When working through home-alone issues, you have to be set up to monitor your dog so that you have all the data. Without a little tech, you're going in blind. Literally. You have to have eyes on your dog and a live stream at that!
Let's start with my top five tech tools so that you at least have a starting point:
1. WYZE Cam
I have a couple of WYZE cams around my house to monitor my dog (okay, fine...and also capture adorable moments with my baby that are impossible to be ready for without a camera in hand). Not only are these the most simple tool to set up (plug and play!) but you can purchase an SD card to insert and store the video feed for review later! I even take one on the road with me in the diaper bag so that I can use it as a monitor when I'm visiting family or friends!
You can check in from your smartphone once you download the WYZE app at the App Store or Google Play and there are a few convenient features:
- zoom in/out
- night vision
- mute sound
- record
- speak
- take a photo
- motion detection & tagging
- sound or motion notifications
- create an album, and
- time-lapse video
- connect to Alexa & Google
These tend to go on sale frequently but can range from $35-$95 each.
2. Nest Cam
I have three Nest cams around my house to monitor my dog. Excessive? Absolutely. I set these up for my last dog who had severe isolation distress and they were life savers. The video quality is great and it's really inexpensive to store 5-30 days' worth of video for review and download. They are very simple to set up (almost plug and play!) and they are the most versatile to mount to the wall and adjust angles. (Something the WYZE cam cannot boast.)
You can check in from your smartphone once you download the Nest app at the App Store or Google Play and there are a few convenient features:
- zoom in/out
- night vision
- record
- speak
- motion detection & tagging
- sound or motion notifications
- recognises when you are home/away
- time-lapse video
- connect to Alexa and Google Home
These tend to go on sale occasionally but can range from $95-$195 each.
3. Yi Cam
I have been hearing a LOT about Yi Cams in the CSAT community and am so tempted to try them out since they are so inexpensive. Apparently, the sound is much better on these cameras than the sound on WYZE or Nest, so I'm very curious since it's key to be able to have crystal clear audio AND video when working with home-alone issues.
You can check in from your smartphone once you download the Yi Home app at the App Store or Google Play and there are a few convenient features:
- HD Recording
- wide-angle lens
- two-way audio
- night vision
- activity Alerts (available free of charge without an SD card or subscription)
- cloud Storage
- connect to Alexa and Google Home
These tend to go on sale often but can range from $25-$70 each and are inexpensive when purchased in a pack of four.
4. Furbo
I have yet to invest in a Furbo but I have a feeling that won't last long. These are neat little tools that are quite fun. They toss treats and have lots of the same features other cameras have! Plug and play, which is great for non-techy people!
You can check in from your smartphone once you download the Yi Home app at the App Store or Google Play and there are a few convenient features:
- HD Recording
- wide-angle lens
- two-way audio
- night vision
- activity Alerts (available free of charge without an SD card or subscription)
- cloud Storage
- connect to Alexa and Google Home
These tend to go on infrequently but can range from $199-$300 each and Amazon often offers a coupon at checkout for $15 or so.
5. Camera-enabled laptop, tablet, or smartphone
This is the easiest solution by far as you likely have at least one of these lying around.
Using your wifi- and camera-enabled device, plug it into a power source and adjust the settings so that your dog cannot hear you, but you can hear them. (Volume off, microphone on.)
Connect to your smartphone (take this off wifi if you are going to be going out of range as sometimes it can cut out when switching from wifi to LTE) and voilà! You're connected!
You can use Zoom, Skype, and other free (or low-cost) apps like Presence, Manything, and Smartfrog, to name a few.
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