Have you seen the advertisement yet? It sounds great! Dog cameras where you can watch your pooch and dispense treats to them. Who WOULDN’T want that?
Me…and some of my clients.
There’s a couple of reasons. First of all, I have absolutely no issue with the camera. As part of my dog training program watching your dog through video is necessary to help curb behaviors.
I DO disagree with the treat part. Let’s get the obvious reason out of the way of why I disagree with this device. As one of my clients can attest to, her dog was smart enough to realize that the 180 dollar device has treats in it.
Her dog wanted the treats no matter what. And when “mom” wasn’t dispensing the treats fast enough the dog jumped up, grabbed the device in their mouth and proceeded to chew it to pieces. Yikes! At least for me, that was an expensive chew toy!
The other reason?
DON’T GET YOUR DOG EXCITED WHEN YOU ARE NOT HOME!
So you have one of those amazing dogs that everyone is jealous of because of how obedient, calm, and non-destructive they are when you are not home. Your dog sleeps peacefully in the warm afternoon sunshine, stretches luxuriously every now and then, and glances at the clock to see if you are home yet.
Why would you want to get them all riled up? To get them excited and hyper?
I know what MY dogs do when I get them too excited. They jump up, they tuck their cute little bums and run around the house, my boxer grabs my slippers and takes them outside to shake the stuffing out of them. My German Shepherd starts barking and then decides that play-fighting my boxer is what she wants to do. Soon there’s an all out doggie/human play-fight in the middle of the living room.
Why would you take your comfortable, sleeping pooch and inject them with excitement and food when no one is home to mediate their behavior?
Because here’s the kicker…MOST people don’t have a calm dog to start with. They have dogs that run around the backyard barking. Or their dogs will find any item that is left out, chew it to pieces and proudly show their human what they have accomplished when they come home.
So while this Furbo device (or any video/treat device) SOUNDS like a great idea…it is actually a recipe for disaster. You do not want to get your dog all excited when you are not home. It’s just not worth the financial disaster you come home to, or the vet bills and suffering your dog experiences if there is a health crisis.
I know that you love your dog, and you want them to have fun and be happy while you are gone. But the best place for your pet while you are gone is in the crate.
If the Furbo camera is something that excites the dog and can be dangerous….the crate is the exact opposite of that. It helps your dog be calm and keeps them safe.
