The Best Pet Camera (Isn’t a Pet Camera)

Our main pick, the Wyze Cam v2 has been discontinued. We’ve tested the updated version, the Wyze Cam v3, for other guides and think it's also a standout option for anyone shopping for a pet camera.

Leaving your beloved pet home alone can be distressing. A good pet camera makes your time away painless, showing you firsthand that your pet is happy and safe, even when you’re not there. However, after extensive testing and research, we found that most pet owners don't actually need a fancy pet camera. You can get the same peace-of-mind benefits from our favorite cheap security camera, the Wyze Cam v3, which is the updated model of our former pick, the Wyze Cam v2. It's compact, has great video, and offers free cloud storage.

We examined how easy it was to set up each device and respective app.

We tested how quickly, frequently, and accurately each device sends push alerts when it detects motion or sound.

We evaluated how the laser pointers, treat dispensers and two-way audio/video features worked, and noted any performance issues.

We reviewed the security track record for each manufacturer, as well as their policies on protecting consumer data.

A dedicated pet camera gives you extra features for interacting with your pet remotely, but those extras also mean the camera is bigger and costs more. If you want to be able to toss your pet treats even when you’re miles away, we recommend the Petcube Bites 2. Its treats dispenser won't overfeed your pet, the wide viewing angle makes it easy to spot your elusive companion in the corner of a big room, and the guest portal offers secure video streaming of your pet's antics, for family and friends to enjoy.

For the price of a bag of kibble, this small security camera offers better video quality and cloud storage than most other cameras.

The Wyze Cam v3, which we’ve thoroughly tested for our security camera guides, offers free cloud storage and sharper video quality than our discontinued pick, the Wyze Cam v2. This compact security camera—by far the cheapest product we recommend in this guide—does everything we expect of a pet camera. The Wyze Cam is a snap to set up, has an intuitive interface, records video that's sharp enough to show a gray cat sleeping on a gray couch, and is so affordable that you can blanket your home in cameras for less than the cost of a single model from the competition. If you share pet ownership with someone else, or you want others to see how amazing your pet is, you can grant them guest access to your feed without having to share your account password. And our research has shown that although the Wyze Cam lacks the treats dispenser or laser pointer found in pricy pet cams, those interactive bells and whistles are confusing and potentially harmful to many pets.

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The Bites 2 is the best pet camera with a treats dispenser that we found—but the up-front and ongoing costs are sky high.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $250.

The Petcube Bites 2 is the best pet camera with a treats dispenser that we tested. The onboard treats dispenser works with any brand of crunchy treats that are up to 1-inch wide, and the Bites 2 won't overfeed your pet like other models we tested. The camera is easy to use, and the image quality is sharp. You can securely share access to the livestream with family and friends without compromising your login credentials. But this model is pricey—not just the initial price tag, but the ongoing $48 to $120 annual cost of cloud storage.

For the price of a bag of kibble, this small security camera offers better video quality and cloud storage than most other cameras.

The Bites 2 is the best pet camera with a treats dispenser that we found—but the up-front and ongoing costs are sky high.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $250.

I’ve covered the pets beat for Wirecutter for nearly three years and have written about everything from the best automatic pet food dispensers and automatic litter boxes to essential oils pet safety and how to find a reputable dog trainer. I’m a lifelong pet owner, and I’ve been volunteering at animal shelters for over a decade. I’m also anxious whenever I have to leave my pets for extended periods of time, and I have relied on my share of pet cameras, security cameras, and computer livestreams to watch over them.

For this guide, I spoke with Mikel Delgado, a certified applied animal behaviorist and postdoctoral fellow at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, who at the time of our interview used pet cameras to aid her research into cat behavior. I also consulted Laura Linneman, a behavioral rehabilitation specialist at the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center. She's a certified professional dog trainer who understands canine behavior and how to get the most out of pet cameras. Finally, I sought the expertise of Wirecutter's own smart-home expert, Rachel Cericola, who's covered consumer electronics for more than 15 years.

Spending hours or days away from your pets can be rough, regardless of whether you’re just at the office for the day or you’re on vacation for a week. Maybe you picture them staring longingly at the front door all day waiting for your return. Worse, perhaps your imagination runs wild and you fear that tragedy has befallen them in your absence. Deep down we know they’re probably fine, but there's that tiny voice that says otherwise. Status texts from the pet sitter or dog walker quell those scary thoughts, but the updates aren't always timely or detailed and sometimes lack photographic proof that our prized pets are alright. Thankfully, pet cameras exist to fill the gap between our imaginations and the partial updates from pet professionals.

