Indica, an 18-month-old standard poodle, waits to compete in a creative grooming category during the 2017 SuperZoo, a convention for pet retailers, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center Tuesday, July 25, 2017.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017 | 2 a.m.
More than 18,000 pet industry professionals are converging on the Mandalay Bay Convention Center this week for the SuperZoo convention to see the latest in the pet care industry.
From ways to feed and play with your pet to tracking its every move from your smart device, pet care companies are looking toward the future in the $60 billion annual industry.
Here are five products among many that were on display:
A Calmz anxiety relief system by Petmate is displayed during the 2017 SuperZoo, a convention for pet retailers, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center Tuesday, July 25, 2017. The Calmz delivers acoustic and vibration therapy over acupressure points to reduce anxiety, a representative said.
Calmz
Price: $129.99
Dealing with their four-legged friends’ anxiety issues for many pet owners often means resorting to medication, which sometimes leads to negative side effects.
Petmate has developed the Calmz device, which utilizes sounds and specific acupressure points to help animals respond positively during times of stress.
The unit is placed in a vest and put on the dog’s back. It vibrates while playing a modified version of Beethoven’s "Fur Elise," which has shown to decrease stress levels in anxiety-ridden dogs, said Dr. Jeff Werber.
In trials, Werber said Calmz had a success rate of about 86 percent. Customers and veterinarians saw a nearly 90 percent success rate, Petmate officials said.
A Petmate Internet-enabled treat dispenser is displayed during the 2017 SuperZoo, a convention for pet retailers, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center Tuesday, July 25, 2017.
Wi-Fi Smart Feeder
Price: $199.99
Feeding pets while at work or out of town can be a challenge for owners, especially those who have their pets on a feeding schedule.
Petmate is set to release a solution to that challenge with the Smart Feeder food bowl.
The Smart Feeder app allows owners to release a set amount of food at a touch of a button on their smart device to ensure their pet is eating the set amount of food they desire at the time they prefer.
Each time food is released, a dinner bell sounds, alerting the pet it’s time to eat. The Smart Feeder, which operates on your home Wi-Fi, can hold up to 16 cups of food at a time.
The device is equipped with a camera and a speaker, so pet owners can keep track of how their animal is eating, and check in with them while they are near the device by talking with them through the speaker.
The Wi-Fi Smart Feeder is still in prototype phase and is slated to be on sale in March.
An original iFetch, foreground, and larger iFetchToo automatic ball launchers are displayed during the 2017 SuperZoo, a convention for pet retailers, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center Tuesday, July 25, 2017. The iFetch Too uses regular tennis balls.
iFetch
Price: Frenzy: $40; small dog $115; large dog $199.
Keeping your dog occupied while you’re away or finding the energy to play with it after a long day can be tough.
Problem solved: iFetch was created to allow dogs to essentially play fetch with themselves.
With three models available, one for smaller dogs, one for larger dogs and one that is more of a guessing game, iFetch allows for pets to entertain themselves, with or without their owner present.
Two of the models, the small dog and large dog launcher unit, are battery operated.
The dog drops the ball in at the top of the iFetch and the unit will turn itself on and launch the ball for the dog to the fetch, drop back in and start all over again. Users can adjust the unit to launch to ball up to 40 feet depending on the model.
The Frenzy model has a hole at the top of it, with three holes at the bottom. Each time the dog drops the ball in it will come out in one of three directions, making it more of a brain stimulation game. The Frenzy model does not require batteries to operate.
A Petcube Bites, an Internet-enabled treat dispenser, is displayed during the 2017 SuperZoo, a convention for pet retailers, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center Tuesday, July 25, 2017. The device, with video camera and 2-way audio, also lets the pet corner control the speed at which the treat comes out of the dispenser.
Petcube
Price: Petcube Play: $199; Put Cube Bites: $249
Petcube developed a pair of Wi-Fi connected devices that allows owners to play with their pet and give it treats from their smart device.
Petcube Play allows an owner to interact with their pet wherever they might be by bringing up the live video from their Petcube Play device and controlling a laser light on the unit by dragging their finger across their smart device's screen.
Wherever the user points their finger on screen, the laser beam follows, creating a fun chase game for the pet and owner.
The Petcube Bites is equipped with a 1080p HD camera. By accessing the video on their smart device, owners can press the bone icon on the screen and fling it upwards to send a command to the Petcube device for a treat to discharge.
Both devices offer the option of Petcube Care, which is a subscription-based service that uses the camera on the screen to record real-time video, stored on cloud-based memory. Anytime the pet sets off the motion sensor on the Petcube devices, a video is logged and an alert is sent to the owner’s smart device.
A Pod 3, a real-time GPS tracker and activity monitor, is displayed during the 2017 SuperZoo, a convention for pet retailers, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center Tuesday, July 25, 2017.
Pod 3 GPS Tracker
Price: $129
Losing one’s pet can be a devastating event for a family.
The Pod 3 GPS tracker not only allows owners to track their pet via their smart device, it also creates a detailed map of exactly where they have been on their journey.
The pod attaches to a pet’s collar and runs on a rechargeable battery — which can last up to a week — and also has a sound feature, where the owner can set off a chime on the device so they can locate their pet, even if they are in the area and can’t see them.
Additionally, owners can set up safe zone perimeters, to alert them if their pet breaches those zones, enabling them to act fast if they need to go search out their pet.
The device requires a monthly service, which runs $4.95.
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