I never thought I’d be the “pet parent” checking out my pet camera to supervise my “fur babies.” (I never thought I’d use the terms pet parent or fur babies, either.) But after seeing one too many Ellen Degeneres commercials, I took the plunge on Furbo, the treat-tossing pet nanny cam.
If all you want is an indoor security cam, there are plenty of more affordable options. Where the Furbo really shines is in its unique, pet-centric features and pet-friendly build. Furbo is designed to be placed on the floor, at your dog’s eye level. Furbo is sturdy and won’t be easily knocked over by a curious nose or an energetic tail. And if it does get knocked over, it won’t suffer any lasting damage.
The Furbo has one-way video and two-way audio. You can hear your dog and he can hear you through the mic, while you see him on video through the Furbo mobile app. The night vision is surprisingly good, which is reassuring for overnight trips away from home.
Far and away, the most unique Furbo feature is the treat tosser. No other camera on the market launches treat projectiles for Good Boys and Good Girls. Just pull up the mobile app and you can instantly toss a treat—or two, or three. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the treat tosser worked. Very rarely did a treat get stuck, and only sometimes it might toss two treats instead of one.
Furbo no longer makes their own branded treats.The best treats that work with Furbo are less than an inch in diameter, somewhat round in shape, and firm in texture. My favorites are:
- Blue Buffalo Blue Bits Training Treats
- Zuke’s Mini Naturals
- Nutro Natural Crunchy Treats
- Bill Jac Little Jacs
- Natural Balance Mini Rewards
There’s also a cloud recording service called Furbo Dog Nanny. For an extra $7 a month, the Furbo will automatically detect and record relevant events. Furbo Dog Nanny detects the following events:
- Dog motion
- Dog barking
- People motion
- Fire and carbon monoxide alarms
This categorization allows you to customize your phone notifications. Don’t care to be notified every time your dog moves? Turn off dog motion. Do care if a burglar enters your house while you’re gone? Turn on barking and people motion alerts. It’s that simple! And while no security camera is perfect, I found Furbo’s detection to be remarkably accurate with very few false alarms.
Furbo provides remarkable peace of mind knowing I can check on my pets at any time, whether I’m at work, at a party, or running errands. With the rise of dual-income households and longer careers, more and more pets are being left to their own devices. With Furbo, you can ensure their safety and provide extra companionship throughout the day.
Furbo also coordinates with Alexa speakers. More gimmick than function, it’s still amusing to tell your Echo speakers to toss a treat and watch the dogs race to the Furbo. The treat tosser has an alert sound, and dogs will quickly associate that sound with an upcoming treat toss.
All in all, Furbo gets two enthusiastic thumbs up for its pleasant and pet-safe design, thoughtful features, easy to use mobile app, and affordable subscription cloud service. If you’d like to monitor and interact with your pets, look no further than this excellent pet cam.
