I previously wrote design ideas in Irish Examiner Home about making our living spaces dog-friendly and it got a great response. I loved reading the feedback — and especially appreciated seeing the photos readers sent in of your pooch palaces and clever accessories that make spending time with your four-legged friends extra fun.
I have received so many fabulous tips that I have compiled a wish list of my favourites to share with other readers — so, for Life in the Doghouse (part three!) I am eyeing up a number of electronic pet accessories in particular that would make life much easier, and which some of you have highly recommended.
My dog Perry is an inside dog, primarily because my garden is too small for a dog to get much enjoyment from. He rarely spends long periods at home on his own, but on the occasional evenings where I’m delayed at work or out for a long afternoon without him it would be super helpful for him to be able to access the garden securely without relying on neighbours to pop in. Enter the SureFlap microchip dog flap.
These devices can be programmed to detect your dog’s microchip, and will only open when your dog approaches the flap. Otherwise they are locked tight, ensuring other small animals or even intruders (if you have a large dog) can’t squeeze in. You can also programme them to only open at specific times, for increased security.
The SureFlap can be installed in doors, walls, and even sliding glass doors (with a glass frame adapter), and is available in a range of sizes from Zooplus, starting at €151.99 for small dogs. If you are near Dublin, Cornelscourt Glass will fit a pet flap into your sliding glass door with prices starting at €495.
Another super helpful gadget if you know you’re going to be home late some evening is an automatic pet feeder. PetStop has a comprehensive range available. At the most basic end for €22.99, the TX1 Automatic Food Dispenser has space for an ice-pack to keep your pet’s food chilled throughout the day (ideal if your dog eats wet food), and opens at a time pre-set via an integrated timer.
In the mid-range for €95, the SureFeed Sealed Pet Bowl contains a motion sensor so that it opens when your pet nears the bowl, and closes again when your pet walks away, keeping the food inside fresh.
At the high end for €119, the Tx8 Smart Automatic Food Dispenser allows you to programme up to four meal times a day — plus it allows you to interact remotely with your pet via cameras and microphones. You can programme the device and walk away, or even control it remotely via an app. This is ideal if you have multiple pets at home.
Perry loves nothing more than chasing after tennis balls, and his energy for this game is seemingly endless. This means he is easily entertained in the park, while I lounge on the grass with a book in one-hand and a ball-thrower in the other, but on rainy days where he’s stuck indoors and I’m too busy to endlessly throw the ball across the room, and automatic ball launcher would be just the ticket.
The PetSafe Automatic Ball Launcher, available from Petworld, is not cheap at €199.99 — but when you consider the potential physio bills for repetitive shoulder strain injury then it suddenly seems like a bargain.
The Ball Launcher has some smart features which puts it above its cheaper alternatives for me — there is a motion sensor that prevents your pet from being smacked in the face with a tennis ball, an adjustable range so the ball stays within your preferred zone, and an audible signal to help train your dog to return the ball to the device, ready to be thrown again.
The PetSafe Launcher is portable — you can leave it plugged in when indoors, or simply insert batteries to use outdoors.
If your dog is prone to wandering off, or you often travel to unfamiliar places, having a tracker on your dog’s collar can be invaluable for peace of mind. I have an Apple AirTag on Perry’s collar — I received a pack of four as a Christmas present, and bought a neat silicone collar holder on Amazon, and it works as well as I need it to.
The AirTag is not a GPS tracker — instead it uses Bluetooth to ping off other nearby Apple devices and triangulates its position based on the information it receives.
This means the location may not be entirely accurate, and it is dependent on there being other Apple devices nearby.
In busy areas where many people are walking around with iPhones, this works just fine. In rural or underpopulated areas, it will not work as well.
If you need something more reliable, the Tractive GPS Dog Tracker provides worldwide GPS tracking so you will be able to find your pet almost anywhere. The Tractive is available from tractive.com or Zooplus from €49.99 (although as I write this there is a sale on their website for €29.99), but bear in mind that you will need to pay a monthly subscription for GPS tracking starting from €5 per month for a two year plan.
