By Andrew Liszewski

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 ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Tired of your dog chewing on the legs of your dining room chairs but are too apathetic to actually teach them to stop? This Gaia & Gino chew toy, designed by Jennifer Yoko Olson, is the perfect solution for those of you who’ve just given up when it comes to pet ownership. Made from natural rubber they wrap around the legs of wooden chairs and let dogs gnaw away without damaging, or at least further damaging, the chairs themselves. They’re available in creme, fuchsia, purple, brown and turquoise colors for ~$35 (€25) from Wannekes.

[ Gaia & Gino Chew Leg Cover Toy ] VIA [ bookofjoe ]

By Chris Scott Barr

If your indoor cat has claws, you need a scratching post, period. Well, unless you enjoy having your couch ripped to shreds. So if you have to buy one of these things, why not buy one that just looks awesome? Now that you have the right frame of mind, let me introduce you to the Cats Attack! Scratching Post.

There’s not much to tell about this cat toy. Instead of just looking like a boring bit of cardboard, it’s been shaped to look like a few skyscrapers, complete with a helicopter. Now when your cat starts clawing at the post, it will look like some gigantic mutant cat, hell-bent on destroying the city! At $30, it’s cheap entertainment, and useful at the same time.

[ Thinkgeek ] VIA [ Awesomer ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you think this GoPet Tread Wheel is a sensible alternative to taking your dog for a walk, then as far as I’m concerned you shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near our four legged friends. In essence it’s an oversized hamster wheel designed for dogs to get a little exercise without their owner having to put in any effort. It even has a safety door so you can lock your dog inside until you’re ready to spend time with it again. Well, actually, it’s so the dog doesn’t fall out while ‘exercising’ since apparently running inside a giant wire wheel isn’t a skill they’re naturally born with.

The smallest version of the GoPet Tread Wheel, designed for toy breed dogs is $357.03 (ugh, inflation! I remember when they were only $357.01!) while a fully tricked out version for medium sized dogs, including an exterior house mount, is $845.88.

[ GoPet Tread Wheel ] VIA [ Chip Chick ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Dyson’s vacuums, particularly their animal-specific models, do a great job at picking up pet hair, but they’re all really a passive solution to the problem. In Japan however, the company now sells this new Groom Brush accessory that can be used to pro-actively remove hair from your pet before it’s shed. It works just like your standard wire pet brush, but the teeth can retract when you’re finished causing any hair that has collected on them to be sucked into the vacuum. As a result it looks like it can be used when the vacuum is off in case you happen to have a pet who’s not so keen on them, though it probably works best when the Dyson is running while you’re brushing. ~$90 (¥7,350) when purchased as an accessory, but I’m going to assume they offer it bundled with their animal-specific vacs as well.

[ Dyson's Groom Brush ] VIA [ InventorSpot ]

By Chris Scott Barr

When I stumbled upon the Tweeting Teakettle a couple of months ago, I thought I’d found the worst possible use for Twitter. I love how companies find new ways to prove me wrong. This time it’s not a small startup company, but a tech giant named Sony who has me convinced that Twitter will somehow bring about the apocalypse. It seems they are putting a good amount of effort into a device that will allow your cat to send tweets.

That ugly, bulky device that you see pictured above is a prototype of their Cat@Log, which will assist your feline friend in telling the world of their eating and napping habits. If you’re wondering why they used a stuffed cat, it’s because you’ll be hard pressed to find a cat that will let you put this thing on them, let alone stand still for a picture once it is on.

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By Andrew Liszewski

The idea that St. Bernards roam snowy mountains with miniature barrels of hooch strapped to their collars in search of trapped hikers is another one of those ‘facts’ I learned from cartoons. But discovering that you can actually buy those mini barrels, compete with miniature spigots, is the only proof I’ll ever need. Made from American White Oak and wrapped in 6 metal bands with your choice of finish, the barrels come attached to a leather collar that can be trimmed as needed to fit smaller dogs (making for an even more entertaining sight gag) and are available in 1/2 liter or 1 liter capacities for $49.95 and $56.95 respectively.

[ St. Bernard Dog Collar Barrel ] VIA [ The Green Head ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I don’t know too many dogs or cats who are fans of vacuum cleaners, but as we move into Spring with the joys of shedding, this vacuum equipped pet brush could be a good way to deal with all that discarded fur. Unless of course you don’t mind walking around with fur covered socks. The Groomair comes with two interchangeable brush attachments for dealing with pets with long or short coats, and in addition to collecting loose skin and fur, it also apparently provides a pleasant massage. $78 from Pro-Idee.

[ Groomair Electric Vacuum Brush ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The only downside to owning a dog that I can see is having to deal with their unmentionables left in the backyard. Now there are contraptions of all shapes and sizes designed to make cleaning up after your pup a bit less unpleasant, but this is definitely the first vacuum I’ve come across designed specifically for the task.

The cordless Pooch Power Shovel sucks the waste directly into specially designed plastic bags making them easy to dispose of (up to 150 on a single charge) and at first glance you might think the clear plastic tube provides an unpleasant view of the business being dealt with, but when used properly the waste apparently never touches the machine or your hands. At $99.50 from Frontgate it’s easily the most expensive pet poo solution I’ve seen, short of hiring someone else to do it, and the refill bags will set you back an additional $19.50 for 50 or $35.50 for 100.

[ Pet Pooch Power System ] VIA [ GadgetReview ]