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A dog camera lets you check up on your furry friend when you're away from home. It can give you the ultimate peace of mind and really help to ease your dog's separation anxiety.
We test and review probably the best dog camera on the UK market. The top-end, Furbo 360° is a premium pet specific camera designed to allow you to not only monitor but interact with your dog from afar using an app on your phone.
In this review, we'll go in-depth on all the reasons why we feel that Furbo 360° is one of the best dog cameras on the market—including everything you need to know about functionality, features, and benefits.
Ultimately you decide whether the Furbo dog camera is something that you need in your life. Spoiler—we absolutely love it!
UPDATE : APRIL 2024 - Furbo now offer a Furbo Mini Camera. Furbo Mini is a smaller version of Furbo 360°, just without treat tossing and rotating 360° view. |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Furbo 360° Review : Introduction
Furbo 360° Dog Camera Review
1. Furbo 360° Review : Introduction
Launched way back in 2016, the original Furbo dog camera was a massive hit with dog lovers everywhere.
Since then, Furbo have launched the new and upgraded Furbo 360°. The first pet-specific camera combining a 360° rotating view, treat launcher, colour night vision and 2-way audio alongside barking alerts.
Admittedly, there's a wide range of cameras on the market that offer two-way audio, so you can listen for and respond to your pup, plus night vision so you can see your dog in the dark, but the Furbo camera take things a step further.
The perfect combination of styling and features, Furbo includes all the basics to keep you connected to home - HD video, two-way talk and motion-activated notifications.
But it is the unique elements including the ability to toss treats on command, alerts if your pup has been barking and a camera which spins through the full 360° degree range to track your dog, that set the Furbo 360 apart from the competition. |
2. Furbo 360° Review : Design & Build
Straight out of the box, the Furbo 360° looks and feels like a premium product.
It has a stylish hourglass shape with a natural bamboo lid which won't look out of place in anyone's home.
Let's talk about the all important camera first. As with any type of camera, the resolution is crucial and the Furbo doesn't disappoint with it's top of the range 1080p Full HD camera.
The latest model (Furbo 360°) also comes equipped with upgraded colour night vision. The phone app offers a choice of video quality 360p, 720p and 1080p so depending on your internet bandwidth you can alter the resolution.
We particularly love that you can find out what your dog is doing anywhere in the room with the Furbo's innovative and automatic motion tracking camera capabilities.
There's a large treat reservoir which holds more than enough treats for the most anxious of dogs who may need calming.
Furbo recommend that the best treats to use are dry, firm, round treats. So for our test, we opted for Denzel's High Protein Bites which as you can see, are perfectly circular and approx 1cm diameter.
They're also grain-free, low sugar, low calorie so make a healthy and nutritious training treat. For other healthy treats, checkout our popular review - Best Dog Treats
The upgraded treat launcher in the 360° model is designed to be quieter.
Ideally the Furbo should be positioned around 90cm (3ft) off the ground but use your judgement based on the height of your dog and its mobility.
Clearly to make the most of the 360° rotation, you want to position your Furbo in an uncluttered space.
It's worth noting that no batteries are required. A 1.8m USB cable and standard power adapter are provided which offers enough flexibility to site the device where you choose.
3. Furbo 360° Review : Performance
While there’s no doubt the Furbo 360° is a sophisticated bit of kit, the initial fear is that it’s going to be more challenging to use. Especially compared to some other traditional security cameras that require minimal thought.
In fact, the Furbo 360° impressed us with its functionality and the phone app is surprisingly easy to get your head around.
Set up is super easy. Installation takes no time at all, simply plug in your Furbo device and download the app to your phone. The app and device pair, and you're ready to go.
The picture quality is surprisingly good and the 160° wide-angle camera gives a really clear picture.
Crucially, the app is very intuitive and the simple controls make it easy to master. The main camera screen has arrows so you can pan the camera right or left manually. We did notice a slight delay in panning which does take a bit of getting used to.
The microphone button lets you talk to your dog, a camera button takes a photo and the video button lets you manually record a video segment. Simples !
But our favourite option has to be the treat launcher. Simply swipe up on the circular shaped treat graphic and Furbo tosses a treat.
The treat toss is accompanied by a sound to get your dog's attention. The standard sound is a squeaky toy, but you can opt to replace this with your own sound.
The Furbo app, gives guidance on how to familiarise your dog with the treat toss to foster a positive association and it's fair to say that Freddie immediately understood the concept.
This feature worked well in testing with the treat launched approx. 1m from the Furbo.
If you're concerned that your dog may knock the Furbo, there are four small pads on the base of the Furbo, two of which have fixed 3M double-sided tape. Once you're happy with it's position, you could secure it to a surface.
The camera automatically rotates to follow movement so that your dog is in view the whole time.
The only downside we found was that the camera can't be altered vertically. So if you place the Furbo on a high shelf, potentially your dog will be out of sight when it's close.
The app can be downloaded onto multiple devices. This feature was a big hit in our house with everyone checking in throughout the day to see Freddie.
The Furbo 360 also offers improved night vision compared with its predecessor. The camera can now produce colour images in addition to black-and-white recordings in low-light settings.
