This Furbo dog camera helps reassure me my anxious pup is safe and at happy at home

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As any pet parent will attest to, keeping our pups happy, safe and pampered is a top priority. When normality returned after the pandemic’s various lockdowns, this became more important than ever, as we faced the daunting prospect of leaving our four-legged friends at home once again.

But the pet tech industry is booming – and there are plenty of products that can help tackle this sense of separation anxiety while keeping our minds at ease. From interactive toys and treat dispensers to pet cameras, myriad nifty gadgets are designed to make spending time alone a far less stressful experience for your pet (and you).

Leading this innovation is Furbo. From its “dog nanny” subscription offering to the new 360-degree dog camera (£199, Furbo.com), the brand’s savvy services enable you to be there (virtually) for your dog, when you can’t physically be at home.

My own anxious-prone dog, Nellie, is arguably a pet camera’s perfect demographic. Before arriving in my family home as a rescue, she had three different owners by the time she was one. It doesn’t take much guesswork to understand why she works herself up when any of us leave the house merely to go to the supermarket (and greets us like we’ve been gone for five years when we return). This fear of abandonment and separation anxiety only got worse after the pandemic, owing to how used she had become to us all being at home.

A dog camera that not only dispenses treats to keep Nellie happy, but also lets us watch, talk to and hear her is an attractive proposition. Furbo’s tech-packed devices don’t come cheap, but now Furbo has launched a new subscribe and save bundle meaning that you can bag yourself a Furbo for £89 (RRP £199) + 2 week free trial of the Furbo Dog Nanny when subscribing to £6.99 Furbo Dog Nanny subscription. And you can cancel at any time.

I got my hands on the brand’s OG dog camera to see if it lived up to the hype. Here’s the verdict.

First things first: the design. Setting it apart from more-traditional-looking cameras, Furbo’s design is sleek and congruous in your home. The device’s white body is topped with a stylish wooden disk with the treat dispenser and the camera built into the front. Relatively small in size (15cm x 12cm x 22.5cm), it slots seamlessly onto a mantlepiece, side table or kitchen top.

As previously mentioned, the Furbo isn’t cheap, but its features are impressive. There’s a 1,080px full HD camera with night vision, an HD 160-degree wide angle, four-times zoom, built-in two-way audio, a barking alert and treat-dispenser function.

Once unboxed, the pet camera was a breeze to set up. Complete with a charging cable and instruction manual, with the only other accessory needed being the Furbo app. This application is essential for using the camera and, with every purchase of the device, you can get a month’s free trial of Furbo’s “dog nanny” subscription, which includes premium features. Once you’ve created an account and paired it with your phone, the last step is filling up the camera’s base with your pup’s favourite treats.

You then need to decide where you place it – whether it’s in the room where your dog tends to be in most or in a main living space, to monitor their comings and goings.

At first, I positioned it in the kitchen, where Nellie wandered in and out throughout the day. When we left the house and she was anxious, I used the app to distract her and dispense treats. It worked and Nellie even returned to it a little later, in search of more snacks. I then put it on the dressing table in the bedroom she frequents most throughout the day, where the Furbo captured her calmly snoozing. One gripe is that, though you can zoom in on the frame, the device doesn’t move, so you don’t get a full picture of the room (though this drawback has been solved in the new and approved 360-degrees camera (£199, Furbo.com).

Even with the free version of the app, you can watch what your dog is doing in live time, and it was comforting watching her potter around. The additional features in the paid-for “dog nanny” subscription include a automatically compiled 15-second highlight video of the day, as well as a barking alert (which popped up every time Nellie saw a cat through the window), a dog activity alert, dog selfie alert, a person alert when someone enters the frame and an emergency alert.

The camera is surprisingly good quality and the sound is clear and crisp – but beyond the tech, the treat dispenser function is a really handy feature that helped to calm Nellie after any of us left the house, though I found it didn’t really have any other benefits. The alerts are also very useful at keeping tabs on your dog, but it’s a shame these aren’t included in the free version of the app. Another drawback is the corded design, which means there’s less flexibility regarding where you position the camera.

A standout feature is the two-way audio, which enables you to listen to your dog and calm them through the speaker. You can also turn off the camera via your phone while you’re out of the house, saving on energy.

If you’re in the market for a pet camera, the Furbo pet camera is certainly one of the very best you can buy. Excellent video quality is teamed with a strong two-way audio system, a treat-dispenser function and a useful selection of alerts that help you keep your dog safe, happy and calm. Whether it is your pup struggling with separation anxiety or yourself, Furbo’s dog camera offers reassurance for both pet and pet parent.

Looking for more pet gadgets? We’ve rounded up the best cordless vacuum models for pup parents