So here’s the thing. My Loki is three years old and has never really been left at home on her own. Because I work from home all day, she’s got used to having someone around.
Which meant whenever me and my partner left her, she’d kick up an almighty fuss. I know this because I recorded her on my phone a few times.
I couldn’t bear to see her so distressed, so we slipped into a new norm. One where one of us would stay behind while the other went out with friends or run errands. And if we did want to go out together for the evening, we’d pay for a dog sitter to look after her for the night.
It was far from ideal. It meant we rarely went out together and didn’t have much of a social life outside our home.
But as Loki is a little older now, I took a leap of faith and tried something different. For me to feel comfortable leaving Loki alone, I wanted to be able to see Loki clearly while my partner and I were out and about. But I also wanted to be able to communicate with her and reassure her if she started barking or pacing.
So I purchased the Furbo Dog Camera. And I can honestly say it has given us our lives back.
This is my honest review of the Furbo Dog Camera.
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What is the Furbo?
The Furbo is a HD camera with two-way communication. The camera is connected to your phone via an app which allows you to check in on your dog and talk to them while you’re away.
But not only that, the app also allows you to toss treats to your dog. So you can reward them for good behaviour, or simply give your dog some fun time and interaction during the day.
I was impressed with the quality of the camera. The display is crisp and clear. It also has a wide-angle lens so I can see my entire living room, which is where Loki spends most of her time while we’re out.
Having the camera gave me instant peace of mind. After years of worrying that she would go out of her mind with stress while we’re out, she was absolutely fine! I could see she was either settled on the windowsill or curled up on the sofa. That alone has been more than worth it.
Additional features
The barking alert is a neat additional feature. Whenever Loki barks, I get an alert on my phone so I can check in and calm her down. You can adjust the sensitivity of the barking alert too so it doesn’t go off at the slightest noise.
The camera also has night vision. We leave a lamp on in the living room and play Classic FM so she doesn’t feel alone in the dark. But I imagine this would be useful if you’re out at night and don’t want to leave your lights on.
If you have an Alexa, you can connect it to your Furbo too. You can program Alexa to give your dog a treat every hour between a specific time frame, or tell Alexa to keep giving treats for five minutes at a specific time. This is great if you want Furbo to give your dog their breakfast or dinner when you can’t be around. This would only work for kibble diets for obvious reasons. Although I have an Alexa, I haven’t tried this feature yet.
You can also prerecord your voice to activate before Furbo tosses treats. This will teach your dog to expect treats whenever they here the prerecorded alert.
And lastly, Furbo allows you to capture pictures and video recordings of your dog at home. This is a video recording of Loki excited for treats!
What are the cons?
The Furbo is one of the best dog cameras available, but it does come with a price tag. I purchased mine for £159, but the price seems to change all the time. It can be as much as £250. This was the cheapest I’d seen it so thought I‘d take the chance while I could.
There are plenty of cheaper cameras you can buy that allow you to see and speak to your dog, but I loved the treat tossing feature and barking alert so I can justify the extra cost. I can’t fault the quality of the camera either and the connection has been very reliable so far. You may not get the same quality with cheaper cameras.
The only other niggle I found was with the treat dispenser itself. If you have treats that can break up easily, this will block the treat dispenser and it won’t work. Any ‘treat dust’ will get stuck in the rotor and you’ll have to give it a good clean out. I must admit, the treats we had were quite soft and I broke them up into smaller pieces because we didn’t have anything else at the time. But this is easily rectified by using the right treats. Furbo recommends circular treats that are around 1cm in diameter.
I’d highly recommend the Furbo Dog Camera if you’re looking for complete peace of mind while you’re out. I can’t tell you how much this simple device has changed our lives. We can now go out for a good few hours without worrying about what Loki is doing. It’s super easy to check my phone for a couple of minutes and make sure she’s happy.
If you’d like to check out the Furbo, you can do so here.
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