Slashdot Mirror
First Cell Phone for Dogs
revelCyllufyalP writes "A company called PetsMobility has come out with PetCell, the first cell phone for dogs. The phone will allow users to call their dogs in case the dog gets away and also includes a GPS tracking device if the dog doesn't respond to the call. In addition, the PetCell will feature GeoFence, which will alert owners whenever their dogs wander outside a prescribed area. Will the PetCell actually prove useful to dog owners or is it just another cheap gimmick?"
I have a feeling this will cost a pretty penny, of course that won't stop most people that are insecure enough that they would feel they need this to ensure their dog doesn't run away (crazy idea, why not look after your dog responsibly?).
That's why I'm a cat person. Kitty goes out, Kitty comes back in. She ain't dumb, she knows where her food dish is.
Gives a whole new meaning to "calling the dog."
http://www.fido.ca/
another worthless widget to consume!
Please, go fulfill the American Dream (TM) and buy one today!
signatures are for fools with hands
Makes sense in the case of a lost dog to have a GPS on the animal. Not sure about "calling" the animal though.
Fine for those serious pet owners who would die if their pet ran away, but it will be a total mess if people just purchase these things and let their dogs run loose just because they can track them.
Dvorak on Doomtech
... an easier way of callin your b*tches!
fo shizzle...
My dog can pretty much chew through anything it wants. I am not sure I want him chewing on something with a battery inside. If I attach this cell to him, he will think it is his, and think he is allowed to chew on it.
quis custodiet ipsos custodes
Do they have an anti-face-biting-off attachment for rottweilers?
signatures are for fools with hands
I could be wrong but $350 to $400 doesn't sound too much like a cheap gimmick.
Quid, me anxius sum?
"A company called PetsMobility has come out with PetCell, the first cell phone for dogs. The phone will allow users to call their dogs in case the dog gets away and also includes a GPS tracking device if the dog doesn't respond to the call."
You know, just on the one-in-a-million chance your dog either doesn't answer the phone at all or does answer it but can't quite make out the street signs so he can tell you where he is.
I saved a bundle my just giving my dog a quarter. Last time he got lost he found a payphone and asked me to come pick him up. It worked out well enough, but I'm also considering getting him one of those Franklin translating electronic phrasebooks, in case he gets lost in the Spanish-speaking area of town and needs to ask for directions.
"Will the PetCell actually prove useful to dog owners or is it just another cheap gimmick?"
Gosh, that's a real stumper.
If this had come out a few years ago it could have prevented the Baha Men from releasing "Who Let The Dogs Out".
A thinly disguised means of putting a GPS leash on your kids... My guess is the pet angle just makes it look more friendly/gets more press, whereas the paranoid parent market will be the real revenue generator.
bleurk. Must be nice to be treated like a parolee by your parents... really inculcates that sense of responsibility. Ah well, you get the kids you deserve--and then we all deal with the consequences.
Next thing you know the government will use these things to tax our dogs. Take it outside your backyard, pay a walk tax.
This would be useful for a girlfriend, lets see:
- "The phone will allow users to call their girlfriend in case the girlfriend gets away", very useful feature!
- "and also includes a GPS tracking device if the girlfriend doesn't respond to the call", very nice, I definately want to check where she is going!
- "In addition, the GirlCell will feature GeoFence, which will alert owners whenever their girlfriends wander outside a prescribed area.", also very useful. No more going to shopping/partying to a nearby city without my knowledge.
from article:
"if the dog doesn't respond to the call."
Now... besides Lassie, how much dogs are able to answer a phone?
and what will they answer it with? 'hi there my dear owner, I appear to have ran away from you and *obviously* I fail to remember just which road I took. Could you help me out here? I'm standing next to that nifty-smelling telephone-pole I always use to... you know, and I'm wondering whether I should take a left or a right...'
Does this thing sound totally useless? I can't imagine anyone I know buying it.
GET A FREAKING FENCE!!!
For the price of this phone thing you could get a fence.
I am tired of your damn dog coming up my driveway and barking at me like it's his driveway!
Why do you people think it's OK for your dog to run and poop all over the place?
The only reason I don't tell you directly is that then you will then say to everyone I am the bad guy on the block.
I can't win !
If you loose your dog, call it up and say "Come here", or maybe "Stay" if you want to track it
*answers his cell phone*
What boy? There's trouble at the well? Little timmy's stuck?
GOOD BOY! I'll be there right away!
You never realize how much manually made unmanaged "linked" lists suck, till you have src.link.link.link.link...
I SOOOO want to have mod-points for /. stories ....
Everyone and their dog has a cell phone these days.
Gimmick, yes; cheap, no.
Will the PetCell actually prove useful to dog owners or is it just another cheap gimmick?
Sounds like just another expensive gimmick to me...
Jeeez, how many PlayfullyClever stories are we going to have today?
