Suzanne Scacca
10 min
3.9K
After 12 hours of research evaluating 65 products, we picked Petcube Play 1080p Video as our top choice.
Here's a scenario every pet owner is familiar with: you come home after a long day of work to find your house/apartment trashed by your nervous, hyperactive, or hungry pet. Pet anxiety is a very common problem. After all, your pets (dogs, especially) want to spend all day running, jumping, playing, and cuddling with you.
There's lots of pet gear you can buy to make your pet's life more comfortable. An automatic pet feeder will keep them from getting hungry. A comfy pet bed gives them a warm, cozy place to sleep. And there are lots of products to keep your dog "cool". All you're missing is a way to stay in communication with them.
A pet camera gives you a way to keep an eye on your pooch all day long. Some allow you to dispense treats, while others make it possible for you to talk to them. A pet camera can keep your pet calm and happy!
Looking for a camera that will help you to stay in touch with your pets? We've done the research to bring you the best pet camera options. Check out our list below to find all of the best pet cameras.
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Two-way audio, 720p camera, live streaming, video recording feature, makes sharing to social media easy, setup is simple, built-in laser dot chasing game, multiple sound effects, and dispenses treats.
Image and sound clarity suffer and the device features limited camera functions.
Performance: This is a simple pet camera to set up. The instructions are clear, and the camera should connect to your WiFi within a few minutes. Once you've downloaded the app to your smartphone, it's a simple matter of running the app and setting your preferences for the camera.
The quality of the image and video isn't as good as our top-rated Fave, and the sound quality suffers slightly (echo-heavy and slightly tinny). However, the pictures taken are of decent quality, and the app is designed to make sharing your videos and images to social media a breeze.
Features: If you have a pet who needs a lot of playtime and attention, you'll love this pet camera. The built-in laser dot game allows you to control the laser via your smartphone. You can spend many happy hours playing with your pet, and you can dispense a treat, talk to them via two-way audio, and snap pictures of them having fun. It's great for active pets who get nervous if you're away for too long.
There is also a feature that allows you to trigger animal noises from the camera. It can hold your pet's attention or stop them from getting into the garbage/scratching the furniture. The food dispenser is fairly small, but it dispenses a wide range of dry food, treats, and even some medications.
Price: At $200, this is one of the pricier pet cameras on our list. It's definitely not the best of the best, but it's ideal for owners of active, playful pets who need to run around throughout the day.
Has compartments for six different treats or medication, food stays sealed and fresh for 48 hours, allows you to send a message to your pet, easily controlled via smartphone or home PC, setup is easy, reliable connection, solid construction
No mobile app, iffy speaker and camera quality
Performance:
If you have a dog who needs regular medication and feeding, this is the perfect cross between a medication dispenser, treat launcher, and food bowl. The 6 compartments hold a variety of pills, treats, Kibble, and even wet dog food. When the time comes for your pet to eat, you can dispense it via the web-based operating system. There is no app, so you have to do everything via a web page.
The camera built into the feeder is iffy at best, and the speaker quality leaves a lot to be desired. This is not the pet camera for those who want high resolution images of their pet doing adorable things. Instead, it's the camera ideal for anyone who wants to make sure their pet is eating and taking their medication.
Features:
The pet camera does NOT offer two-way audio—instead, it allows you to play a pre-recorded message to calm your anxious pet down. The camera and speaker features are basic, but you will find the setup of the camera (including connecting to WiFi) and the user interface are both very simple.
The various food compartments are sealed for maximum freshness. The construction is solid overall, making it ideal even for larger dogs. Sadly, there is no night vision, and the web-based app won't let you know when the feeder is empty.
Price:
At $180, this is a fairly pricey pet camera, especially given its low audio and camera quality. However, it's ideal for owners of pets that need to take medications or eat throughout the day.
Decent quality camera, dispenses treats to your pet, one-way audio speaker, easy to share photos to social media, and incredibly easy to use.
Only compatible with certain treats and not the most durable camera.
Performance: If you've got a small dog with separation anxiety, this is the perfect pet camera to use! Not only can you see what your pet is up to (via the pet camera), but you can talk to them and even dispense treats.
The camera isn't the best quality on the market, but it does take good pictures, captures decent quality video, and comes with features that make it easy to upload your content to social media. If you love sharing pictures of your pet doing adorable things, it's a great choice.
The Wi-Fi connection must be very stable, or some users have reported troubles with the connection. However, it's an easy device to set up and use, and the audio is high-quality enough that your pet will recognize your voice.
Features: The main selling point of this dog camera is the treat dispenser. You can set it to launch a treat for the dog to chase. However, the dispenser only holds a certain type of treats. You'll have to buy those treats specifically.
The audio is one-way, meaning only you can talk. However, the Petzi will make a sound when the camera is turning on, alerting the dog that you're going to talk to them. It's great to keep pets with separation anxiety calm.
Note: the treat dispenser isn't going to survive a full-on assault by a hyperactive or large dog looking for treats, so make sure to use it only with smaller dogs.
Price: At $170, this is one of the better-priced pet cameras on our list. The camera quality may not be the best, but it's great for those who want to give their pets treats and keep in touch with them all day long.
Sleek, beautiful, wide-angle lens; HD camera captures photos and video; compatible with iOS and Android; and features two-way audio and laser pointer to talk to and play with your pet.
Camera delay is noticeable and set-up can be challenging.
Performance: Petcube is the market leader for pet cameras, so is it any surprise that their 1080p HD camera model tops our list? Not only do you get high quality video, but the image quality is superb. There is a slight delay on the video, but the images and video are crisp, clear, and free of the fuzziness common with older Petcube models and competing products.
The set-up is designed to be easy, though more than a few users have reported difficulties connecting it to their Wi-Fi. However, the app is beautifully easy to use on your smartphone (iOS and Android), with features that make it easy to share the content you capture. As long as you have a reliable internet connection at home, your Petcube Play will always be on!
Features: First off, there's no denying that the 1080p HD video camera is the main selling point of this pet camera. The camera includes reliable night vision, as well as a 138-degree wide angle lens and a 3x digital zoom. Thanks to its image and video quality, you can capture videos and pictures of your cats and dogs doing adorable things when they're home alone.
The two-way talk feature allows you to stay in touch with your pets while you're away. And this model is designed for you to play with your pet using the built-in laser pointer. It's definitely more for cats than dogs. The autoplay mode will keep the laser pointer moving around so your pet chases it and gets their exercise during the day.
Price: $200 is a bit of a steep price to pay for a pet camera, but wait until you see it in action! Once you get a glimpse of the high quality video and audio and spend time talking and playing with your pet, you'll never regret it.
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4 Best Pet Cameras
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