By Eric Evdosin

Do you have a dog or cat that likes to stray away from the yard and you are always trying to find them? The Tagg Pet Tracker combines GPS and wireless technology to make keeping tabs on your pet simple. You use the GPS to help build a defined “safe zone” for your pets. Whenever they stray outside of this area you are quickly notified by text and/or email.

The Tagg Pet Tracker is tied into the Verizon data network giving you coverage in most parts of the country. This powerful combination of GPS and wireless communications takes away the fear of losing a pet and allows you to walk directly to where they are playing their game of pet hide-and-seek. The Tagg Pet Tracker retails for $199.95 and includes a full year of service.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Crnchy ]

By David Ponce

So this product is called the iPet Companion and what it does is let you play with your kittens or other domestic animals from the comfort of any Internet-connected computer. Once setup, a web-based control panel will let you watch a live stream through a panning and zooming webcam (which you control) and a few buttons which activate the toys the pets are supposed to play with. Now I’ll be honest, these toys are pretty terrible. You’re really looking at a small electric actuator that swivels back and forth. Attached at the end of it can be any furry, colorful darn thing you please. You press and hold the button on the control panel, and the thing swings back and forth. That’s it. If your cat doesn’t get bored of this within a minute, you’ve got one special kitty.

The best part is the price: $850. Although it’s mercifully on sale now for $350. Still a good chunk of change. But if you absolutely must indulge your obsession, why don’t you try it out with some iPet Companion systems currently setup at several animal shelters? You can access these at the company’s website which we’ve linked to below.

[ iPet Companion ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By David Ponce

Famed dog trainer Cesar Milan would probably say: “Keep that dog in check, foo!” Or maybe he wouldn’t. What Cesar says doesn’t matter, really. All I’m getting to is you should train your dog to obey you, be sociable around other pets and not pee in your cereal. And not tug on your leash. I read somewhere that clicker training is a good way to teach Fido who’s who and what’s what. But that looks like it requires effort on your part. Better to purchase this $40 gadget instead. It wedges itself between the leash and the collar and has an ultrasonic whistle and a sensor. If it starts to detect tugging, it whistles unpleasantly in proportion to the tugging effort. The sounds are “aimed” at your dog so no other canine is inconvenienced and the volume level is adjustable. Only your dog will be miserable. And maybe he’ll learn. Or he’ll secretly get back to you in ways you don’t want to imagine…

This product doesn’t sound like a bad idea, to be honest. Anyone want to try it out and report back here?

[ Product Page ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

Thanks to SUCK UK, your cat will be dropping fresh beats faster than it takes for me to roll my eyes at the ridiculous crap people buy for their pets. While dogs are just as notorious at destroying homes, a cat’s desire to shred anything and everything in its path is unmatched. So odds are if there are felines in your home, you’re gonna need a scratching post.

But a simple post is so boring, and unproductive. With this Cat Scratch turntable, not only will your cat be fending off boredom and getting exercise, but they’ll also be learning valuable night club skills. It comes folded flat for easy and cheap shipping, which means you’ve got some assembly to do when it arrives. But if you’ve ever constructed a box before, you’ve already got the necessary skills and tools at your disposal. The deck actually spins and the tone arm is even positionable, allowing you to fill your Instagram account with hundreds of adorable photos before it gets turned to shredded cardboard. ~$23 (£15) available directly from SUCK UK.

[ Cat Scratch Turntable ] VIA [ ChipChick ]

While your teenager might frown on having a GPS tracking device strapped to their neck, there’s nothing your pets can do about it. So the Tagg system is yet another GPS + cellular based solution that allows you to keep tabs on your animal if you’re the type who just lets them roam the neighborhood. The tracker itself is lightweight, but still designed for dogs and cats over 10lbs. And it can be worn 24/7, even while swimming. The battery’s good for up to 30 days, depending on your pet’s travels and usage patterns, and it can be easily recharged with an included base station.

Besides keeping track of where your pet has been and allowing you to see their meandering route on a map when logged into their website, the Tagg system also allows you to setup virtual perimeters. When your pet leaves this pre-defined area you’ll receive text or email notifications, depending on your preference. The Tagg also lets you know when the battery is nearing depletion so you can charge it up before it’s completely dead, and there’s a trip button allowing you to temporarily suspend alerts and notifications when you’re intentionally outside your perimeter. Available come September for $199.99 which includes a year of cellular service. Though I can’t seem to find what the service costs after that.

