Doggie cam assistance needed!
July 30, 2014 1:04 PM   Subscribe

I would like to set up a doggie cam to keep an eye on my pooch while I'm in the office and I need some suggestions!

One of my neighbors recently mentioned that my dog has been barking while I'm not at home. I spoke with a trainer and made some changes, but now I need to know if they are working! If video turns out to be a useful tool, I'll be getting a Dropcam, but I'd like to test it out with a free set up for a week or so first.

I have: a macbook Pro, an iPad, a wifi only iPhone 4, and my active cellphone, an iPhone 4s. What free configuration can I use to get some kind of nanny cam situation so I can tell what my pup is up to?
posted by chatongriffes to Technology (6 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: I asked almost the exact same question a long while back.

We just ended up starting a new skype account for dog watching purposes only. We allowed it to answer video chats automatically when someone was dialing in, and then set up the laptop in a place that could easily see the dog crate and his usual hangouts. When I got to work, I'd open up skype and dial in.

Our neighbors were complaining, but after several weeks of monitoring, and keeping a detailed log (which was given to our landlord with a sample video of a full day of him being home alone) the neighbors were politely told to stop complaining.
posted by furnace.heart at 1:15 PM on July 30, 2014 [4 favorites]


The Sleep Talk Recorder app is only .99 right now. It's sound-activated, and I believe lets you set a threshhold so it's not recording every passing noise.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:21 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


Presence for iOS has motion detection and notifications. It worked well for my mother-in-law, who was trying to spot two skittish cats that had hid in a crack in the wall after a scare.
posted by ignignokt at 1:30 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


I had a similar problem, with a neighbor complaining about my dog barking constantly. I downloaded Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) which is a free program, and just left my computer running and plugged in in the room she stays in while I'm gone. You can review by scrolling through the day and sound ways show when/if there is some noise being made by the dog or another source. After several days of monitoring, I also determined that she didn't bark when I was out.
posted by parkerposey at 4:21 PM on July 30, 2014


Manything is an ios app, streams to a server and notes events.
posted by Sophont at 4:37 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks everyone. I set Franklin up with a Skype account and I have him running in the background while I'm here at work. He's currently napping with his chin on a stuffed raccoon.
posted by chatongriffes at 10:05 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]


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