Webcam for monitoring dog...advice needed

Gonzo0 · 29 Sep 2015 at 15:57

I have a new mini dachshund puppy arriving in a couple of weeks and I would like to get a Webcam to monitor him remotely when i'm out of the house.

I've been looking at the Motorola range but don't like how you have to subscribe to the app now. Is it really worth it?

I have a budget of around £50 and need to be able to view the live feed from the cloud.

The puppy will be in a play pen in the kitchen so shouldn't need to be able pan and rotate much (would be beneficial)

Dis86 · 29 Sep 2015 at 15:58

You're getting a new puppy to leave it at home by itself all day?
Ok.

bledd · 29 Sep 2015 at 15:58

Look up wanscam

They work really well as baby monitors. Wifi too

Also, echoing the above, you shouldn't leave a puppy alone.

boxman2000 · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:00

Recommended them before on this forum but I'd suggest looking at Foscam.

I've had one of the Foscam FI8910W cameras for a couple of years as a baby monitor and have just ordered another for the playroom.

It's got good features, night vision is good and does all the usual rotation via app (iPhone, Android and also through browser). Also has microphone/speaker which is good feature.

Different models available which include standalone SD card to capture movements etc.

Increased in price today by a couple of pounds but they can be had ~£46.

cheesyboy · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:03

What are you going to do with the information?
(I mean, what will the webcam tell you and how will it change your behaviour)

I asked myself this question when it came to baby monitors.

AHarvey · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:15

basic raspi + cheap webcam + wifi adapter + SD card + free webcam software (can't remember the name but can check at home)

Will come in at £50ish and when you no longer need it, you can use it for something else

Although, if you're getting a puppy why are you going to want to remote monitor him? If you're out of the house you can't do anything anyway and he'll be fine as long as you leave toys and entertainment for him. If he cries a lot, the neighbours will tell you

Save the money and spend it on toys for him.

Skidder · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:19

Oh my god, he's eating the house. Oh well, carry on working.

the_r_sole · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:21

have you got an old android phone or a tablet?
I did this for a while to see our dog after moving, the app was called IP webcam which was fine for my needs, probably more advanced ones around but did the job - accessed through any browser

Gonzo0 · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:23

The puppy will not be home alone all day...for a maximum of 4 hours and thats only once it's settled into a routine and housebroken.

The webcam is more me to get an understanding of his behaviors while were out. If he isnt playing with certain toys, or not going to the toilet in the correct area. Things like that.

Thanks for the responses.

skyripper · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:37

A former work colleague did this. Spent hours monitoring the dog while supposedly working.

Rushed home one morning declaring "She's not moving!!!!!" only to return many hours later with "The camera had been moved. It was just a cushion."

Ekim · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:37

You'll be able to work out if he is going to the toilet in the wrong area without the use of a camera. Seems like a waste of money to me, a solution trying to find a problem.

Pho · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:40

the_r_sole said:
have you got an old android phone or a tablet?
I did this for a while to see our dog after moving, the app was called IP webcam which was fine for my needs, probably more advanced ones around but did the job - accessed through any browser

I used this exact app at the weekend to re-align my satellite dish. Phone pointed at TV with signal info on and viewing it on my laptop - all whilst hanging out the bedroom window. 100% signal strength/quality achieved

.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pas.webcam&hl=en_GB

AHarvey · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:41

Gonzo0 said:
If he isnt playing with certain toys, or not going to the toilet in the correct area. Things like that.

Thanks for the responses.

They toys will have teeth mark.

The floor will be messed up if he's not using the toilet properly

£50 saved!

Magic_x_uk · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:43

could this work?

if you have a iPad, could you position it so
A) it is always on charge
B) Positioned to see the dog
C) is there an app that could allow you to connect to the ipad from your phone and view what the camera can see? ie iphone to ipad remotely?

As the iPad would be on your home wi-fi.

is that at all possible?

ToejaM · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:50

We bought this: ANNKE Sparkle 1 H.264 HD 1280 x 720P the other day as a baby monitor, baby due at the middle of November. I would link where we got it from but I cant remember if OCUK stock this sort of thing or not.

I've been testing it out while out and about and its pretty good.