"Pet cameras" are basically home security cameras with playful features our pets can enjoy. Pet cams let us see what's going on at home when the pet sitter or dog walker isn't around to answer our barrage of questions. Some models also make it easy to engage with our pets when we’re at work or on a getaway. We can toss our dogs treats, play a game of laser pointer with the cats, or even send our pets a message via two-way video chat. (Though be warned: Our research shows that many of these interactive features are problematic and can actually be harmful to some pets.) On days that we’re especially busy, we can watch the footage the pet cam captured of our pets, or rely on the motion sensors to tell us when they’re on the move.

I asked 10 coworkers and friends about their pet camera preferences and what they valued most about them. I researched models listed on pet forums and those recommended by veterinarians, dog trainers, and animal behaviorists. And I studied best-seller listings across major retailers, such as Amazon, Chewy, Overstock, Petco, PetSmart, Walmart, and Wayfair.

Then I compiled a list of eight popular pet camera models and seven security cameras, partly informed by senior staff writer Rachel Cericola's existing recommendations. I compared each model's price (ranging from $25 to $350), availability across retailers, ratings, camera resolution, cloud storage, warranty, and notable features, such as night vision, two-way audio, sensors, and treats dispensers. The following models were selected for testing: Furbo Dog Camera; PetChatz HDX; Petcube Bites 2; Petcube Play 2; Petzi Treat Cam; Tooge Pet Camera; and Wyze Cam v2 (discontinued).

I tested each device in my 700-square-foot apartment in New York City to see how each model performed in the real world, spotty Internet connection and all. Then I compared their performance based on the following factors:

It's no secret that millions of pet owners are absolutely obsessed with their pets. We give them fantastical haircuts, make keepsakes of their fur, gift them to loved ones, and invest gobs of money in their health care. Naturally, we went into our research for this guide seeking a pet camera that would let us not only keep watch over our pets while we’re away, but also remotely engage with them in ways not possible with traditional security cameras. Watching our pets run around a room or sleep on the sofa is great—but we figured the experience would be even better if we could toss them a treat or play a game with them too, even if we were many miles away.

It turns out, we were wrong. We found that some of these interactive elements can do more harm than good.

"While some pets might like a random treat or to hear their guardian's voice when they aren't at home, for others it could be stressful, confusing, or increase anxiety," said Laura Linneman, a certified professional dog trainer and behavioral rehabilitation specialist at the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center.

Owners who video chat with their pets while they’re away may scoff at this, but our testing bore this out. When we video chatted with loved ones and asked them to present the screen to our pets, the animals were more engaged, thanks to the calming presence of an actual human. But when we cooed to our pets from an omniscient voice in an Echo Dot, pet camera, or security camera, sans human in the room, our pets were more likely to exhibit stress behaviors, like pacing, whining, running away, twitching their ears, or licking their lips.

"You always want to carefully observe how your pet is reacting to any type of new technology," added Mikel Delgado, a certified applied animal behaviorist and postdoctoral fellow at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine at the time of our interview. "They’re not getting the usual visual or scent cues [with a pet camera], and if they’re just hearing our voice it can be a little disturbing to them."

Even if your pet tolerates the sound of your disembodied voice well, other interactive features can be harder on them. "If your pet isn't moving all day, you don't want to necessarily increase their treats" since that could lead to weight gain, Delgado said. She advised pet owners to invest in food puzzles instead of a treats-launching pet cam, because the puzzles offer both mental and physical stimulation.

Pet cameras with laser pointers also aren't ideal because they don't provide full enjoyment for your pet. Laser pointers offer a form of play for cats—who are big on hunting—and when they "catch" the laser beam, there's nothing to physically interact with, which can be stressful. (You should be present so you can give your cat a real toy to catch so they can get the full benefits of a play-hunt session.) As for dogs, well, "some dogs do become a bit compulsive for tracking the light," Delgado said.

If the potential of stress, unfulfillment, and obsessive behaviors won't convince you to forgo an interactive pet camera, maybe the price will. Our picks in our guide to the best indoor security camera are cheaper than half the pet cameras we tested. And the leading pet cameras couldn't offer sharper images or better cloud storage options than our security cam picks. So if you need more than sporadic updates from your pet sitter when you’re out of town, if you’re anxious about leaving your pet alone all day and want to make sure they’re okay, or if you have multiple pets and want to know whom to blame for rummaging in the kitchen trash, any one of our indoor security cameras will do.

