Today I’m giving my unbiased Furbo 360 dog camera review, but first, a personal story.
Ihave a Great Dane with a bit of separation anxiety, and was kind of at my wits end. Everytime I left the house, he was howling. How did I know about this? My NEIGHBORS had to tell me. How embarrassing.
In a state of panic (after hearing that a petsitter had left him alone for 8 hours and he cried the whole time) I purchased the Furbo 360 Dog Camera on Amazon.
Having now used it for 2 months, I feel that I can create an honest Furbo review for you! There are some pros and cons to the Furbo, but overall, YES this is a great product. Let’s dig into the specifics.
Furbo 360 Dog Camera Review Summary
Here is a short list of the pros and cons of the Furbo 360 camera for separation anxiety.
PROS
- 360 rotation. This camera spins all the way around and WILL track your pets movement for you!
- Robust app; the app tracks movement, provides you with alerts, and allows you to see your pet anytime you want
- Cloud: view activity from the whole day
- Activity labels: the app knows what your pet is doing (barking, chewing, running, crying, etc.) and labels the activity
- Pet selfies! If your pet approaches the camera, it sends you adorable photos.
- Treat tossing; you can use the app to throw treats at your pet anytime you want, even if you are miles away!
- Good camera quality; I never feel that the resolution is poor
- The pets know it gives them treats, so they love it
CONS
- Sometimes the treats get stuck and the tossing function jams up (more on this below, you have to pick the right kind of treats for the Furbo!)
- A curious or tenacious pet could easily open it and take all of the treats out
- The microphone function (talk to your pet 2-way audio) is a bit noisy and doesn’t always sound nice
- Monthly fee (you have to pay to use the app, which is what makes the Furbo functional)
As you can see, my CONS list for the Furbo 360 Dog Camera is much shorter.
Does the Furbo 360 Help With Separation Anxiety?
Remember how I told you about my howling Great Dane? I know my neighbors were not appreciative at all…and I hated knowing that he was in distress.
I can say that the Furbo 360 DOES help with separation anxiety for two reasons:
- The treat tossing function is pretty helpful for redirecting a dog that may be in distress (it whistles before it chucks the treat, so the dog learns to make that association). Pro tip be careful not to reward distressed behavior with treats! Instead, wait for the moment your pup settles then trigger the treat release.
- Being able to see my dog on the Furbo gives me valuable insight into not only his triggers, but how our habits affected him when we were away.
Separation anxiety is a complex behavior that is rooted in insecurity. Even the most confident dogs can whine, cry, pace, and chew when their owner isn’t home.
So while the Furbo dog camera does help with separation anxiety, it’s just one (VERY helpful) piece of the puzzle.
Can I use the Furbo Dog Camera without the App?
Even if you could, I have to tell you that the app is WELL worth it.
Here are some of my favorite features of the Furbo Camera App:
- Real time notifications of behaviors, which are labelled and include crying, barking, continuous barking, chewing, running, and more
- Live monitoring at any time, with full control of camera rotation so you can find your dog in the room
- Did I mention pet selfies? These are automatically sent to you anytime your dog approaches the camera
- Treat tossing (you cannot do this without the app, and it’s a big thing that sets the Furbo apart from other dog monitoring cameras
- Home emergency alert; the camera will notify you if there appears to be an emergency of any kind, including smoke
- Human alert; the app lets you know if a human is in the room. This can be helpful for monitoring petsitter activity, or activity of bad people who don’t belong in your home!
To be honest, I have no clue if you can even try to use the Furbo without the app subscription. From what I’ve seen online, it’s actually cheaper to buy the camera if you commit to the app anyways. That’s a win-win in my book!
Does Furbo Treat Tossing Work?
I love watching my dogs on camera when I use the treat tossing function. It’s HILARIOUS. The dogs hear the whistle and come running. I can trigger the Furbo to throw a treat anytime, anywhere I am in the world that my cell phone has internet, too!
It takes a few seconds from the time the Furbo makes a whistle sound until the treat actually launches from the device. The dogs have learned that’s how it works and they often sit with their head tilted staring at it.
To say I’ve had many, MANY laughs watching my dogs on this camera is an understatement! Sometimes if they want a treat they walk up and stare at it with hope. The camera tracks this movement and sends me a selfie, which is always adorable.
The treat tosser can get jammed if you use the wrong kind of treats! I made this mistake at first and used a softer, larger treat. It did not damage the machine but I had to do some creative work to get them out.
Furbo recommends small, hard treats like THESE from Plato
Is the Furbo Always Recording?
The Furbo is always ready to pick up on activity, but it is not always recording.
If you are home, you can turn off the tracking. You can even set a schedule (for example, the Furbo will automatically turn on and start tracking when you leave for work).
I’m usually too lazy to go into the app to turn off tracking and motion sensing when we are home, so ours is on all of the time. It regularly lets me know if my dogs are barking, which is funny because I’m often in the same room.
The app only stores videos for 24 hours. After that, they are removed from both the app AND the cloud, which gives me peace of mind when it comes to data security of videos in my home.
Is Furbo Worth It?
There are a million pet camera options out there, and to be honest the only two that I have experience with are the Ring Camera System and the Furbo.
The Ring doesn’t rotate, doesn’t track movement, and doesn’t toss treats.
So in my book, the Furbo wins hands down.
As to the other treat chucking dog cameras on the market? I have no idea. Amazon is overloaded with choices, many of them cheaper. To that, I say this: app development and security (of videos taken in the home and stored on the cloud) are not cheap. Bad apps ruin good products all the time, and I personally would not take my chances on a budget knockoff version of something like this.
We know the Furbo app is secure and it works beautifully. Having now used the Furbo 360 in my home for a few months, I can say with confidence that it is a well made product that just…WORKS.
I’ve never had problems with the connection, the camera, or the treat tossing function (ok, except when I was an idiot and put soft treats in there). The wooden lid is a nice feature that helps the device blend in with home decor.
Where Should You Buy a Furbo Dog Camera
Amazon! It will come to you fast and returns are easy.
Buy a Furbo 360 Dog Camera HERE. Your pooch will thank you for it.