"Crap, Biscuit is missing! I can't find him anywhere."
"Bummer dude, it probably ran away because you gave it such a lame name"
"Shut the hell up Donny, I've had it up to here," Brett gestured to a spot just below the base of his skull," with you. Just give me your damn phone so I can call him."
Donny's face shriveled in confusion as he hands Brett his phone. Brett dialed, stabbing at the buttons.
"Biscuit?"
A look of confusion spread across Brett's face.
"So, you expected it to tell you where its at, and wait for you to pick it up?"
Brett opened his mouth to object, but Donny continued.
"Oh, I get it, you're supposed to use advanced computer technology...you know...use the ambient noise to figure out where he's at? Like that movie, the Fugitive, you know, with Harrison Ford? Remember, he was in...Chicago I think, and they could hear the eleveated train in the background when they talked to him on the phone...and the one dude was like, 'Wait, he's in Chicago, that's the only place with an elevated train!' Do you hear an elevated train in the background Brett? Is Biscuit in Chicago? Or is it just fucking retarded to have a cell phone on your dog?"
Brett slugged Donny, knocking him to the ground, and tossed his phone next to him. Brett walked off in search of Biscuit.
In soviet Russia, dogs call you!
Come on... "Dogs"? Who gives a crap about where his dog is goin?
I'd build this into my new car... or hide it in the bag of my stupid wife so I can track her position while I make out with another... hmm.. oh wait...
Children! This device is made for my annoying children... Since I'm not allowed to depend on the PS2 and XBox anymore (They only like to play the violent games)... I'll attach this device to their little asses and can make out with women to make new children...
Dogs... that's a laugh... leave these poor little animals alone...
The GPS and GeoFence features sound like they'd be much more useful to the pet owner than the cell phone capabilities. What, exactly, are pet owners going do tell their dog over the phone? "Sit?" "Stay?" And how will the dog respond to a disembodied voice that seems to be coming from behind its head?
That's why this seems like a giant gimmick to me. If it weren't a gimmick, and were actually useful, the designers would have ditched the cell phone capability as a very expensive add on and just marketed it based on the dog-tracking capabilities. This will probably be bought by those pathetic dog owners who make ridiculous outfits for their pets to wear and visit pet psychologists when Fido barks twice more this week than he did last week.
When you call a dog it comes to you because it hears your voice coming from the direction you want it to go. So how is the animal supposed to understand where you are calling it to when your voice is coming from a speaker beside its ear?
From the article (italics are mine)
"Sturdy and slobber-resistant, the PetCell isn't just for dogs. PetsMobility's parent company, On4 Communications, is simultaneously rolling out models for kids, the elderly and outdoor sports fanatics who enjoy snowboarding and kayaking."
http://www.santacruzbynight.com/index.shtml Santa Cruz By Night Vampire Larp
You may laugh, but it's all fun & games until you wake up one day to find somebody stuck John Travolta's mug on your face. You couldn't beat the scientologists off you.
OK, dis me if you want but I happen to have a $1000 dog. Unusual purebreds come high. When he gets nervous or excited, he can scale a 6-foot fence. I'll likely wait 'till the price drops a bit but it would be a valuable service to know if he leaves the area and to be able to go out and positively track him down. The "call your dog" feature seem to me to be a subset of the other necessary functions. To call and get GPS location, you need full-bore cell functionality anyway. Hey, maybe next they will add a camera and I can see where he is.
Profanity - The sign of a small mind trying to express itself.
Ok so you call your dog and do what exactly? Give it directions home? I've yet to meet a dog that understands "left and then the second right after the kebab shop". Perhaps this inventor has a particularly clever dog.
I used to have a better sig but it broke.
with your pet already then he'll know what he can and can't do. Which is why you should buy this first
...when someone's dog is run over because their owner calls on one of these gadgets and the dog is distracted. I mean most humans would be confused if a voice started coming out of some place on their body. I can just picture one of my dogs cocking his head from side to side in confusion.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
.. So we deveice being mentioned is NOT the first one.
http://www.pointersolutions.com/eng/hunting.htm
My dad bought one for his dog last summer.
it's based on benefon esc gps-enabled mobile phone,
and has been on market for couple of years now.
the kit contains two phones, one wiith full phone functionality ( for the hunter ) and one without keyboard and display ( for the dog ).
the hunter can see where the for is going from his map display, and can also call a call and listen if the dog is barking.
ok ok, I just read TFA...
;)
"useful in search-and-rescue or bomb-squad missions"
I hear ya. *wink* *wink*
Except the ability to talk to the dog which is useless, other features are already available in this product http://www.tracker.fi/metsastys.htm. I think it's mostly used in hunting.
I get the feeling someone's taking Cockney Rhyming Slang a bit too far...
Or get several and set up a wireless mesh network using all the neighborhood strays!