For the price of a bag of kibble, this small security camera offers better video quality and cloud storage than most other cameras.

We’ve replaced this discontinued pick with its newer model, the Wyze Cam v3, which we’ve tested and recommend in multiple guides. We’ll be testing this version for our pet cameras guide soon.

The Wyze Cam v2 is easy to use, features clear image and sound, and has an unrivaled free cloud storage system. Plus, since it's cheap, you can outfit your entire home with more than half a dozen Wyze cameras for less than you’d pay for a single traditional pet cam. The Wyze Cam makes it easy to inexpensively and reliably keep tabs on your pet when you’re not home.

The Wyze Cam measures 2 by 2 by 2 inches, making it the smallest device we tested. Its miniature size means you can easily find a spot for it in any home by setting it on a shelf or mounting it to a wall. The Wyze Cam is simple to set up—it takes just five minutes to plug in the camera, download the app, and complete the onscreen prompts. If you decide to purchase multiple cameras, the dashboard shows each Wyze you’ve connected to the app, and you can explore their respective camera settings and watch the footage captured throughout the day. You can grant family members access to your feed by sending them an invite link, so there's no reason to keep sharing passwords. (PSA: Get a password manager.) And you can turn the Wyze on or off through the dashboard instead of unplugging it when you need privacy.

This security camera has a lens that matches those of its pricier pet-camera competitors. The Wyze Cam offers a 110-degree viewing angle at 1080p resolution (the same resolution as the 2018 Roku Streaming Stick), and it records videos at 15 frames per second, or 10 fps in night mode. (For comparison, most mobile phones default at 30 fps, but the Wyze camera still managed to produce smooth videos in our testing.) It's also the only camera I tested that offers video playback in 360p, or 1080p at multiple levels of compression. When you record video from a wide-angle lens, the footage is warped around the edges, but with the Wyze, it's not as severe as with some other cameras I tested. For example, the Petcube Bites 2 and Petcube Play 2 have 160-degree viewing angles that offer a great view of a large room when they’re posted on a high bookshelf. But the Petcube cameras’ wider angles have a high distortion rate, like a fish-eye view, that makes them useless when they’re on a coffee table or the ground. The Wyze v2 captured clear images no matter where it was placed. "The clarity is fantastic," said Tony Kaye, who owns two of them and is a senior associate of commerce operations at Wirecutter. "I use the one pointed in the backyard to make sure there are no rabbits or wild animals nearby before I let [my dogs] out."

The Wyze Cam's two-way audio projected clearly on both ends in my tests, and usually with only a 1-second delay. When I played a recording in front of the camera, the sound was understandable through the app. My voice also sounded so crystal clear through the Wyze Cam's speaker that I got my dog to sit on command when I was in another room.

Wyze's new cloud feature offers free, rolling 14-day storage. When the camera detects motion or sound, it captures 12-second clips that are stored in the Events section of the dashboard, and recordings are securely uploaded to the cloud. (When the detection alerts were set to high, Wyze recorded clips every five minutes as I moved about the room doing household chores.) Motion-detection alerts remain in the app and are never communicated with the cloud, according to Wyze's privacy statement. (That means if you’re caught streaking through your home, not even cloud hackers will see it, unless they painstakingly sift through all of your footage.)

If you prefer continuous recording, you can upgrade to the Wyze Cam's premium cloud version, Cam Plus, for just $15 a year, when billed annually. See how that (and other features) stack up to the competition, below:

After reviewing each plan and consulting our panel of 10 pet owners, we believe the free options from Wyze or Petcube offer enough recording time and cloud storage for routine check-ins while you’re at work. For a weeklong getaway, you can always buy a monthly plan and cancel the subscription when you’re back home.

Alternatively, you can keep your video history offline and install an 8 GB, 16 GB, or 32 GB microSD card (one of our microSD recommendations is available in 32 GB capacity). This method offers continuous recording—so you’ll always know which way the cat ran after they knocked over your favorite knickknack. Local recordings are still viewable in the app and can be accessed from anywhere, as long as your Wyze is still connected to a power source and Wi-Fi. (Wyze estimates that 32 GB will store two days of footage in HD, or seven days of footage in SD.) However, we don't advise using a microSD card for home security because there's no backup if it's stolen during a break-in.

