and one time assessment starting at $19 for one dog (special holiday price!), making it a really fun gift idea for the intellectual dog lover in your life. You also don't need to be an Einstein to use Dognition's gift/redemption process, which is really nice.

While the husband is dubious about Paddy's powers of analytical reasoning, we can't wait to prove him wrong. Stay tuned for the results!



Disclaimer: A complimentary trial of Dognition was extended to us by the company. For more information about our review policy, please visit our disclaimer page.

Buy, Pass, or Wait? The Verdict on the @TaggTracker

Hey there Pups!

We've had to wrap up our demo of the Tagg Tracker on the earlier side. We had our device on loan for two weeks, but Paddy is headed out to her grandparents for a few weeks and we wouldn't be able to get it back on time. Bummer, I know.

So, where did we net out? Unfortunately, we didn't get too much time to actually test this out properly due to the technical issues we experienced and the fact that the Activity Tracker is currently being re-launched.  Today was the first time that we got consistent/accurate updates which were really cool, and nice -- especially as we spent most of today on a plane half-way across the country. The one other draw back we encountered was battery life-- maybe it's something we're doing wrong, but we can't figure out why our battery only lasts 3-4 days before needing a charge. According to the handbook, we should at least get a few more.

We were hoping to get a chance to use this device to keep a tab on Miss P while we're on the road and she's out on the Farm, but again-- timing got in the way. (This would have been a super cool use case!)  Same with keeping tabs on her while she's at daycare; alas, with the busy travel schedule of Paddy's PA (i.e. me), we won't get a chance to check it out.

Here's our final take on the Tagg Tracker.

Who it's good for:
Those with yards and dogs who have a free-roaming lifestyle.
Anyone who has a dog that likes to take unauthorized solo trips.
People who send their dogs out with dog-walkers, or to day-care.
People who travel a lot and want to keep tabs on their dog on the go. 

Who it's probably a pass for: 
Dogs under 10 lbs- while it worked on Paddy, it was a little too bulky to leave strapped on all the time in the apartment (also, our apartment is minuscule).
Old, sedentary dogs that aren't going to go far without a human companion.
People who are not patient with technology- as we mentioned, it took a fair amount of trouble shooting and research to figure out what the blinking lights meant and what exactly was going on. You'll need to download the app to your smart phone to really get the most out of it.

Things to keep in mind:
If you fall into the "pass" category, the Tagg is probably not the best investment-- especially considering the cost involved with the 4G subscription. However, if your dog is active and out n' about, we say take a look. It may be worthwhile to wait until they've ironed out all of the technical issues and re-launched the Activity Tracker though. (Again, maybe we just tested this out during a bad week- technology isn't perfect!) We are currently going to hold off on investing in one of our own for now in the hopes that there will be a smaller version in the near future.

Overall, very grateful that we got a chance to check this gadget out-- just wish we had been able to spend more time utilizing the features.

If you're in the market for Tagg-- they're still on sale until 10/31 via their website and code BOO13.



Disclaimer: This device was provided by PR for a fair and honest review. For more information, please see our blog disclaimer for our review policy.

Day 4: Tagg Tracker in Action!

All right! So since getting our Tagg Tracker set up, we've had the opportunity to try it out in action. As you can see from our test subject's adorable photo above, the device is a little bulky on a dog that's less than 10 lbs. That said, it really hasn't been bothering her, though we have been unclipping it to and from her collar whenever she's in the "home zone". We also tried attaching it to her harness which worked well. Fortunately, the tracker comes with two sets of attachment clips, so we can leave one set up on her collar and another on the harness. Yay. 

So here's where we kind of hit a roadblock.... On Day 2 of our trial Tagg pushed an update to their system which was accompanied by some scheduled, and some not s scheduled downtime. Eek. Our tracker didn't update for two days and we couldn't figure out what was going on. Also, the Quick Start instruction guide that came with the device definitely did not have all the answers we would have liked-- visit their website to check out the PDF there, it's much more helpful! 

After overcoming those few little speed bumps, we've been on our way! We're still figuring out a bunch of different things, like how to set up our home zone, but hopefully we'll have some more time to figure all of these things out soon. 

Things we like so far: the push notifications we get on our phone whenever Paddy is on the move outside of her home area. Thanks to the Verizon 4G network, these updates are pretty much in real time, and when we did get the "Locate" feature working, cool to play with! We could definitely see how this would be beneficial if you were trying to track down an unaccompanied wanderer.

It does look like the activity tracker piece is being relaunched so we haven't had a chance to demo that, but will keep you updated!

The Tagg Tracker is available from most major retailers and also their website. I believe they also have a Halloween deal going on: 20% off with code BOO13. 

Disclaimer: We received this device courtesy of PR in exchange for our fair and honest review. For more information about our policies, please view the disclaimer section of our blog. 

Tagg Tracker: Day 1

We are so excited to be testing out the Tagg pet tracker for the next two weeks! This portable little GPS system attaches to your dog's collar to provide you with location updates via text/email. In addition to helping you locate an adventurous wandered, the Tagg can track your dog's daily activity and share information about your pet with your vet. Think of it as the canine FitBit! 

So far, setup has been a breeze and we've downloaded the Tagg app to our iPhone.  While we were slightly worried that the unit was going to be bulky/too big on our little 6 lb Morkie, so far she seems to be adjusting. Since the Tagg is designed for dogs that are around 10lbs, it is a little heavy on her collar and doesn't rest at the back of her neck, but we're going to play around with adjustments. 

 

Really looking forward to trying this out as we're looking at moving to the suburbs in the next year (GASP), where Paddy will have much more outdoor freedom. 

Paddy is resting up prior to an afternoon of fun! Will keep you updated :) 

Disclaimer: The Tagg tracker device was provided by PR for the purposes of review.

Kickstarter: Petcube

Call us kind of obsessed, but we are sooooo stoked for the Petcube! It's as if someone asked us to jot down everything we'd want from a pet camera and then transformed it into reality. A physical box that will let you interact with your pet via mobile app, it feels like it was designed for helicopter parents like us. In addition to being able to check in on your pup's activities, you'll be able to communicate with them via the cube's speakers in real-time.

While this project is already 105% funded, every additional dollar means that Petcube gets closer to their stretch goals! Getting in now also means you have the opportunity to get the Petcube at less than retail price (saving about $50).

Don't wait-- this Kickstarter project is ONLY around until November 5th!