5 ways to use digital tech in your family’s pet care routine

Thinking about getting a family dog or cat? Beyond being an exciting addition to your family, a new furry friend can help you teach your kids some crucial skills related to responsibility and time management. And there’s smart tech that can help make it easier and more fun.

Here are five ways to incorporate digital technologies into your family’s pet care routine that can help your kids become responsible pet owners.

Start with your smartphone or smartwatch. A tech-forward approach to pet care can start with your existing smart device. For example, you can use the built-in timer tool on your phone or watch to make sure your new dog gets outside for a potty break at regular intervals. You can even use your device’s built-in step-counter to track and set goals for your daily walks.

Try this: Schedule daily dog walks and assign the walks to members of your family with the built-in calendar app on your phone. The recommended number, length and intensity of daily walks will depend on your dog’s age, breed and energy level—but according to the American Kennel Club, new puppies should generally get 2 – 3 short (10-minute) walks a day as they build their stamina and leash skills.

Track your pet’s location with GPS. Did the cat get out? It happens. Smart collars mean there’s no need to panic, since you can easily track your pet’s location using the smart collar’s GPS capabilities. Pete Scott, president and CEO of the American Pet Products Association, notes that today’s smart collars offer much more than GPS, including features like geo-fencing—the smart collar’s answer to the electric fence—that can be helpful for dog owners. If you’re spending time at a friend’s house or going to the park, you can now create your own automatic fence for the dog that sends a pulse vibration to the dog’s collar—and alert you—any time they go outside the area you’ve approved.

Don’t forget: Confirm that the pet tracker you choose is compatible with your wireless network.

Check on your pet. While previous camera models were primarily designed to detect human intruders, more recent models can detect the difference between a person, a pet or a car. The camera has built-in night vision, too, so you can check on your pet at night. You can even grant older kids access to the camera view so they never have to wonder what the cat is up to when you’re away.

Try this: Find out if your pet day care or boarding service has pet cameras, in-app messaging and other tech-forward options. That’s a capability Scott says he and his wife prioritize when seeking out care for their dog, Tucker. “We’ve even made decisions away from specific pet boarders because they didn’t offer a tech-enabled connection,” he says.

Try a connected approach to pet health. Pets are great at letting you know when it’s time to eat, but it’s much harder for them to let you know when something is wrong with their physical health. That’s where smart pet tech comes in—with smart bowls, mats and collars that can keep track of your pet’s nutrition, weight and activity level. 

Try this: Ask your vet if they can recommend pet care health tracking devices. According to Scott, using smart tech for pet care can mean fewer expensive trips to the vet. “With the latest advances in pet tech, we have a way to communicate data back to veterinarians, who can now see if the pet is getting enough exercise, if they’re eating enough and if their nutrition is solid,” he says. “As a result, veterinarians don’t need to see the pet as much in the office, since they’re receiving health data on a regular basis.”

Stream, Fido, stream! Can dogs benefit from watching TV? Scientists say yes! According to more than 50 studies conducted at universities from Oxford to UC Santa Barbara, exposure to music and visual media has been shown to help dogs relax, offer much-needed mental stimulation and even support timid dogs in building their confidence.

Try this: Subscribe to DogTV. The streaming service provides relaxing shows and music specifically for your pet. You can also find pet training videos and learn more about pet care. With one subscription, you can stream on-demand content for dogs and people, across all your devices.

Pet care technologies can go a long way toward ensuring your pet’s health, safety and well-being, but of course there’s no substitute for quality time spent with their favorite people.

“Today’s technologies make it possible for pets to get a treat or a stream of water with the push of a button … but they’re still living beings that thrive on that animal-human bond,” says Scott. “When you get home from work and your pet goes bonkers—there’s no tech that can substitute for that.”

It’s a digital parent’s (second) best friend: Verizon Smart Family.