The Wyze Cam works with Alexa or IFTTT, and comes with a one-year limited warranty.

The most obvious drawback for some pet owners will be that the Wyze Cam v2 doesn't have a laser pointer or a treats dispenser. But, as we explained, pet owners (and their pets) will get along fine (if not better) without these features.

The Wyze Cam's motion tagging feature, which places a green square around the moving object, is great for spotting a small or skittish pet in the corner of the room, but it's less useful if you have multiple pets or there are people regularly walking into view. In my tests, the Wyze Cam tagged the largest or most active moving object in the room, which wasn't always useful. I recommend turning motion tagging off in high-traffic rooms, or adjusting the Wyze's Detection Zone feature, to target a specific area of the room.

The Wyze Cam's small stature and expandable, plastic stand make it rather breakable. During testing, the Z-shaped stand had to be positioned just right or it would tip over. We recommend keeping the stand collapsed on a shelf, or mounted to a wall using the included metal plate or permanent adhesive tape, to prevent it from tipping over. The camera's limited one-year warranty covers defects only, so if your pet knocks the camera off a high shelf or uses the stand as a chew toy, you’re out of luck. But at just $20, the Wyze Cam is not that costly to replace.

As described in our guide to the best indoor security camera, in December 2019, Wyze Labs experienced a data breach that exposed user device names, emails, profile photos, Wi-Fi SSIDs, and Alexa permissions. (Wyze says the breach didn't include financials, passwords, or video content.) Wyze quickly logged users out of their accounts, reset third-party apps, and emailed users detailed information about the breach, which we received while blind testing this device. We appreciate Wyze's transparency, and our smart-home team is monitoring the situation.

The Bites 2 is the best pet camera with a treats dispenser that we found—but the up-front and ongoing costs are sky high.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $250.

If you really love the idea of interacting with your pet via camera, the Petcube Bites 2 is the model we recommend. It's easy to install, offers a sharp image that family and friends can livestream, and has a wider viewing angle than any model we tested. The Bites 2's onboard treats dispenser is more reliable than the competition's, too. But this smart pet camera costs 10 times as much as the Wyze Cam. Also, viewing angles—although wonderfully wide—are flawed in some positions, and audio sensors can be finicky. Plus, the Petcube's free cloud backup lasts for only four hours, so pet owners who can't regularly check the video history may miss out on their pets moving around. And the paid storage plan may be too expensive for a pet owner who's hoping for only the occasional look-see.

We like the Petcube's interface because installation is a snap; we had the Bites 2 and Play 2 smart cameras running in five minutes. The dashboard is easy to navigate, for adjusting the cloud recordings, livestream sharing, automatic treats dispensing, and more. Perhaps the most thoughtful features are the ability to mute the camera's connecting sound alert, and to mute two-way audio so the noise doesn't disturb your pet every time you take a peek. (Wyze "clicks" when the camera is turned on or off, and the two-way audio defaults to mute, so you don't get any echo or feedback.)

The Petcube Bites 2 produces sharp, 1080p video, with a 160-degree field of view that captures images clearly, night and day. And the digital zoom feature makes spotting an elusive cat's tail under the bed all the easier. The camera detects motion or sound, and you can adjust the motion sensor's sensitivity level to reduce the number of false or frequent alerts. The Wyze Cam also has adjustable motion and sound detectors, and it captures footage in clear 1080p, but its field of view is narrower, at 110 degrees wide. (During testing, I found the Bites 2's motion sensors to be substantially more sensitive than the Wyze's, since the Bites 2 sent push notifications or recorded footage nearly every two minutes.)

Like the Wyze Cam (and unlike most cameras I tested), the Petcube has a secure, shareable livestream feed. If you share ownership of your pet with someone else, you can grant them access to the camera feed without handing them your login credentials (an option unavailable with most of the cameras I tested). Those on the family list get unlimited access, and people on the friends and public lists are restricted to accessing the feed only certain hours or days of the week. Like Petcube, with its family list, Wyze grants its shared users nearly full control of the camera.

Petcube sells two models of smart pet cameras that are nearly identical in features and performance: the Bites 2, with its treats dispenser, and the Play 2, with a laser pointer. The experts we spoke with said that treats dispensers offer only passive enrichment, and that laser pointers can cause stress among cats or lead to obsessive behaviors among dogs. If you must have an interactive element, we think the pet camera with a treats dispenser is the better and safer bet. The Petcube Bites 2 was quieter and more precise when dispensing treats compared with similar models, including the Furbo Dog Camera, PetChatz HDX, and Petzi Treat Cam.

