During the ‘stay at home’ restrictions of the pandemic, our boy Cruz was beside himself having everyone at home at all hours of the day, every day. He used to take turns sleeping in the girls’ rooms during home schooling (zoom sessions were fun!) and received way too many treats.
Now that life is back to the new normal with the girls back in school and extracurricular activities in full swing, Cruz is home with boring mum working in her office. We couldn’t appreciate the adjustment until I noticed the trash he chewed and scattered all over the girls’ rooms during school drop-offs.
Thank goodness for our Furbo, an interactive camera which allows me to check in on Cruz (and the kids!) through an app, and I truly love it. When I’m out, I can talk to Cruz and toss him treats through the Furbo device, plus tell my teenagers to pick up after themselves.
Normally I find Cruz sleeping on the couch or guarding the house by the window, telling off the neighbourhood pets that walk by (I receive the notifications on the Furbo app!) On the rare occasion I catch him with someone’s slipper and I yell into my phone ‘leave it’. And he does, probably in shock as he thinks mom’s in this small white box by the TV.
Earlier versions of Furbo had a camera facing one direction and I couldn’t see what he was up to when he was out of view. But a recent upgrade saw Furbo rocking a new wide-angle rotating camera – Furbo 360° Dog Camera. Now there’s no escaping my watchful eye, buddy!
It’s great, I now get full view of the living room and parts of the kitchen even. I moved the old model to another part of the living room to cover any blind spots. And now, I get to see if the girls are eating food on the couch. Cause I’m a stalker like that.
Furbo 360° has real-time 2-way audio allowing you to talk to your dog while listening at the same time. It also comes with new colour night vision to see more detailed images even in full darkness. Then there’s Cruz’s favourite feature – the Furbo Treat Toss – to reward his good behaviour. I connect to Furbo though the app, switch on the audio to call him over for a treat, press a button aaaaanndd…. toss. Yum!
I also decided to trial the Furbo Dog Nanny, an AI technology-backed exclusive suite of subscription smart features which also got major upgrades. It offers sound-activated Barking Alerts that can now detect between a garden variety bark, crying or more severe howling.
The Dog Activity Alerts are advanced enough to detect specific behaviours, such as when your dog is chewing on things, running around the house or going potty. What I love the most is the daily video diary featuring the highlights of your dog’s day complete with music! It’s brilliant and has shown me how much love he receives from everyone at home.
One night, we were heading out for my daughter’s basketball game and admittedly ignored Cruz as we were scrambling out the door. On our drive out, we checked off the departure itinerary – did we close the bedroom doors – yes; shoes and slippers put away – yes; his water changed – yes.
We arrive at the courts on time and it’s my turn to keep track of scoring for our team. I start chatting to the other parents before the game is set to start and suddenly my phone chimes on the table. A mum from the other team looks down at my phone screen and said, somewhat perplexed, ‘umm I think your dog is calling you’.
I quickly clicked on the Furbo app and watched him barking at the window. I started talking with my puppy voice, heeey buuudddy, how are you, and tossed him a treat. I gotta go now … you be a good boy, OK? See you soon. I looked up and naturally, I saw a handful of parents and the coach staring at me like I need a lobotomy. Sorry guys, I was talking to my dog!
The Furbo 360° Dog Camera is available on Furbo.com/au and Amazon.com.au RRP $359. For more information, visit www.furbo.com.
