Techno-Gifts for Canine Households

by Carol Frischmann

Holiday shopping equals an invitation to splurge on gadgetry. Why shouldn’t Spot be a recipient of your techno-largesse? Long after you’ve tossed the antlers Spot wouldn’t wear and the squeak toy destroyed in one minute flat, these gadgets will beep, dispense, and restrain.

One device makes learning fun for Spot and, what’s more, helps you learn how Spot learns. Another is sheer entertainment. Others are for the convenience of the canine household. The final group of gifts targets the post-holiday period when you’re back at work and Spot is again burrowing into the off -limits sofa and clawing the front door and windowsills. Whether you shop with your fingers or your feet, these gadgets’ impact will last a lot longer than your holiday leftovers.

Who needs humans?

Some dogs just have to retrieve, retrieve and, well, you get the idea. For those companions with balltossing- related repetitive stress shoulder injuries, GoDogGo offers a break. An “automatic fetch machine,” GoDogGo allows Spot to play fetch solo. Operated by remote control, the toy tosses balls your choice of distance (15 feet or 30 feet) at your choice of interval (7 or 15 seconds). For owners buried in their Blackberries, teach Spot to reload the tennis balls himself using the thoughtfully included training tips. Spot can cherish this $150 gift with or without you.

Yes, pups, school can be fun

Treat &Train, developed by Sophia Yin, DVM and pet columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, solves Fido’s unruly behavior problems and is fun at the same time. Rewarding good behavior, Treat & Train has a remote controlled kibble-dispensing system. Owners learn along with Fido in fun training games. Accompanied by an instructional video, Treat & Train is a gadget that packs lifetime learning for you and your dog in a box with a manual and DVD. At $130, this training system makes a great gift for owner and dog.

Happy Walker is the sort of gift you might give your analytically inclined loved ones. Buzzing when the dog tugs, even gently, on his leash the simply attached Happy Walker makes a companion aware of the number of times during a walk that the dog pulls. “Oh, so that’s why my shoulder is sore,” he’ll say. You’ll smile and say nothing as you think, “I’ve told you 100 times, but Happy Walker tells you once and you listen.”

I’m baaaack

The wireless pet doorbell seemed a gift of doubtful value until a friend mentioned that her parents don’t allow their dog to bark, and they do not use dog doors. Given this, the $80 pet doorbell seemed a more reasonable gift idea. An electrical engineer invented the mat that requires no training and detects weights as small as two pounds with no false alarms. Designed for indoor and outdoor use, it comes with 12 selectable chimes and a visible flashing light. What makes this gift different from hanging bells on the door for the dog to ring herself is that no special training is required.

LeBistro Electronic Portion Control dispenses pre-programmed food portions from one quarter cup to two cups, up to three times each day. The hopper holds four pounds of food, accommodates various kibble sizes, and sells for $70.

Your dog can help himself to a clean stream of drinking water with a device for automatically dispensing water outdoors, the $80 WaterDog. The sensor technology triggers the stream when your dog approaches within three feet. WaterDog connects to any outdoor faucet. WaterDog may be most appreciated by companions whose dogs (can you say “Bull Mastiff ”?) require lots of water and regularly slop and drool. By the way, dog professionals recommend that owners not depend on the reliability of devices such as Le Bistro and WaterDog to tend their animals. When owners are out of town human caretakers are essential.

Safety is as safety does

Anyone who walks her dog after dark may worry about traffic hazards. PupLight is a small LED flashlight affixed to your dog’s neck that illuminates a path 200 feet forward and 70 feet to either side. You can see to walk your dog, and drivers can see you. The band adjusts to fit all size dogs and for $20 is a gift you’ll both appreciate through the winter months.

A convenience gift is the keychain garage door opener. When you take Fido for a walk, especially on a wet winter day, the keychain device allows the garage to function as an “airlock” against winter wet and cold, and as a safety zone that ensures the dog left at home does not get out into the street as you clean up the dog you walked.

Ooooh yay, mom’s gone today

ScatMats are household management gifts that can save a loved one’s sanity. For the dog who will be shot if he doesn’t stay out of the antique chair, or the terrier who hurls himself against the door whenever the postman cometh, consider ScatMats. Place the ScatMat on the chair, for example, that you want your pet to avoid, and switch it on. When your pet touches the surface he will feel a mild static pulse. This will correct unwanted behavior consistently day or night. The pulse adjusts to any of three intensity levels, so the ScatMat works for any size dog. The mats come in sizes that fit windowsills or sofas, and operate on batteries or household current.

If your neighbors give you a bark collar take the hint, even if you exchange one type for another. Bark collars come in two varieties but work on the same general principle. If the dog barks he receives negative reinforcement. He stops barking when he figures it out, which is quickly for most dogs. The collar based on scent uses a spray of citronella which your dog will regard as an odiferous assault. When he stops barking, the citronella spray stops. The good news is that trainers swear by these and are a good choice for those owners who don’t know much about dog training. The bad news is that if you have multiple dogs, the signals can become crossed, and Dog B will get sprayed when Dog A barks.

Electronic bark collars’ effect is restricted to the dog that wears the collar. Electronic collars used in any way other than on automatic to curb barking should be used only with the guidance of a dog trainer. In unskilled hands electronic collars can provoke unexpected responses. For the owner who spends hours away from home and whose dog has made the neighbors crazy, bark collars may be a practical gift .