My dog gives me this sad “don’t leave me” look every time I go to work in the morning. It’s a pathetic little look with a deep, deep sadness that radiates through his cute little Shihtzu-Poodle eyes.
I’m the worst dog-mom ever. But wait, remorse be gone! Now working dog-owners can alleviate some of the guilt by setting up a Petzi Cam.
Petzi Treat Cam is pretty straightforward and easy to set up. It comes with two starter packs of treats for dogs (and one for cats) that can be inserted into the device by simply pressing two plastic buttons on the lower right and left sides of the cam. Remove the front, insert treats and pop the front back on.
Next download the Petzi Cam app and plug in your Petzi Cam. Once you download it, navigate to the menu and choose “Petzi Treat Cam.” It’ll guide you through the setup process. Be sure to sign in to your wifi and access the Petzi Cam at home, otherwise, if you wait to get to the office, it won’t work (I totally did that.)
Once you set it up successfully, test it out. Play around with the microphone and chat with your pet using the app to see what the volume sounds like. Yes, they’ll look at the cam like it’s an alien with your voice coming out of it – this is normal. You’ll be able to dispense treats and also take some pictures while you’re at it (the app has some cool community features you can post them to!) One thing that was very surprising to me was how good the camera quality was. The sharpness of the video made spying checking in on Rufus easy.
The real test came when I went to work and pup gave me the sad eyes (below.)
I checked in on him around 11am and it was no surprise that he was passed out asleep on my bed. Lazy bum. I could barely see him but when the cam came to life his little head perked up. I can only imagine what my disembodied voice sounds like to him (you can’t hear yourself or the pup via Petzi) and what trickery he thinks I’m playing on him.
The first couple of times didn’t take; he looked up but went right back to sleep. On the 4th or 12th time of trying to call “Rufus” (and driving my co-workers crazy) Roof slowly walked to the end of the bed and sniffed around. Maybe it was the failed treat dispensing attempts but I now had his attention. At this point, talking to him through the cam made him confused. It sounded like me, but it was a white box. Sorcery! I dispensed more treats and he forgot all about the voice altogether.
The night vision cam is a definite perk and I would say that the Petzi Treat Cam is a great way to check in on your pup. There are some hiccups – the camera takes a while to load and I occasionally lost connection, but it isn’t any worse than dealing with Skype.
In any case, I feel less guilty when I can spoil him with treats and I’m excited to see what potential upgrades Petzi Cam can add to make this a two-way interaction!
What do you guys think? Would you use this for your pets?
Angelique Picanco