We don't need no stinkin' municipal wifi.
it's a blue bright blue Saturday hey hey
Pet owners vet bills on the increase due to doggy brain tumours.
With this thing strapped to his head how long will it be before Fido's brains start dribbling out of his ears?
To err is human. To forgive is not company policy.
Once again /. is reporting something that has been in the market for over a year. Pointer Solutions has been doing this for a while; my father is one of the early adopters.
As others have pointed out, the idea is that you can listen your dog working. Compared to the older radar equipment this GPS system has been a tremendous help, even though the prices are quite high/unit. I don't know how useful this thing is for US hunters - in Finland the GSM has almost 100% coverage. If you guys have connection problems in city areas, I don't want to know what the rural conditions are like.I'm shocked at what people will waste their money on.
"Mommy, can I call Spot?"
"Sure honey, use your prepaid cellphone."
It's a shame the price is so high, this is just what I've been looking for for a while now. I have a neighbor with an autistic child, and they are always afraid of him running away and getting lost. I looked a bit at the mologogo, but this would be even better because they would be able to call and talk to him while they go search. Unfortunately, they're a bit tight on finances at the moment, so they'll have to wait for the price to come down or something new to come out.
I think I'll get one of these things. Never can be too safe!
Oh, wait. I have a fence.
"Don't meddle in the affairs of a patent dragon, for thou art tasty and good with ketchup." ~ohcrapitssteve
My friend's dog managed to get out of her car while she ran into a friends house to drop something off. This might not have been a big deal with some dogs, but her dog is a rescued dog, and was previously abused, so it's a real 'fraidy - dog, scared of everthing and everybody. My friend went back to the area for days (we went along also), but the situation felt hopeless because it was a woodsy area, and we knew we could be standing right next to the dog and never know it. (We eventually found it after 5 days of actively looking).
I looked around for little techie things to help in this situation. Very early, my friend and I dismissed the idea of a cell phone/gps combo as too expensive, and intractible (for us at least), but this definately would have helped. Eventually we settled on one of those bi-directional keyfinders...I'm not going to put the link because this isn't an ad, but it works great, and all for around $20. She's even trained the dog to come to her when it hears the response tone. And, of course, she no longer loses her keys.
Will my dogs be caught by the police and get fine if he answer the phonecall while driving car?
Ditto here in NL... the phones are typically around 80-100 euros and offer...
- 4-5 pre-set (not changeable by the kids, supposedly) numbers. E.g. mom, dad, grandparents, 112 (911)
- the ability to be called
- the ability to be silently called and automatically answer (i.e. the phone picks up, and the parents can listen in on whatever, without the kid knowing)
and some models do indeed also have GPS, though I'm not 100% sure how that works - call, and you can temporarily track the kid online ? or do you get an SMS (text message) with the street name and maybe house number they're in?
Not thinly veiled at all - and I see them selling like hotcakes.
My pet maltese will happily "sit", "speak", (lay) "down" and "roll over" whenever my girlfriend calls and I set my phone on speakerphone ('crappy' GSM combined with uberscreech of a small speaker).
;)
It may be true in general, but there's exceptions as always.
That said, she also looks oddly at the phone and will savagely attack it if I let it go on for too long
Although the company is working on further miniaturization, the battery has proven to be a formidable obstacle.
Sure, it's an obstacle for size. Maybe that will be overcome. How about the obstacle about charging the battery? If this device is to prevent unforeseen runaways, that means either charging it when you know your pet cannot run away, or rotating it out with a 2nd copy while the 1st recharges. Constantly having to recharge this device is going to be what kills this product, unless you train your dog to do it himself (I don't think kinetic motion will cut it).
Sturdy and slobber-resistant, the PetCell isn't just for dogs. PetsMobility's parent company, On4 Communications, is simultaneously rolling out models for kids, the elderly and outdoor sports fanatics who enjoy snowboarding and kayaking.
Being slobber-resistant is also for whom?
And another from Finland: Tracker I think that Tracker's solutions have also been available for years in some form or another. Maybe they both need some help in international marketing...
Okay, so assuming that people (or pets that really like to gossip) are going to buy these things, what say the carriers? Is Sprint going to pick this up and if so, do pets qualify for the "friends and family" plan? Are they friends? Or family? Or can the pets pick their own friends (which might even be other people's pets?) Can I block 976 numbers so they don't call doggie porn lines? I mean the heavy breathing was bad enough but the heavy panting has got to go...
Oh yeah, and does anyone know if these are CDMA or GSM? I can see the Qualcomm lawsuits already; they'll claim HSDPA (howling spectrum dog polarization amplifier) is infringinging on their CDMA (Cats Don't Modulate Amplitude) products. One thing's for sure, it's still cats vs. dogs and it's gonna be ugly.
There is no "I" in B-O-R-G.
