Well, isn’t this adorable.  We all know how much you love your pet, but the last thing you really want your pooch or favorite feline doing is drinking from the toilet bowl.  It’s not entirely clear why animals like toilet water, but our best guess is that it’s instinctual, since after all they are animals and they’re genetically coded to drink from puddles of water, septic or not.

So that said, we’re not suggesting that you promote Rex drinking from the toilet bowl, but if you can’t beat ‘em you might as well join ‘em, right?  The CSB Dog Toilet Bowl is a miniaturized version of a toilet, but instead of connecting to your home’s plumbing you simply dump a 2-liter bottle into the tank, where upon fresh drinking water fills the bowl as need be.

You can grab this gag gift from Amazon for about $30.

Leashing your pooch in a big city is imperative, that is assuming you don’t want them darting into traffic or chasing down the mail man.  However, training them to adhere to the rule of the lead aren’t as simple as strapping it on.  Most dogs will pull and tug demanding that their owner, which as far as they’re concerned is an equal, should abide by their rules of snifology.  Chances are, though, that if you’re a new dog owner, or don’t have a penchant for laying down the law, you’ll need one of these: the tug-preventing dog trainer.

It’s an ultrasonic devices that attaches between the leash and the dog.  When Rex tugs or suddenly pulls, an ultrasonic frequency is emitted designed to irriate your dog, but is inaudible to humans.  The speaker is situated such that is directs the tone towards your dog’s ears and doesn’t bother other four legged walkers.  In case that doesn’t suffice, there are four different volume levels.  It runs on two AAA batteries.

Hammacher sells it for $39.95.

Wishful thinking if you think you can buy this costume for your pooch.  It was custom made by Katie Mello.  Despite the added armor and weaponry the dog still has no confidence.

Doggies don’t give a crap about how they look, let alone where they are.  As long as they’re knee deep in no good, or simply sleeping under the shadow of a tree on a hot summer’s day, they couldn’t be happier.  However, owners might have something to say about that, and if you’ve ever lost your pooch or feline you know the experience can be heart wrenching.

The Tagg pet tracker is a small device that attaches to your pet’s collar.  Using a built-in GPS chip it relays the location of your pet by simply logging into the company’s website.  In the event fido has a tendency to run wild, as in beyond his confines, you can setup a zone notification, otherwise known as a “geofence,” which initiates an alert by text and email indicating his whereabouts.  Each Tagg tracker has a battery life that is good for up to 30 days and it will automatically notify you by text and email when it needs to be charged.  They’re water resistant, so inclement weather should be a non issue, though we don’t know what would happen if Rex took a dive in the local pond.

Tagg sells a master kit, which includes the tracker, a battery charger, USB and AC plug and one year of service for $199.95.  Each subsequent year of service costs $59.95 and if you buy more than one Tagg tracker, without a charging station, the price drops to $139.95, or $149.95 if you opt for a colored version.

A water bottle is paramount when hiking the long and windy trails of any mountainous range.  Fold in a doggy in tow and you’ll need to lug along a separate apparatus – dogs can’t chug like us humans – to make sure you pooch stays well hydrated.  That is until now.

The K9 H20 water bottle is BPA free and comes in sizes ranging from 9.5oz to 25oz.  There are also a variety of colors to choose from, ranging from black, to purple, to yellow, to green and more.  But the mainstay of this product is the patented lid, which is specifically designed for a  dog’s natural drinking style; tongue lapping.  The bottle is designed to fit cup holders, bicycle water bottle mounts and other apparatuses.

The K9 H20 water bottle can be bought directly from the manufactuer for $17.95 – $19.95.

It’s a back breaking experience to bend over and hold your 155lb dog by the collar.  Chances are this scenario presents itself when strangers come to the door or your release good old fido from the back of the car.

Enter the Super Collar.  It features a built-in retractable 3-foot leash that is finished in a wound steel cable for added endurance that can withstand up to 100lbs of tugging pressure.  Unfortunately the lead is only 3-foot long, so it’s probably only ideal for those emergency moments.  However, they’ve outfitted it with a standard D-ring for attaching other leashes.

Taylor Gifts sells it for $40.