And if that wasn't enough, every Furbo comes with a 30 day free trial of Furbo Dog Nanny which offers some additional features. These include daily highlight videos, cloud recording, home emergency alerts, advanced barking alerts and specific activity alerts.
So you can enjoy the trial before deciding whether you want to pay for these additional features.
Our Verdict
Ultimately we feel that the Furbo 360° is an impressive dog camera with an amazing feature set. It is nicely designed and well built, performing exceptionally well in testing.
The upgrades including the panning camera, coloured night vision and improved treat tosser, are all smart enhancements.
The main downside is that like all high-quality devices, the Furbo 360° is quite expensive but whilst there are cheaper, more traditional security cameras on the market, they won't offer the same level of pet-specific features.
The Furbo 360° is a must-try for any dog lover looking for the ultimate peace of mind, and in our eyes, the high-quality design and various bells and whistles more than justify its price tag. |
Specification:
Width at base 12cm
Height 22.5cm
Weight 950g
Cable length 1.8m
Reasons to Buy
- Feature packed
- Quality camera
- Two-way audio
- Treat launcher
- Sound detection
- Colour night vision
- Two year warranty
- Free Returns within 30 days
Reasons to Avoid
- Pricey option
- No vertical camera adjustment
Buying Options
The Rivals
If you're not convinced by the Furbo 360°, you could consider one of it's rivals. We've picked out three highly rated alternatives and essentially it will come down to how much you want to spend and whether you want a treat dispenser.
Petcube Bites 2 Lite
Another pet-specific camera with a whole host of features is the Petcube Bites 2 Lite.
The US Petcube brand offer a range of pet cameras but this one is the best value camera with a treat launcher included.
Headline features of the Petcube Bites 2 Lite include a 1080p Full HD resolution camera, 160-degree wide angle with 4x digital zoom, night vision and two-way audio.
It is also equipped with a treat launcher and real-time alerts, so a similar specification to the original Furbo pet camera.
The key differences for us are the lack of auto dog tracking and size. The camera is fixed in place so cannot automatically rotate to follow your dog's movement. As all dogs move around a lot, we felt this was a big disadvantage.
Secondly it's significantly larger and heavier than the Furbo so will need more space.
However, that said, it is cheaper that the Furbo 360° so if the pet tracking camera and the size are not key drawbacks for you, it could be worth a look
Specification:
Width : 14.5 x 7.3 cm
Height 26.8 cm
Weight 1.33 kg
Reasons to Buy
- Quality camera
- Two-way audio
- Treat launcher
- Sound detection
- Night vision
- Slightly cheaper option
Reasons to Avoid
- No panning camera
- No vertical camera adjustment
- Larger & heavier than Furbo
SpotCam - Mibo
If the first two options have a price tag which is giving you a bit of shock, take a look at the Mibo from SpotCam.
The SpotCam Mibo is a great pet camera with excellent video quality. It will appeal to dog lovers who want to check in with their four-legged friends but aren’t looking for treat dispensers.
The Mibo features 2k resolution (Quad HD) so 2304 x 1296. Generally the higher the pixels the clearer the image quality and video recording, so big tick for video quality!
The Mibo can pan a full 360° and tilt through 90° so reduces potential blind spots and allows it to follow you dog fairly smoothly around the space so you don't miss a thing.
Or in our case simply watch your dog sleep on their bed - for hours.
The phone app was incredibly easy to use and you can use the two way audio to talk to your dog through your phone. It also comes with a number of positioning and mounting options.
Just like all SpotCam monitoring cameras, Mibo is equipped with a free 24-hour full-time cloud recording plan. So you can replay video recorded in the last 24-hours to your heart's content.
I particularly loved that I could export and share footage with friends and family.
Admittedly, there are cheaper pet camera options available but they will not offer the same level of features. If you are looking for a pet camera then the Mibo deserves a place on your shortlist.
If you're interested in the SpotCam Mibo, we suggest taking a look at our review, where we put this super cute camera through it's paces - Pet Camera Review : SpotCam Mibo
Reasons to Buy
+ Good value
+ Swivel camera
+ Small footprint
+ Mounting options
+ Excellent 2K video
+ Night vision
+ Two-way audio
+ Motion-based notifications
Reasons to Avoid
- Needs mains power
- No treat tossing feature
- Black & white night vision
Petcube Pet Camera
Our last recommendation and the cheapest is another option from the Petcube stablke but this time without a treat dispenser.
It's an affordable option if you're not looking for a treat launcher or a rotating camera.
This sleek mini-cube design looks super stylish and the unique magnetic mounting snaps onto any surface.
It has the same 1080p full HD resolution camera as the Petcube Bites 2 Lite but with a smaller 110° wide-angle view. Be aware that the camera doesn't pan and tilt to follow movement, so is more suitable for smaller spaces.
It comes with two-way audio so you can hear and talk to your dog and night vision.
The Petcube Pet camera is significantly cheaper than the Furbo 360° and the Petcube Bites 2 Lite, but be aware that it comes with considerably less functionality.
Specification:
Width : 6.1 x 5.4 cm
Height 8.2 cm
Reasons to Buy
- Quality camera
- Two-way audio
- Night vision
- Significantly cheaper
Reasons to Avoid
- Lack of pet-specific features
- No treat launcher
Thank you for dropping by and reading our Dog Camera Review - Furbo 360°