I'm surprised nobody has asked this question yet, but shouldn't owners be worried about the consequences of attaching a relatively high-powered RF transmitter directly to their dog's neck at all times? Think about it. RF penetrates soft tissues the easiest. Seeing as how the neck is about as soft as it comes on a dog's body, I think this product is a legal disaster waiting to happen.
If there's a lawsuit, it's going to be pet owners (legitimately or not) suing the company for giving their dog(s) cancer. In states like California where pets can be classified as "companions" you can even win damages in far excess of the purchased value of the animal.
Ambulance-chasers, start your engines...
-Grym
So this is what it comes to... Instead of helping other countries push forward in mobile technology, or help improve/cheapen what they currently have, but no.. we have these wasting god knows how much $$$ just go make a phone to call a dog ffs ?
Rrrring. Blah blah. Click
"So who was that on the dog and bone?"
"The dog."
"... and bone, yeah, so who was it?"
"The dog."
"Look, it's DOG and BONE... the PHONE, mate. Who was it on the phone?"
"The dog."
"...yeah, well, alright sod that. By the way, where's the dog?"
I know you're making a joke, but seriously, kids can wander off. The elderly may forget where they are (assuming they knew in the first place), and it's so easy to get lost or injured in risky sports such that you can't call for help, but would make life much easier for rescuers to locate you before it's too late.
-- Soruk
Oh, yeah. It isn't sufficient that we have an electronic leash on ourselves by the "powers that be"; we have to make the same indignity to the rest of the world, too.
Suicide is looking more and more as the "thinking mans option"
I am looking to the new ice age; maybe nature will get this broken species off Gaia. We seem to have been a supreme f**k-up. Starting from our own sexuality, for one
This is progress?
This device seems more designed for tracking people than animals. If I was marketing the device, I'd sell it as a security device for children/memory impaired adults. The value of tracking is higher, and the wearer is more likely to respond to voice commands.
It didn't say if the phone is two-way so the responder could respond--but I guess it would be useful to be able to hear the background. I wonder if there is a "stealth" mode, where the owner can hear what's going on in the background, but the wearer doesn't hear any ringing or other noises---kind of scary.
I could also it be useful in an auto--I wonder if the GPS is good enough to find your car in a parking lot--uncovered of course. Presumably, all the auto theives/chop shops have learned to put stolen cars in covered building, but the voice listen capability might be useful--hey you could hear your car being chopped up until the very end.
Wow...considering the fact that most dogs have attention spans even lower than those of a typical human, I wonder how long it'll be before we see dogs with cell phones colliding with one another while walking. And then there's the possibility of them ignoring people altogether if they find out how to hack these things and dial out to their friends.
You no longer have to go see a man about a dog - You can call the dog direct!
42 hidden comments
How about selecting a ring tone for your dog?
"Runaway" by Dell Shannon?
"Walkin' the Dog" by Rufus Thomas?
"Hound Dog" by Big Mama Thornton?
"The Dogs of War" by Pink Floyd?
A Snoop Dog medley?
"How Much Is That Doggie In The Window", by Petula Clark?
The possibilities are endless.
Not you, just the humorless sod who modded this flamebait.
Now we can find your dog before you do. Why would anyone steal a dog? I wouldn't personally but a $350 doohickey that's a hit with the Upper East Side Yentas would be totally worth it.
Brain from Inspector Gadget had one of these years ago.
if you're trying to impress me, you've failed. harumph.
---
Is this the MPAA? Is this the RIAA? Is this the DMCA? I thought it was the USA!
OMFG! Someone always calls when you're about to get it on with a hot bitch!
Can you hear me now? *WOOF* Good!
Reh roh?
Our intelligent designer has never created an animal that we couldn't improve by strapping a bomb to it.
I think the Poodle is wearing diapers because it's a female and in heat! Unless your female is casterated she will be dripping blood all over your house! That is definitely not a nice experience!
"You can't make a race horse of a pig"
"No," said Samuel, "but you can make very fast pig"
This is very useful... Sometimes when walking your dog(s) in the forest they will get a scent. At that point it is nearly impossible to stop them, especially if you have a hunting dog. Or how about those people that own "fighting dogs", where you can react very quickly if they break out of garden. Overall a good idea I find... I know I would get it for both of my dogs.
"You can't make a race horse of a pig"
"No," said Samuel, "but you can make very fast pig"
I'm not so sure about the usage for dogs, but I would totally use this on a motorcycle. They're so easy to steal that it would be a great thing to have some sort of relatively cheap and reliable tracking device installed. All they need is the ability to easily enable/disable the virtual perimeter (ie: disable it when you're riding, re-enable it when the bike is parked), and it'd be a great system!
(I'm speaking from experience of having had a new bike stolen, and having that terrible empty feeling in your gut realizing that there's nothing you can do about it. I eventually got it back, 2 weeks later, completely wrecked, found lying in 3 feet of water in a ditch!)