It has a QR code on the back you can use on the app to scan it onto your phone, you can run 8 cameras on the same account. Each camera has its own password additionally to the account (login) having its own password, so should you choose to add additional you can pick and choose who can add which camera to their account.

The two way talk thing sounds pretty good however you hear yourself talk due to the latency and it sounds like you're shouting/distorted when it comes back to your device but you're not to the ones on the other end. I have it setup in my living room so I tune in from work from time to time to talk to my son, he loves it hah.

Naturally if your signal is awful, the reception is awful and its like a slide show, doesn't seem that great unless you have H+ / 4G connection, its bearable on just H. The same can be said when you have poor wireless connection in your house.

I've yet to test it on a cat5 cable but I think I read a review saying you get better quality/reliability like this. I need to buy some cable thingys to run a cable downstairs as I can't stand loose wires. I have noticed sometimes that the video is out of sync and it does that really fast video motion catchup, this is possibly to do with mobile signal or it being connected via wifi I've yet to rule out it being on WiFi.

Additionally, as my wifi is poor upstairs, I really need a wifi extender.. not just for this but for the chrome and other devices as nothing gets good signal upstairs, something to consider.

I will be trying it sometime this week with a cat5 cable.

I just had a quick test of the motion detection and it works but I do need to set it up for when no-ones in view of the camera and get someone to walk past it to find the right levels of motion as the slider is just 0-100 :S

The two things I'd like it to do which it doesn't:
Run in the background as an audio monitor. The app needs to be open.
Be able to have a master account that can turn the audio off and only be editable by the master account.

JayMax · 29 Sep 2015 at 16:51

I used a D-Link mydlink DCS-932L, no subscription fees, Android app is good. FTP/email motion sensor, night vision etc. No PTZ though.
I got it on offer for £20, they're about £30 now.

Rofflay · 29 Sep 2015 at 19:33

Gonzo0 said:
The puppy will not be home alone all day...for a maximum of 4 hours and thats only once it's settled into a routine and housebroken.

The webcam is more me to get an understanding of his behaviors while were out. If he isnt playing with certain toys, or not going to the toilet in the correct area. Things like that.

Thanks for the responses.

Hopefully... My last neighbour tried this for 8 hours and went to the seaside. So we decided to put on the music in the yard for the day and have some fun with the dog. Naturally the dog **** himself and clawed the door down almost.

They returned to a porch covered in so much poop i was told it was sprayed up as far as the lightbulb and covered the dog and porch. Ha ha ha ha 3 hours cleaning poop serves em right...

boxman2000 · 30 Sep 2015 at 08:23

cheesyboy said:
What are you going to do with the information?
(I mean, what will the webcam tell you and how will it change your behaviour)

I asked myself this question when it came to baby monitors.

Well, we always used it in conjunction with the normal monitor so if we heard a sound and we weren't sure, rather than disturbing the baby by going into the room we'd check on the monitor (daughter is a very light sleeper).

One time my daughter was crying (she'd been playing up at bedtime) and we weren't sure if it was an attention cry or something else - turned out she'd got her leg caught and twisted in the bars. We may have left it a few more minutes before going in.

AHarvey said:
basic raspi + cheap webcam + wifi adapter + SD card + free webcam software (can't remember the name but can check at home)

Quite a lot of work for some given you can buy something perfectly good, all in one unit for less. Plus I doubt you could get a cheap webcam that can rotate for ~£10.

ToejaM said:
The two things I'd like it to do which it doesn't:
Run in the background as an audio monitor. The app needs to be open.
Be able to have a master account that can turn the audio off and only be editable by the master account.

I like the QR code feature, sounds good.

The one I mentioned in post has alert notifications for movement or sound. Audio on/off is app based on the Foscam but audio alert is enabled/disabled via admin access.

horrorwood · 30 Sep 2015 at 08:31

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Swann-ADS...rity-Camera-/181776003691?hash=item2a52b1b26b

This.

Captain Fizz · 30 Sep 2015 at 08:33

Any webcam + Yawcam software.
Webcam can be as cheap as £10, Yawcam is free... Open port on router, job done.

Aaaaand you'll need to nip home every lunchtime to walk the dog, walk before work, after work, before bed.