Via: Ohgizmo

Read

Do you know any dog owners that wants to be mistaken for shooting their dog dead with a red laser beam?  This conceptual product from the mind of Art Lebedev seems to suggest so.  It’s actually a fun and novel idea, that is until you get gunned down by a passing by police officer, or animal rights activist.  

Please keep in mind this was announced on April 1, the fool’s day.

Read

Well I sure hope this invention gets used for good. No need for remote controlled purse-snatching superdogs roaming the streets out there, and no need for poorly trained dog operators mistaking left for right because of lack of coffee, and leading dogs to take a misguided step off the nearest ravine.

This doggie backpack was though up and patched together at Auburn University, and it lets humans control dogs from literally miles away, using GPS coordonates. Kind of like a computer game without the jump button, since this only comes with vibrating side panels for telling your very well trained canine companion to go left or right.

Now I’m thinking this has the potential to either improve dog-human relationships a whole lot, or throw them down the nearest drain. It depends on how dogs feel about becoming Xbox replacements.

From the point of view of advantages, dogs get to move a lot faster if they don’t have to wait for a human, would track things faster and get over obstacles with more ease, and the three-four mile limit of the device means the human controller could even follow at a distance from a vehicle.

Add headphones to give the dog commands, a camera so you can see what he sees, and the system is complete. And maybe dogs can use the vibrator pads for massage when off duty.

Read

Ever feel like picking up your dog’s poop in a little bag had no purpose besides making you look bad? Ever wish your dog could be like those life-saving, criminal stopping dogs that contribute so much to society?

Well now you can lower the city’s electricity bill and keep the world green while feeling like the owner of a hard working blue collar dog, and all you have to do is dump your pooch’s poop into something called the Park Spark.

You pick it up with the same biodegradable bags you always use, turn a crank and eventually the poop becomes methane gas. Farmers would immediately recognize the Park Spank for what it is – a methane tank, something quite common on farms. But in Cambridge, Massachusetts The Park Spark tanks are wired to power the lights in the park.

That’s the basis of Green design, use locally what is produced locally. Poop, in this case.

Read | Source

We’re sorry, but we can’t help ourselves when it comes to doggy gadgets.

While the PEZ Dog Treat Dispenser should hardly be defined as tech, it’s one nifty play on the decades old candy dispenser.  Just like the original this one dispenses treats, though doggy oriented, when the head is tilted back.  Course, you can’t just shove any dog treat in there, so you’ll have to buy the probably not so cheap refills, which are made from 100% corn starch.

PetSmart has it for just $8.

Read

The Dog-E-Minder is a LCD collar attachment that easily displays when your dog has most recently been walked, fed, and given his or her medication.  Really easy to use, the Dog-E-Minder is an essential and affordable way for large families to deal with (multiple) pets.

On standby, the Dog-E-Minder flashes back and forth between Pet name/Owner contact info and current date and time. Press the corresponding button and it will display the last time your dog was walked, fed, or medicated.  Super easy.  When you want to record a new time, say just after a walk, just press and hold the walk button for a few seconds and the bright blue illuminated LCD will take note of the new time.

Setting the unit up initially is also really easy and intuitive only taking a few minutes to get my dog’s name and my phone number entered.  The unit is lightweight and my dog Bucky Bukkake (15lbs.) didn’t seem to mind its dangle and sway.

The only thing I wanted from the Dog-E-Minder was an option to display the time elapsed since last walk as I always like less math in my day.  Being that that is my only gripe, the Dog-E-Minder worked great in the rain and is generally convenient all around.

The Dog-E-Minder is also shockproof and water resistant so you won’t have to worry about damage in case you dog goes for a swim.  Bucky hates water so I didn’t get to test that out to the fullest, though I did throw it in the sink to see how it dealt.  The battery compartment was sealed appropriately and it held up just fine.

For me personally, I am the sole caretaker for my dog Bucky so I know when he was walked last.  He is not on meds, and eats at his own leisure, so I never really need to keep track of all this stuff.  Whereas my situation is a bit isolated, the Dog-E-Minder should be huge across all dog communities.  With its incredibly easy and intuitive use and set-up,  $20 is a great price for a product this simple and innovative.

The Dog-E-Minder uses a watch style battery that should last quite a while and if you need to change it out battery replacement is also really simple.  The buttons were small but reacted well under pressure (hehe) and were of your typical remote control fashion.