This is a rather expensive and unsporting con. I mean, most grifters like the chase. This company is spending an awful lot of money building technology to extract money from morons.
Their food bowl is not always where we think it is. My sister had a cat who often disappeared for days. Eventually they found out he was getting fresh fish from a lady down the road who "thought he was a stray" (somehow overlooking the yellow collar with his name on).
The GPS side may work well for cats - if they could make 'em smaller. Cats are more prone to disappearing than dogs IMHO - especially when they sense a trip to the vet approaching.
In Finland we've already been using GSM-based tracking collars for wolves for a while now! Some of these things can, as far as I know, use both GPS and cell network triangulation to pick up the locations.
The only problem I've seen is that wolves have big paws, and cell phones are getting smaller all the time... Obviously, a small usability problem!
There's a good chance that if you "call" your dog, it's going to go looking for you. Since it's outside, and it hears your voice, it may not necessarily look for you at home. There's a good chance that it will wonder off further thinking it's going to find you.
When my dog has gotten off her leash, she'll run around for a bit and then go looking for me. If the last time she saw me was when I drove off to work (meaning someone else took her out), then she just keeps going down the road thinking I'm down there somewhere. I could see "calling" having a similar effect.
If it takes all that to get your dog to stay, perhaps it doesn't want to be with you in the first place.
If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.
I fail to see the practicality of this. One, any dog owner will agree with me, don't spend more then $15.00 on an item for your dog (besides, food and one of those invisible fences).
Owning two Labs, I can honestly say that this thing had better be pretty rugged to withstand a day with my two pups playing out side. Or do you just put it on when you think they might run off? Also....calling ones dog on a cell? He might not be paying attention while he is trying to answer the phone and walk right in to traffic. If you got the cash and they ever make one a small indestructible GPS unit would be a brilliant idea! As of now however, an RFID chip is still the best way to find your missing pet. I mean...what happens if they forget to pay their bill and the numbers cut off.
My dog has one of these. He only accepts calls from bitches with the same device. When I call him, he just lets it go to the voice mail.
Maybe I should text him instead...
I really dont see a good utility on this thing, i think its pretty much a waste of money... Unless you only want to know where your pet is wich is unnesesary if you take good care of it...pets mainly dissapear when they are stolen so...if they are stolen the burglar will probably throw away the device and then it will be once again useless... I really dont justify paying every month for calling my dog...specially since i dont even like cell phones they are too expensive and voip is a lot better and cheaper and computers are never that far...
The possibilities for the law enforcement:
"Sit... sit... Now! Bite!"
For the longest time, I was thinking "why doesn't someone make a GPS tracker for dogs?" I don't have the resources to create and market such a device, but I"m glad somebody did. I have a very friendly -- and very expensive -- Portuguese Water Dog who used to be a homebody, but is now struck by wanderlust; he ran away three times this year. Fortunately, all three times he was found.
He's got regular tags with a multitude of contacts, a FidoFinder tag, and an RFID microchip. He's probably going to get this GPS/cell collar, too.
The cost of such a device is far less than the stress toll I take when he unlatches the gate I might have forgotten to padlock, and catches a scent.
Add to this just one case of a dog bitting a child and it will become mandatory. So, people will be tracked whenever they walk their dogs out. Is there a tin foil hat for pets?
LeapFrog already makes a cell phone for kids that does most of this. Its the leap frog tictalk With parents today no need to beat around the bush. Just come out and say it. And its cheeper too!
Ring ring ring.
Muffy! Come home muffy!
patter patter patter screeeeeaaaccchhh splat silence
It is times like this that I wonder why Slashdot's RSS feed is still in my aggregator. Stuff that matters indeed.
To heck with my dog, how bout tossing one in my car for when its stolen? Not to mention the fact that . . . unless it's solar powered (I didn't look) I'm not sure how I train the dog to charge it once in a while. But in the car, I can at least wire something to the car battery for a bit longer life.
No, I don't remember your name. But the memory mapped screen on a TRS80 from 1977 is from 15360 to 16383 if that helps.
I definitely wouldn't get this for my pooch... I just know she would be using up her minutes chatting with wrong numbers and buying anything a telemarketer pitches! Keep in mind what a dog's IQ ranges as! She'd cost me a fortune!
~Kat ^_^
"Never give up, for that is just the time and place when the tide will change." -Harriet Beecher Stowe ^_^
"... you're trapped down a mineshaft?"
Hmm, I've known a few users in my time that could use some slobber-resistant technology.
"Proudly Posting Without Reading The Article"
Just think this could be you going to the mail box.
PetMobile Cellular Bill
Regular Charges $ 49.95
Roaming Charges $1000.00
Out of Network charges $ 500.00
In-Network PetMobile calling $ 500.00
Total amount due: $2049.95
#@$! Fluffy you racked up your phone bill again.