[ Tagg Pet Tracker ] VIA [ CNET ]

Besides the sharks, and possibly the dolphins, the best part of any large scale aquarium is usually the jellyfish tank. Maybe it’s the special lighting that makes them glow so eerily, maybe it’s man’s deep down desires to spend our days lazily drifting through the water. Whatever it is, they’re mesmerizing. So Alex, an inventor with a background in biology and environmental science, has created a jellyfish tank that anyone can operate and maintain at home.

His company, Jellyfish Art, recently posted their ‘Desktop Jellyfish Tank’ To Kickstarter. After just one day they met their funding goal of $3,000. And at the time of writing, have actually raised more than $28,000. When available, the tank will sell for $350 (plus an additional $50 for a set of 3 jellyfish) which seems like a bargain given jellyfish can’t be tossed into just any old fish tank. This one has been specially designed so that they stay protected from the water intakes, which can of course be deadly to a jelly-based being. There’s even a specially engineered channel so they’re shielded from bubbles as they rise to the surface, as well as built-in filtration keeping the chemicals in the water properly in balance.

[ Desktop Jellyfish Tank ] VIA [ Uncrate ]

Awwww, is there anything more adorable than a sleeping puppy? Besides yours truly, probably not. But that cuteness can be short lived when a new puppy has trouble sleeping through the night because of separation anxiety from its mother and siblings. So here’s a high-tech alternative to a ticking clock designed to help them feel like they’re not alone. The Sleepy Bunny is a stuffed toy rabbit with a removable, battery-powered heart that simulates a heartbeat. Presumably using sounds and vibrations. It’s available from Firebox for ~ $25, and once your puppy has gotten adjusted to their new home you can simply remove the electronic heart and use the bunny as a regular dog toy.

[ Sleepy Bunny ] VIA [ Coolest Gadgets ]

This supposed ‘Super’ Collar precariously walks the line between being a useful gadget and a useless novelty item. But I think it manages to lean enough towards the former to be worth consideration. Particularly if you’ve got a larger canine who can be a handful and needs to occasionally be restrained.

It’s a replacement dog collar that features a built-in retractable 3-foot leash that you can quickly extend to keep your pup in check. The extending lead is also covered in wound steel cable so it can withstand “100s of pounds of tugging pressure” and the fact that it’s tethered to the collar in two places certainly doesn’t hurt either. And because taking your dog for a long walk with a 3-foot leash isn’t ideal, the collar also has a standard D-ring for use with traditional, longer leashes. Available from Taylor Gifts for $39.98 in medium and large versions.

[ Super Collar ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

No matter what the temperature is outside, I think leaving pets unattended in a parked vehicle is a stupid idea. Denice Pruett, who works for a veterinarian in New Mexico, feels the same way. After seeing and hearing countless stories of pets who succumbed to hyperthermia or heatstroke while left in a locked vehicle, she came up with the ‘Too Hot For Spot?’ decal which lets you know just how hot or cold your vehicle really gets inside. It sticks to the inside of a car window like your standard novelty static cling decal, but includes a working thermometer needle showing you the temperature inside.

Besides letting owners know if it’s ‘safe’ to leave their animals locked inside (again, why even risk it?) the ‘Too Hot For Spot?’ thermometer also educates other people passing by as to how warm a locked and sealed car can get on a sunny day. $12.90 including shipping.

[ 'Too Hot For Spot?' Static Cling Car Window Thermometer ] VIA [ Cool Hunting ]

My parent’s dog has never been the ‘working’ type of pet. Some dogs will herd sheep or drag a sled or even sniff out contraband materials, but their dog is really only good at stretching out and sleeping on the floor where he’s most in the way. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but with The Woofer it can most definitely be turned into a good one.

It’s your standard dog coat that turns your pet into a walking, or more likely a lounging, boombox that automatically brings your music to you assuming it’s trained to come when it’s called. Unfortunately the Woofer’s website is a little vague when it comes to the technical aspects of the coat, like if you have to keep your iPod on your pet tethered with a cable, or if it can be connected wirelessly over Bluetooth. And how powerful the speaker is since I’d hate to have a heavy bass beat thumping against my dog for as long as a typical song plays. Is it waterproof as well, given a dog’s affinity for finding mud and puddles? The Woofer’s run from $140 to $160 in small, medium and large sizes, and I wouldn’t mind a bit more info about them before dropping that much coin.

[ The Woofer ] VIA [ Gearlog ]