Ever since my sister-in-law fell pregnant earlier this year, one of their beloved dogs developed separation anxiety. She and my brother would return home and Belle, their two-year-old Staffie cross German shepherd, would have caused some form of destruction from ripping up the stair runner, to shredding pillows and even taking a nibble on the mattress.
In order to combat her worries of being left at home, they would spend a fortune on toys, chews and tiring her out before popping out to the shops or round mine for a cuppa. And while it worked to an extent, she’d still on occasion find a slipper to chomp on, a cushion to de-stuff or piece of furniture to gnaw on.
I had told them about the Furbo camera we had used to keep an eye on my dogs Phoebe and Frank, but at almost £200, it would have been a costly investment and with the baby on the way in December, Christmas and more. So, we hunted out a cheaper alternative in the Petcube Bites 2 Lite, which was reduced to £119.20 in the Amazon Prime Big Deal Days back in October.
The Furbo camera is our favourite pet security camera on the market. It lets you hear and speak with your dog and toss treats on the go. It's also got a 360 degree viewing range, automatic tracking to watch your pet as they roam, and colour night vision to check up on them in the night, too!
Usually £149, the Petcube camera is a do-all dog-cam where you can see, speak to, and even throw treats to your dog, boasting clear night vision, Alexa compatibility and more. The monitor itself is on the large side and looks quite techy, so you’ll want to find somewhere for it to live where it will blend in but still capture your dogs. To me, it looks a bit like a speaker, so on a media unit or near a TV would work well. It’s perhaps one of the only downsides to it in comparison to the sleek looking Furbo , which almost looks like a fragrance diffuser and looks smart anywhere.
The camera was quick and easy to set up via the app, and linked up to the WiFi with no issues. The video shows live streaming in clear 1080 HD , and has a 160 degree view and is static, whereas the Furbo offers 360 degree views. However, if you’re smart about where you place the camera - such as a corner of the room - you’ll still get maximum room coverage.
We set the camera up in my brother’s bedroom facing the dog bed, where Belle and her American bulldog brother, Winston, spend most of their time when home alone. As well as sharp streaming, the camera allows for 30 feet of clear night vision, with an eight times digital zoom to get a closer look at your pet.
Much like the Furbo and other devices like Tapo and Arlo, the Petcube offers smooth two-way audio so you can hear your pet, and if you so wish, can speak to them too. This feature came in handy when the camera detected Belle with a slipper, and my sister-in-law was able to speak to the cheeky pooch through the camera and get her to stop before any damage was done. Some trainers say that speaking to your dog through these devices can be confusing for them, but Belle seems to find it to be a bit of a comfort and reassurance. It’s also a great feature to help prevent destructive behaviour.
Speaking of which, the Petcube app sends instant push notifications if your camera detects any sound or motion at home, such as barking. My brother’s home was broken into last year, so this camera adds an additional layer of security and offers invaluable peace of mind.
Finally, the Petcube Bites 2 Lite has a dishwasher-safe treat dispenser with a 1.5lbs container that allows you to toss dry, crunchy dog treats at short, medium, or long distances. You can use the app to manually throw treats, or schedule them to go say, every half an hour on the app. The camera makes a short sound before releasing the treats, and it didn’t take long for Winston and Belle to understand what it means. They’ve really loved foraging for the thrown treats on the floor, which act as a reward for good behaviour, or can distract from undesirable behaviour, too.
What’s more is that, like the Furbo , you can connect the camera to your Amazon Alexa device and start dishing out vocal commands such as getting it to release the treats. This, alongside our voice activated kettle, the whole house could be powered by Alexa soon, and I don’t think I’d be mad about it.
Other owners have loved using it too, with one Amazon shopper commenting: “My beloved lab loves it so much and so do I. As I spend most of the day at work, now I can talk to her, say something reassuring and even make her stop chewing on our door mat while being away! The loveliest part is the PetCube's dispenser sound before treats tossing. She instantly gets so excited waiting to catch a treat. She recognises it instantly. I prefer using the smallest treats as they got scattered around the room so that my dog needs to run and sniff for them trying to find every bit.”
Another added: “Got this for my dog so I can check on her on the days I have to be in the office and so far she loves it. Set up was super easy and the camera itself is good quality and the night vision works well, there’s the option to speak and listen too so a lot can be done with it and it’s been quite fun for both of us, her more so because of the treats. You can also wall mount it or have it free standing, at the moment we’re testing to see which one works best.”
Although one said it wasn’t suitable for their pet because some of the features are too ‘loud’. They wrote: “This product is not good for dogs with sound sensitivity. The treat function is very loud and there are many clicks that happen throughout the day. I thought my dog was barking all the time, but he was just barking when I was watching him because of the sound.”
Overall, while the Petcube is nearly £150 at full-price, it’s still a lot cheaper than constantly replacing cushions, slippers and carpets after Belle had got hold of them. With a baby on the way, they’ll be popping out even more frequently for appointments and scans, and will find the camera particularly helpful when actually having the baby. Since installing the camera, Belle has definitely been less destructive. Whether that's because she knows she's being watched or is simply waiting for the new treat-spitting robot to cough up a snack, I'm not sure, but it seems to have done the trick and eased her separation anxiety.
The camera’s functions are very high quality , from the live stream to the clear audio and treat tossing feature, there are just a couple of additional features on the Furbo that give it the edge, which is why it’s our Mirror Choice best pet camera. That said, with Black Friday on the way, the Petcube is a fantastic cheaper alternative that could well be reduced again.
You can read more about our other tried and tested pet cameras here, or shop the Petcube on Amazon for £149 here.