You need to stop roaming around & Going out side of your coverage area. Stay in the yard! And Who the #@$ are you calling. It is that pitbull across the street again, isn't it! You have any idea how much i paid for that cellphone. You even ate the charger 3 times. Drulled on it twice, "The warranty doesn't cover drull abuse". You left it in your water dish again....
it's not a cheap device, I would think your pet would be in greater danger with a device like that on it's neck, going outside by itself. I am sure there would be people hunting dogs/whatever down just to take away this phone/GPS tracker. Of-course they better figure out why and what to do with these gadgets because they do have phone/GPS on them and are designed specifically to be tracked :)
You can't handle the truth.
The elderly may forget where they are (assuming they knew in the first place), and it's so easy to get lost or injured in risky sports such that you can't call for help,
I once saw this very very very very BAD porn clip of an elderly person, speaking of the elderly getting injured in risky sports.
I wanted to gouge my eyes out.
Karnal
Some race horses staying in a stable. One of them starts to boast about his track record. "In the last 15 races, I've won 8 of them!"
Another horse breaks in, "Well in the last 27 races, I've won 19!"
"Oh that's good, but in the last 36 races, I've won 28!", says another, flicking his tail.
At this point, they notice that a greyhound dog has been sitting there listening. "I don't mean to boast," says the greyhound, "but in my last 90 races, I've won 88 of them!"
The horses are clearly amazed. "Wow!" says one, after a hushed silence. "A talking dog."
I know exactly where Paco would be with one of those. Stuck to the floor. Our cats are bigger then him.
The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. - Edward R. Murrow
Just do the GPS, and make it less expensive and make it implantable. Dogs are stolen, and this would be a surefire way to nab a dog thief. The phone thing described is just something on a collar that a thief can remove, but an implanted GPS chip or whatever that thieves won't know about till they're arrested could help stop all dog thefts. And while they're at it, why not do the same for cats.
Of course dogs can't answer the call! They don't have a thumb to press "Send".
The next movie ought to feature this product, and tell us whether it's useful or not.
My dad actually told my mum to keep the rabbit for a stew....she didnt...
Why not? Does she cook meat otherwise? Beef, lamb, pork, bacon, ham, gammon, chicken, turkey?
For the record, I'm vegetarian, for several reasons. However, I didn't used to be vegetarian, and my mum loves cooking, so I have enjoyed all of the above meats, as well as other things like duck, eel, pheasant and rabbit.
Why eat one animal and not another? I never understand why some people will happily eat a lamb, but draw the line at dog. What's the difference? The animal's already dead.
Obviously, I'm assuming that the animal was healthy, and newly killed, amongst other things.
Michael Nelson
I thought it was a joke too ... but it really says that in the article! Reminds me of the old "I've fallen and can't get up" commercial.
This exactly what I need for my boyfriend!
And he says lol yeah its me, how do I know it is my dog?
Tyranny isn't the worst enemy of a democracy. Cynicism is.
A similar device mainly targeted for hunting has been in use in
the nordic countries for a while.
See http://www.pointersolutions.com/eng/hunting.htm for more info.
That would be cool. Then you could talk your dog into coming back! That'd probably not happen with my dog; when he hears a voice from a phone (mine or not), he freaks out. Probably finds hearing a disembodied voice troubling.
0- Eamonman Proud member of DNRC
Some neighbor kids brought a kitten to me one rainy day. It was shivering and covered in mud. I brought it in and gave it a warm bath. Before it was even dry it was purring loud enough for my father to hear it over the football game and through two closed doors. I gave it some cat food, and named it "gato" (after John Waynes dog "dog" in Big Jake) he slept on my shoulders I slept face down for 9 years(not straight through). He would come when I called. He "fetched". I put carpeting halfway up the walls and he would run aroud the room like the motorcycle dome of death. He could jump 6 feet straight up from a crouch. Whenever he jarred open the door of my room and ran down the stairs it took him 2 footfalls.
"THUMP-THUMP" A sound everyone in my family dreaded. He hated every other person on the planet and would growl like a demon at them. He had all his shots. I was the only one who could hold him for any reason and would restrain him at the vet. They were all deathly afraid of him but I never let him scratch or bite anyone.
Once I left for a week and on the fifth day he bit my sister on her calf while she was feeding him and nearly punctured the skin through jeans and cowboy boot (she had a bruise for a week).
The next time I went away I took him with me. He got carsick but scooted to his litterbox which I had on the floor in the back and puked into it. He was the best pet I've ever had. Until...
