Gadget Dose

Apparently, our laziness as human beings have passed on to the dogs that there is an actual treadmill built and sold just for their use.

The Canine Treadmill from Hammacher Schlemmer is an exercise gear that allows your dog to stay fit and healthy indoors. It runs with a rubber belt sturdy enough to support your pooches for about forty five minutes everyday. Speeds, distance, as well as incline, may be adjusted by you, using the controls found on the treadmill. The gear comes in three sizes, priced between $500 to $900.

Alright, I’m all for exercise and keeping healthy. It’s one of those things we need to take care of, even with our pets. Understandably, jogging or working out outside, especially if you live in a bustling city, may be bad for the health, what with all the pollution and danger lurking in the streets. Or becoming tied down at work or at social functions may make walking the dog seem more of a chore of a nuisance. With this kind of perception, a canine treadmill sounds like a feasible purchase.

Then again, part of being a responsible pet owner is to take charge of walking the dog regularly. And this is not only for exercise but also for hygiene… and I’d like to imagine, the dog’s sanity. No one likes to stay cooped up in the house for a long period, not the least curious dogs. Going out and actually walking the streets sharpen the dog’s senses, I believe.

Would you purchase this for your pets?

If you are like me and have either dogs or cats, (or I suppose any other pet that eats out of a food dish) you know that there are always some drawbacks with feeding. For one - when you are away at work theres no reliable way to feed your pet. Sure, you can just leave a big bowl heaped full of food around - but you know what happens. Usually, the food gets eaten all at once leaving Rover or Fluffy full and uncomfortable the entire day. This can lead of course to the dreaded accident.

Another situation (mine actually) is I have 2 dogs and one eats the others leftover food. Making one dog hungry and the other fatter.

So how (without babysitting the food bowls) do you handle this with technology? Enter the digital pet bowl. You can program this bowl to open at any time to dispense up to one cup of food and it also has a water compartment too.

An added bonus is the voice recorder - so you can record your voice and have it “call” your pet when the bowl opens.

This won’t work of course for Newfoundlands whom will probably eat the bowl too — but for most breeds it should be fine for a middle of the day snack. If you’ve got more than one like mine you can use two dishes to prevent the heaping bowl from being an irresistible treat all day.

If you want something a little more versatile - theres also a 6 day version available at Amazon.

This particular version retails for $89.95 and you can find it HERE

Isn’t it time your pet joined the digital revolution? - Just do me a favor and don’t get Rover an Ipod k?

How many times have you wondered what exactly your pooch or cat is up to while your away? Sure, you could set up webcams around the house - forward them to external ftp addresses and view them as webcams, but the hassle of that vs. the power requirements are restrictive.

This neat gadget from Tomy allows you to get a “pets-eye” view of fidos day. Just strap it around your pets neck and either manually take shots ( via the remote ) - or set it to go off in timed intervals. Just imagine the satisfaction of catching your dog in the act of chewing your slippers. Or if you have a cat- you can find out where he or she goes throughout their daily rounds.

Features and contents:
Wonderful Shot features:
• 3.5 megapixel camera
• 8 MB internal memory (good for 90 photos)
• Rechargeable battery (via USB)
• Timer: Every 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes

Included in Delivery:
• Wonderful Shot camera
• Remote control
• “Bone” USB cable
• Collar clip
• Camera pack
• Weight: 38g.
• Manual (Japanese)
• Instructions in English

For $79.00 it isn’t exactly cheap, but if you have a little room on that Mastercard it seems reasonable. You can buy one HERE

While your at it you might want to get your dog or cat a cell phone so you can speak to them while your away…

and if you are looking for similar pet type gadgets theres an excellent online store Petgadgets

If you’ve got a dog like mine, or dogs like mine…. Check out the tennis ball launcher. Reminds me of the old wrist rocket slingshots we used to terrorize the neighborhood with as kids.

Shoots balls up to 220 feet- just remember that standard tennis balls are not good for dogs as the nylon wears down their teeth eventually. So get dog friendly tennis balls ok?

for $29.95 I think its an acceptably priced pet gadget

Pets, Gadgets, Tennis Ball, Launcher