Can the smart home be your new dogsitter? I love my dogs, and if I could, I would just lounge around and play with them all day. Nevertheless, there are times when I have to leave my pets alone for a few hours, sometimes even days.

Leaving dogs with family is a great option, but they’re not always available to dog sit. The next option is boarding my pets, but that can be expensive. If only there was a way to leave my dogs at home but still meet their needs even when I’m out …

Stay connected to your pets when you are not at home with the Petcube Camera.

There is, thanks to the various innovative solutions that have sprouted up throughout the years. Some of them utilize the power of the Internet, while some are so ingenious they make you think, Why didn’t anyone think of that before?

Let’s take a look at some awesome and automated solutions for a pet staycation.

Food and water

When leaving any pet at home, the number one priority is keeping your pet hydrated and nourished, but it’s hard to do that when you’ll be gone for a few days. To help you with this problem, there are now automatic pet feeders and water dispensers. Two existing products on the market include the Bergan Auto-Wata Pet Bowl, which costs $20.99, and the Aspen Le Bistro Portion-Control Automatic Pet Feeder for $54.90.

The Bergan Auto-Wata Pet Bowl allows easy attachment of a garden hose, which provides fresh water to pets when needed and can be wall or floor mounted. The Aspen Le Bistro Portion-Control Pet Feeder can be programmed to dispense three meals per day of up to three cups per serving. These devices ensure that your dog is well fed and hydrated even when you are out of town.

Potty solutions

After eating and drinking, some pets need to immediately relieve themselves. Of course, you don’t want them pooping and peeing just anywhere, so you need a specific place for them to do their business. Porch Potty is a cool way to give your dogs a patch of heavenly grass inside your home. What makes Porch Potty great is that it’s self-cleaning because of its sprinkler system. You can choose between using real or synthetic grass, and have it drain right into your home’s drainage. There’s also an option to use a basin to collect spillage. The only downside is that solid waste still needs to be picked up. The Porch Potty Premium, with the sprinklers, sells for $279.

Another potty solution, especially if your property is fenced in, is to install an Electronic SmartDoor. It uses radio frequency to allow your dogs to get in and out of the house as needed. A SmartKey is worn by your dog, and this automatically opens the SmartDoor. When the SmartKey is no longer detected, the SmartDoor automatically locks. This prevents intruders, as well as other animals, from getting in your home. The Electronic SmartDoor is priced at $134.95.

Another smart solution for house training or even traveling with your dog is the Modko’s Shake Dog Potty. It looks like a military-grade briefcase with grates on it, and it easily opens up so your dog can do his business on it. To clean pee, just close it up and unscrew the fill cap to fill it with water. Close the fill cap and start shaking it. When satisfied, pour the dirty water into the toilet. Or, the grate easily pops out so you can dispose of any solid waste into the toilet bowl. Shake is priced at $220.

Monitoring

Leaving a pet behind can be nerve-wracking, so it’s a good thing there are now wearable devices that help pet owners monitor their furpersons. Whistle and Tagg are both wearable trackers that attach to your dog’s collar and then send information to the pet owner’s smartphone. Whistle monitors your dog’s activities, such as walking, playing, eating and even sleeping, while Tagg keeps track of your dog’s whereabouts. Whistle costs $99, while Tagg costs $69.95.

If you think attaching two monitoring devices to your dog’s collar is a bit ridiculous, then you might want to wait a bit longer for an all-in-one fitness and location tracking device, as Whistle Labs Inc. has acquired Tagg, and they are now working on one such solution.

If you want a more look-see approach, there’s PetCube, a device that allows you to see what your pet is up to but also acts as a communication device and a way for pet owners to play with their pets using a laser. PetCube sells for $199, and it connects to your home Wi-Fi so you can check on your pet anytime, wherever you are. And if you have an Apple Watch, Petcube now integrates with it so you can check on your furry-love right on your wrist.

Keeping it healthy

Humans aren’t the only ones who can use health trackers, as there are some made especially for pets. And this market is expected to reach an estimated US$2.6 billion by 2025 as more pet owners want their furry pals to be at their optimal health. If you’re interested in keeping your pets healthy, you can invest in devices such as FitBark, which allows pet owners to track the daily activity progress of their dogs, check on how pets are doing from anywhere, identify long-term energy trends, and even know when a pet is not feeling well. FitBark sells for $69.95.

Another activity tracker for pets is the Wonderwoof BowTie, which attaches to a dog’s collar and tracks all of their analytics to ensure they are getting the proper amount of exercise based on their size, breed and age. This device sells for $175.

Another device that could potentially help save your pet’s life is PetPace. This device monitors a pet’s temperature, pulse, respiration, activity, positions and calories, and has been found to detect acute heat stroke or hyperthermia on dogs. PetPace is priced at $149.95, plus a $14.95 monthly service plan.

Playtime

Your dog needs to play or else he or she will get antsy, especially when you’re not around. Thanks to technology, your dog can stay occupied without you. iFetch is one such technology. If your dog loves to play fetch, then iFetch may be the perfect toy for your pal. It launches miniature tennis balls and operates either when plugged to an electrical socket or on c-cell batteries for 30 hours. The fun starts when the ball is dropped on one end and gets launched at the other end. iFetch offers training videos on how you can teach your dog to operate the device safely even when you’re not around. iFetch is priced at $115 and comes with three miniature tennis balls. An extra set of balls is prices at $12.50.

Another device called CleverPet is in development. It is described as a game console for your dogs that uses light, sound and touch, as well as food or treats, to engage your dog in activities to keep him occupied with puzzles while you’re away. It will also come with an app that notifies pet owners of their pet’s progress with puzzles, as well as how much food or treats their pet has consumed.

Sleepy time!

At the end of the day, we all want our buddy to have a comfortable place to sleep in. There are various types of cots and mattresses that you can choose from, such as those offered by Dog Gone Smart Beds, which uses Repelz-It Nanoprotection to keep stains, dirt, liquid, bacteria and pet odors from clinging to the fabric.

If you want more technologically advanced sleeping quarters for your pet, there’s the T-Pai Automatic Intelligent Dog House and the Samsung Dream Doghouse. The T-Pai is designed like a London double-decker bus, with the top floor serving as the entertainment, communication, sleeping and food area, while the downstairs features an auto toilet. As for Samsung’s offering, the state-of-the-art doghouse features an automatic food dispenser, grass-turf-covered treadmill, a hydrotherapy pool, and a tablet that plays content that your dog will be interested in or that you can use to communicate with your furry pal. Both doghouses are not yet available for purchase.

Photo by jarmoluk (Pixabay)