On that trip he went crazy. I had stayed up all night in the hotelroom working on a demo website and was getting ready to take a nap before a job interview. He tore around the room growling and I looked down and my foot was bleeding. He kept growling at me and since he had never done that before I put him in his cat carrier. after an hour he seemed to have calmed down. I let him out. he tore around the room growling again. I couldn't get him back into the carrier and ended up throwing him into the bathroom as he scratched and bit my arms and hands. I called a few vets to see if I could get one to come and tranq my cat. None of the vets that made housecalls were in and they told me to call animal control. I called animal control. They said they would send the guy right over. They sent two rookies that had never handled an animal before. They were joking and laughing until they saw my hands. then they sobered up and got out the cowhide gloves and snare. 30 minutes later we had the beast in the carrier and he had ruined their nice new quarter inch thick gloves. They took him to an animal shelter and wanted to keep him for 10 days. I said they could keep him forever because I couldn't trust him anymore. I went over to the shlter to sign papers and set up the 10 days and impending "sleep" he would be put to and when I opened the front door I could hear him growling out back and everyliving creature in the building was cowering in fear of the personafied evil that used to be my cat.
"He's a real midnight golfer"
If cancer from cellphones is good enough for humans, it's good enough for dogs.
Is this another way for a pet owner to shirk liability? Before the flames come rolling in, I am a dog owner. Imagine, a dog is outside on a nice day, while the owner is at work the dog escapes the backyard, and attacks someone up the street, this system for whatever reason fails to notify the owner of the escape and the owner is sued for his dog running loose and in turn sues this company for failure to notify him of the event?
Seems a bit far fetched, no pun intended, but given the lack of accountability in this country it's a matter of time before it would happen.
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
The GPS ideas are really cool, but the cell phone idea is just dumb, and I think marketting it as a "doggy cell phone" is also very dumb. I would definately buy a "doggy GPS" before I would even look at a "doggy cell phone". The latter just sounds like a stupid idea.
If your dog runs away and has this thing attached to their ear, and you're sitting at home calling them on it... they're just going to hear your voice coming from in their ear... they're on their own with no direction home.. ya know? They can't see where you are and where your voice is coming from. And they aren't going to just magically know their way home if they're some place they've never been before. Besides that, it'd probably take a really well trained dog to respond to just their owners voice without any line of site or what not.
Davey to Galliath: Where the heck are you Galliath?
Galliath: Gee, I dunno Daaaaaveeeeey...
DEAD DEAD DEAD DELETE ME
A former workmate used to have an Austin Healy 3000 with a $2500 hand rubbed lacquer paint job. He kept it parked in his carport (covered but not enclosed). One day he finds a line of dusty cat footprints across the hood. All the neighbours swore it wasn't their precious kittycats that did the dammage. "Fine" says buddy and hooks an ignition coil to a metal cat dish full of cat food. The next night he hears one very loud meow and no more footprints after that. If you think that's inhumane, his next step would have been to leave out a dish of antifreeze.
None of them can see the clouds; The polished wings don't care.
The first on the market is http://www.globalpetfinder.com/. It does all the GPS tracking stuff, there just isn't a speaker for you to talk to your dog. Full Disclosure: I was on the engineering team for this product.
I had a sig once, but someone stole it.
For about four bucks I got this little metal device with a script written on it that, when read even by a non-programmer, contains addressing information that, if decoded, can provide whomever locates my lost dog with the clue as to where to return it. The decoding process is well-known, everybody learns how to do it as a child.
"I have never won a debate with an ignorant person." -Ali ibn Abi Talib
dogs start calling each other for crack and bitches? I think that's where the real problem lies...
Where's that guy from the tire story from yesterday. This is obviously a plan by the government to track us by our dogs.
"and also includes a GPS tracking device if the dog doesn't respond to the call"
Because if you can't train your dog to "stay", it's so much easier to train him to answer a cell phone? This was thought up by an MBA wasn't it?
Some dog breeds are natural "runners" or escape artists. They love to run free and get too distracted to come home very quickly. I owned a Husky (you see where this is going from the tense) who loved to get out and run. If she was out long enough to get bored of exploring, she'd come home. Otherwise, I'd get a call from the pound. People in my old neighborhood were good folk and I'd usually hear from a neighbor on last location. Unfortunately, I moved to the Big Bad City where people steal purebred dogs "'cause they're pretty" and I never saw her again after she got out once here in town.
Forget the cell capability, a GPS unit on your dog would be a godsend (or is that dogsend?) for those of us with runners and escapers.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
http://www.teddyfone.com/
hello?
Pant...Pant...
Lisa? who is panting
Pant...Pant...
What the? who is that? That's it I'm coming over!!!
GPS tracking for runaway dogs is fine, but the real question is, "Who let the dogs out?"
So what is the standby time on this thing? How often does this thing need charging?
The all-in-one printer/fax/copier/cellphone version. My dog's a mover and a shaker.
My personality is like a coupon, it's 10% off.
GirlCell doesn't have call waiting. All your ever going to get is a busy signal.
At least he posted anonymously, you wiki-posting karma whore!
...and besides, that was pretty damn funny.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Can you attach an electric shock collar to this device so that when you call him he gets a good !!!ZAP!!!, then again for those who want to use it on their kids or girl friends... well thats up to you.