Using the treats dispenser is a game in itself. You open the app's livestream and flick a bone-shaped control into the room, and the treats fly out, mirroring the distance of your flick. It's the only model I tested with this game-like interface, and in my tests, treats flew between 1 to 6 feet away. The Bites 2 is also the only treats-dispensing model I found that had three removable treat dams, or inserts, to control how many treats release simultaneously, or to accommodate larger treats up to 1-inch wide. Typically, one to three treats dispense at a time. (Comparatively, Petzi doesn't have a treat dam and frequently spewed out 10 treats at a time.) The Bites 2 also makes a soft, whirring sound when it launches treats, and this was less jarring than the Furbo's and the Petzi's grinding noise.

The Petcube Bites 2 is the best smart pet camera I tested, but it's also one of the most expensive models. It's $200, so you could buy 10 of the Wyze Cams we recommend and outfit your entire home with sentries. The Petcube platform stores only four hours of footage in the cloud for free, so to get anything more, you need to invest in a paid cloud storage plan, which is $6 to $15 a month, or discounted to $48 to $120 a year. Comparatively, Wyze's paid plan is $2 a month, or $15 a year. Although the Wyze plan doesn't have all the premium offerings boasted by Petcube, it covers the basics every pet owner needs: continuous recording, longer storage time, and unlimited downloads. Also, the Petcube, unlike the Wyze, doesn't allow you to capture footage locally on SD cards.

We think the free plans from Petcube or Wyze should get you what you need for the occasional check-in while you’re at work. You can always purchase a monthly plan before you head out of town for an extended trip, and suspend your subscription when you return.

The Bites 2 is large, so it may be difficult to place this camera in an unobtrusive spot in some homes. It measures 5.7 by 3 by 10.6 inches, and is roughly the size of a 2-liter bottle of soda. (The Wyze Cam is a 2-inch cube, so it's easier to stash in a room.) That makes it a tight fit for some bookshelves and television stands. Alternatively, you can mount it on the wall using the included drywall anchor screws, but then it's harder to move when your pet favors another room. The camera lens exacerbates the placement issue. Petcube advises positioning the camera at least 3 feet above the ground and close to the edge of a surface for a better viewing angle. If you don't follow that advice, you’ll be stuck staring at the wood paneling of your coffee table; the camera lens is at the base of the stand, and it has a 160-degree-wide lens, which warps the view.

Interacting with the Bites 2 also has its challenges. Like most of the cameras I tested, with the Bites 2 there was a slight delay with its two-way audio. Though sound for the pet owner and the pet was crystal clear, I noticed a 3- to 5-second delay on the sender's/human's side. (The Wyze Cam had a 1-second delay during testing.) I blame the Bites 2's delay on a quirk with the app's design. You press the virtual microphone and then speak into the app to get your pet's attention. During testing, I had to repeat myself twice before the microphone actually captured my voice.

The sensor alerts were a mixed bag. I like that you can adjust the sensitivity of the motion alerts; that reduces false alerts triggered by, say, a curtain flapping in the breeze. But I noticed that the sound alerts (which you can't adjust) were rarely triggered, even when I projected music or recordings of dogs barking into the room.

Finally, unlike our security camera pick, the Bites 2 camera can't be turned on and off through the app. If you’d like some extra privacy at home, you need to unplug the device, or connect it to a smart plug that you control.

The Petcube Bites 2 works with Amazon Alexa and has a one-year limited warranty.

Our main pick now offers an upgrade in the Wyze Cam v3 for about $35. According to our smart home expert, Rachel Cericola, who's currently testing the new version, it delivers better image and alerts than our current pick, and still retains the ability to record locally or to the cloud.

Wirecutter's current indoor security camera pick, the $40 Eufy Solo IndoorCam C24, offers sharp 2K video with a 125-degree field of view, four different storage options, and easily connects with other smart devices, including Amazon Alexa, Apple Homekit, and Google Assistant. We’ll be looking at this soon to see how it stacks up for keeping an eye on your pets.

Petcube launched the Petcube Cam in summer 2020. The $40 device looks comparable to the Wyze lineup with its small frame, versatile mounting option, 1080p full HD resolution, and 110-degree wide-angle lens. Petcube also added a special app feature, Emergency Fund, an on-demand service that connects users with a licensed veterinarian through text for $29 a month, or $240 a year. Subscribers also get access to a $3,000 emergency fund to cover emergency vet care, in which qualifying care is determined at Petcube's vets’ discretion.

