Pet Tech: Gadgets To Help Bring Safety & Happiness To Your Dog, Cat, Fish or Pet Tree

For many a dog the most fun activity imaginable is fetching a ball thrown across a field. The only thing better than fetching a ball once is fetching it again right after that, and then again, and then again, and then again . . . . Unless you are a baseball pitcher (and not for the Washington Nations either but, you know, for a good team) you might not be able to keep up. Two products that keep your dog entertained and a your throwing shoulder intact:

The GoDogGo is an automated tennis ball launcher you opperate by remote control. Either push a button every time you want to send a tennis ball flying or automatically have the GoDogGo throw one every 7 or 15 seconds. You can also control the distance of the throw, from a minimum of 15 feet (4.5 meters) to a maximum of 30 feet (9 meters).

The problem is that for a big dog like ours the 30 feet throwing range is not nearly far enough. And some pet lovers might lament the lost dog-person interaction by relegating the ball throwing duties to a machine. For them there is the Hyper Dog Ball Launcher. This slingshot-like device is incredibly easy to use and requires very little strength to send a tennis ball flying 220 feet (67 meters). The Hyper Dog Ball Launcher holds four tennis balls at once, reducing the need to always bend down to pick up the same ball over and over.

Every dog owner has this dilemma: You want your dog to get out into the world to sniff its many scents and to mark territory on its many trees. You also want to keep your dog safe. The RoamEO GPS Pet Location System helps you do the latter while your dog does the former. Your dog wears a light weight, waterproof collar with a GPS beacon built-in. You keep track of your dog's exact location on a 3.5 inch color screen. A single screen unit can keep track of three dogs at once.

The really cool part: You can program your GPS unit to automatically alert you when your dog has strayed outside of a virtual GPS fence line you set up.

Lots of dogs love to swim. Not all dogs are good at it. Two devices to help them keep their snouts above water:

The Float-A-Pet is a collar that expands into a floatation device when wet. This collar includes two LED lights that automatically charge via solar panels during the day. When the collar is wet in low-light conditions the Float-A-Pet lights will blink, making this the perfect collar if you are taking your pet on an overnight boat trip.

If you are worried about Rover looking a little silly in the Float-A-Pet there's always the more traditional Premier Fido Float. The Fido Float is essentially a life vest for dogs. The back zipper runs the entire length of the vest, from collar to tail, making the Fido Float easy to remove and put on (your pet). It comes in six sizes.

For the dog who have everything, can't get outside to run or lives in Los Angeles there's the Total Pet Health Exercising Dog Treadmill. This treadmill has many of the same features that your basic human version does, including adjustable speeds, multiple incline settings and an LED readout of how long and far your pouch has run. There's also a safety clip that will automatically shut the treadmill if your pet slips or falls off of it.

Cat doors are great for allowing cats free access to the outside world and then back into your house. The problem is: Most cat doors allow other animals access to your house too. Not so with the Cat Mate Elite Selective Cat Door. This electronic cat flap is triggered by an "I.D. disc" your cat wears on a collar. The door won't open for anything not wearing an I.D. disc. The door can also be locked or put in entrance-only or exit-only modes.

Cats love the vibrations and low hums produced by laptop computers. Anyone with a cat and a laptop has probably noticed how little kitty likes to sit directly on your keyboard. (In our case, our feline also has a unfortunate desire to claw the keys off of the keyboard). The Kitt-In Box is a little cat-friendly annex to your desk where your cat can feel those laptop vibes and be close to you while also giving you the space to work. It comes in your choice of cherry, birch of mahogany wood.

A conscientious cat owner can now find a compromise in the epic clash of Indoor Cat v Outdoor Cat. The Fun Run is a strong tubular mesh enclosure that can provide your feline a safe, enclosed outdoor play space. It is light weight and easy to set up—the spring coil pops the Fun Run into place automatically. To put it away simply stand the Fun Run on its end and push down. The coolest part is that multiple Fun Runs can be zipped together to create an even larger play space. It comes with a carry bag and pegs to secure your Fun Run in place.

Having neither an abundance of free time nor a fondness for cat poo, we've tried our share of automatic kitty litter scoopers. Most proved to be too noisy or ineffective or they operated in a way that our cat would be terrified to use the litter box. And, trust us, if your cats don't feel safe in the litter box they'll find somewhere else to do their business, very possibly the pile of dirty cloths in your closet . . . not that we've had that happen to us.

The ScoopFree was the first self-cleaning litter box we tried that really worked. As far as our Mittens was concerned, the ScoopFee just a normal litter box—the automated cleaning mechanism doesn't rake the box until several minutes after the cat has left. As far as we were concerned, it was like the ScoopFree wasn't there at all. The disposable litter cartridges do an excellent job containing the odor. And the box can hold up to 30 days worth of waste before it has to be cleaned out.

If Jerry Garcia, of Grateful Dead fame, had fish at home he'd probably have them in a Globe Aquarium. In normal light this aquarium is a good-looking half-gallon fish tank. But in a dark room with the tank's LED light turns this aquarium becomes an illuminated globe, adding a glowing ambience to the room and, we suspect, tripping out your fish.

If you feel left out of this article because you are unable to have a dog or a cat then how about a pet tree or cactus? PetTree has designed a little charm that houses a live plant. The entire capsule is about the size of your thumb. Attach it to your cell phone or key ring, hang it from your rear view mirror or keep it on your desk. There's no need for you to take your pet tree for walks to clean its litter box. But you will have to water it about once a month by dunking the bottom of the PetTree in water.

^{Is there another pet product you like? Let us know in a comment . . .} 

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