We are sorry, the subcriber you have called does not answer...
He is currently licking his crotch...
Please try your call again later.
Patent: from Latin patere, to be open
Yesterday, in Moscow I saw a dog crossing a busy street by going into the subway tunnel (waiting for a person to open the heavy swinging doors), and cross under the street, then out the otherside. Clever, these street mongrels are.
Patent: from Latin patere, to be open
I wonder if they'll offer a family calling plan for Fido, Junior, Grandpa, and crazy cousin Curtis. No doubt Fido would use up all the minutes though.
"Her idea of wit is nothing more than an incisive observation humorously phrased and delivered with impeccable timing."
Has anyone considered the potential of this device for dealing with telemarketers?
or worse, set up custom ringtones
Damn it, I went to barkmail again!
Sure, because why stop with demeaning just your dog when you can also demean your kids and elderly relations as well?
You could put a bone-shaped, slobber-resistant collar around your kid, or you could go with a slightly cheaper approach and put a football helmet on them with a tall orange bicycle flag taped to it.
But the first time my dog holds up the line at Starbucks because he's yapping on the phone with his little bitch of a girlfriend, I'm gonna put his ass down...
PetCell is not the first about this. A Finnish company callen Pointer had a Pet-phone on the market a year ago. I actually saw a demo a couple a years back in an exhibition. This Dog-GPS as its called is actually an old Benefon GPS/GSM-phone (another Finnish company) in a dog harness. You put it on your hunting dog. Once the dog's running somewhere you send a SMS to the dog and get a location on your similar Esc!-phone's map display. Naturally you have your own GPS on on the phone, so you can track towards the dog. Also if you like you can "call the dog" and with auto answer on you can listen to whats going on around the dog.
No, I don't hunt myself so I have no real knowledge about the usefullness of this. But as a dog owner I cannot think of any other reason to get phones for my dogs... I did own a Benefon Esc! -GPSphone a couple of years ago, and it was a nice gadget. But no GPRS (or UMTS) it became obsolite for me. Also this would be pretty useless in some less developed countries that don't have GSM coverage in the woods like Finland, as the system relies on GSM's SMS-messages for location enqueries.
As for links, check out:p s.htm
http://www.pointersolutions.com/eng/hunting_dog_g
http://benefon.com/products/esc/
If all else fails, pull the plug and get out...
The Life is out there...
no pet is worth what this would probably cost. the dumbest part of this entire thing is the cell phone part. sure, dogs know their name and respond to it, but part of calling your dog is to get his attention first, then give him directions. how do you know you have the dog's attention? he looks at you. why does he look at you and not the other direction, because he hears your voice coming from a certain direction. with a cell phone, the dog will hear his name, but not know where the voice is coming from. i can only image this will confuse, and annoy a dog more then anything, and i'm assuming after a while, the dog will just ignore it.
and about responsible pet ownership? i agree. if your dog runs loose all the time, then you're a bad owner, and your dog will surely come upon some terrible fate. if your dog gets out of the yard that he should be contained in, fix your damn fence.
either way, get your dog some training, and don't complain about the cost, because this gadget would probably cost much more then any obediance school would charge.
"We're done."
That means I've dismissed you.
I'm not your momma, it's your job to educate YOURSELF.
MORE IMPORTANTLY this thread began by me asking someone else for data. Sticking your nose in it, and responding the way you did, was both unnecessary and inflammatory.
Now, this might be different, and I might be helpful if I was the one originally offering information and you asked for a link.
But that isn't what happened. Someone made a claim, I asked for more information. WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOUR THOUGHT PROCESSES THAT MAKES YOU THINK I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU ANYTHING?
"The fact you too resorted to using examples with other animals aside"
My example has nothing to do with the animal. It was a response to why I don't trust the results of the Rico study. It was a failure of the researchers, and COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO THE ANIMAL INVOLVED. GET THAT? FAILURE OF THE RESEARCHERS, AND COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO THE ANIMAL INVOLVED.
"The thing I now wonder is if YOU actually know much about the Clever Hans deal. It had nothing to do with tone of voice."
I NEVER SAID IT DID HAVE TO DO WITH TONE OF VOICE. WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND WRITTEN TEXT?
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU THAT YOU MAKE BASELESS ASSUMPTIONS SO EASILY AND PROLIFICALLY?
I used it as an example of misunderstanding animal intelligence. IT IS.
What the fuck is wrong with you that you need to find some way to refute me, EVEN IF IT IS TOTALLY UNRELATED AND IRRELEVANT, or worse, COMPLETELY WRONG?
Do you understand why I don't want to do this anymore? You don't even know enough to raise intelligent objections, and when you do raise an objection, it is based entirely on your misunderstandings.
How pathetic are you that you follow me from topic to topic and waste all your mod points at once modding me down?