If you or someone else you know has trouble managing their most precious buddy’s needs, the Dog-E-Minder will definitely remove some wrinkles from their forehead.  Available in four colors, though I think the backlight stays bright blue across whatever color you end up choosing.

End result:  Great product for a great price.

Pros:

• Ease of set-up and use
• Lightweight
• Piece of mind

Cons:

• Maybe too big for dogs under 10 pounds

Order one now for $20!!

Leaving fido outside on a hot summer’s day is bad enough, but leaving him (or her) without enough water is tantamount to Abu Ghraib torture.  Do you and your dog a favor and get the Waterdog-Automatic Pet Fountain.  Okay, so a large bowl of water might suffice on those long, hot summer days, but nothing will beat this gadget.  It attaches to your outdoor faucet and uses a 3 foot proximity sensor to turn on and dispense a stream of cold, flowing water to your pooch’s wavering tongue.  Just make sure you replace the 4 C batteries once a year.

Frontgate has it for $80.

Read

I’m all for mitigating one’s risk when it comes to picking up pet poop.  The Pet Pooch Power System sports the form factor of a weed wacker, but using the power of vacuum technology sucks up your dogs manure and whisks it directly into a bag.  The onboard rechargeable battery is good for up to 150 uses and the system, which costs $100, includes 10 biodegradable waste bags.

Read

Losing a pet for many people is beyond heartbreaking.  Thankfully we now live in an age where satellites can track our pets locations so that we never lose them like we could have in the past.  PAW or Positioning Animals WorldWide has just released a free iPhone App to work directly with their SpotLight GPS collars.

While the app is free, the collar system is not.  Priced at $250, I’m sure many people will find this price extremely reasonable.  Check out the link below for a really well done and informative video tutorial on how the SpotLight Collar works.  As we all know, the smaller the dog, the more finicky the owner and these collars still may be a bit big for dogs under 20 pounds.

Read

This might be the most advanced dog leash on the market…errr, soon to be on the market.  The Power-Generating Dog Leash sports storage for your doggy’s poop bags, as well as 3 LED lights for night time walking and an emergency tone that are both powered simply by the coil and recoil of the leash – no batteries!

There’s no word on a price or street date, but it sounds like it will definitely come to market this year.

[via Core77]

Read

It won’t help you open a cold one, but it most certainly will stop your dog from barking at the neighbor’s cat.  The Bark Deterring Spray Collar fires a proprietary (that’s code for ‘we’ll rip you off’) water based mist at your dogs snout any time he or she engages in excessive barking.  The collar includes a 300 refill bottle and is good for up to 25 sprays (or barks) per fill.  I guess it beats electrocuting fido.  You can grab one for $50.

Read

I present to you the DogPets food dispenser, the perfect complement to the Poop Trap.  Just jam in the cube sized doggy snacks and with the pull of a trigger it launches the tasty morsel a few feet in the air causing fido to jump with joy. There a quick little demo video below, but talk about Asian gimmicky. 

Read

I often question whether or not I should be giving my dog better drinking water.  The Pet ‘N’ People water dispenser from Hduo is a great way to share quality drinking water with your furry best friend.

Fitted for 3 and 5 gallon jugs, the dispenser doles out hot, cold, and room temperature H2O as well as containing a motion sensor bowl at its base for your pet to drink from.  The pet bowl is removable for washing and prevents contamination.  Seems a bit pricey, but do the math on how much you spend on water a year and it could be a worthwhile purchase.  On sale now for $229.

[via Gadgeteer]

Read

One French inventor, Romain Jarry has plans to do to dog grooming, what the washing machine did to laundry.  Called the Dog-O-Matic – no, I’m NOT joking – it’s a giant machine that fits and washes dogs of all sizes at just a push of a button.  A complete cycle takes only a few minutes, includes blow drying, and costs $20 – $48 depending on the dog’s size.  Its inventor says he’d like to see them in the UK in the next year, that is assuming people can get over stuffing their precious pooch into a machine.

Read

Circuit City might have shut down officially yesterday, but one thing is for sure: The employees, at least the Firedog ones, still have a sense of humor about the whole thing.  Who knows, perhaps it’s because they know they’ll get a job with Best Buy’s Geek Squad.

[HardOCP]