2019 TestingThe Furbo Dog Camera has a modern silhouette, is easy to install, and offers clear video and wide, 160-degree viewing angles. But there's no way to securely share livestream access with family or friends; you have to give away your login credentials, which is a security risk. There's a three-second delay between real-time movement and the app livestream. Push alerts arrive only every 30 minutes, which can be frustrating for owners who want more-frequent updates to their pets’ movements. And when I tested the "barking" alerts with recordings of 11 individual dogs barking, the camera couldn't successfully detect barking (or sound) most of the time. (I also tested the audio sensors by talking near it and playing the TV, with little success.) There's no free cloud storage solution—owners must pay $7 a month or $69 a year to record 10-second clips of their pets. Finally, Furbo's most popular feature, a treats dispenser, makes a loud, grinding sound before it tosses treats into the air. The pet owners I consulted preferred models that were quieter, like the Petcube Bites 2.

The PetChatz HDX is $350, making it the priciest model we tested. It's also the largest, measuring 7 by 4 by 12 inches and weighing 6 pounds. Installing the camera is a huge pain because you have to mount it on a wall over an electrical outlet. (Alternatively, you can purchase a stand for $60.) The PetChatz's low position over the outlet and tight, 110-degree viewing angle make it the worst camera to get if you want to keep watch over an entire room; it works better for close-up interactions with your pet. (PetChatz released a software update after our testing period. The camera's field of view was 103.5 degrees during testing.) It's the only pet camera I found with both two-way video and audio, but I considered the video feature to be a parlor trick for humans entertaining guests because it only stressed out my pets during testing. The onboard video screen was overexposed and undersaturated, it never centered me onscreen for my pets to see, and there was always a 3-second delay. This model's treats dispenser also performed poorly in tests, and you must use PetChatz's proprietary treats or it voids the warranty. You also can't take photos in the app, only video recordings, and it takes up to 30 minutes for the app to process the footage before it's viewable.

The Petcube Play 2 uses the same technology as the Bites 2, but it's a quarter of the Bites's size, and it comes with a laser pointer instead of a treats dispenser. As I explained earlier, the experts I spoke with said a laser pointer is a problematic interactive feature because it can lead to obsessive behaviors and stress.

The Petzi Treat Cam I tested arrived dirty, and the lens bumper was broken, which I chalked up to damage during shipping. Still, this model offers only a grainy 720p resolution and a tight, 110-degree viewing angle, both of which aren't ideal when you’re searching for an elusive cat or pup. Petzi couldn't reliably detect nighttime from daytime, the video can be spotty, and there's a 5-second delay for video, which is a lifetime for anxious pet parents. You can take only snapshots, not videos, of your pets, and there's no real-time two-way audio feature. (You have to "record" an audio message each time you want to talk to your pet.) And if you stop interacting for more than two minutes, say, to fire off an email, the app times out. The app's dashboard is a little confusing to operate, and each of the camera's controls is stored on a different page, which means you spend more time adjusting settings than interacting with your pet. Installing treats is also nearly impossible. You have to apply pressure to opposite sides of the cover and lift, like you would a child-proof pill bottle. When you do figure it out, prepare to be disappointed further. The treats dispenser fires off a random number of treats, usually between one and 10 during my tests.

At just $34 and with more than 1,900 Amazon reviews, the Tooge Pet Camera sounded promising, but it failed to live up to the hype. The device offers foggy 720p video and claims to provide a 350-degree view of the room, but you have to press an app button up to 22 times to rotate the camera a full 350 degrees, giving you just a sliver of a view at a time. The audio was also faint, it was difficult to save photos from, and push notifications were obnoxiously loud.

Mikel Maria Delgado, PhD, CAAB, CCBC, postdoctoral fellow, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, phone interview, January 7, 2020

Laura Linneman, CPDT-KA, behavioral rehabilitation specialist, ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center, email interview, January 6, 2020

Kaitlyn Wells

Kaitlyn Wells is a senior staff writer who advocates for greater work flexibility by showing you how to work smarter remotely without losing yourself. Previously, she covered pets and style for Wirecutter. She's never met a pet she didn't like, although she can't say the same thing about productivity apps. Her first picture book, A Family Looks Like Love, follows a pup who learns that love, rather than how you look, is what makes a family.

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