Review: Petzi Treat Cam – Remote Pet Treat Automation

Petzila was founded in 2013 with the goal of bringing together pets and their owners by using some of the most popular tech trends. With the help of a very successful crowdfunding campaign, Petzila released their Petzi Treat Cam- a pet nanny cam that allows you to check in on Fido when you’re away from home.

The Petzi Treat Cam is a well-designed device made for pet owners who travel often or just want to see what their pets get up to while they are at home. It is a particularly excellent gadget for pet owners with dog who experience
separation anxiety.

Being able to not only see your dog (or cat) but talk with them and give them a treat can really make all the difference for nervous pets.

If you’ve been thinking about getting an indoor security camera for your pets, skip those cheap models and invest in a device specifically made for the job. The Petzi isn’t just a camera, but a tool that can really change how you can supervise your animals and how your pets cope with your absence.

Features of the Petzi

The Petzi Treat Cam offers a lot for being a fairly simple device. It’s major features include the following:

• Compatible app free to use and offers social media sharing
• Camera has numerous mounting options
• Built-in treat dispensing system for any dry treats under 1″
• Camera completely controlled by app and connects with wifi
• Interact with See, Speak, Snap and Treat
• Wide-angled camera view with night vision
• High quality audio for talking to your pet

The Petzi comes completely ready to go. In the box you will get the camera, a 6ft power cord, universal mounting kit, rubber feet, Quick Start instruction manual and a sample of pet treats.

You can either mount the camera low on a wall with the kit or attach the rubber feet and place on the floor, table or other flat surface.

You can find the Petzi camera online through the company website or via online retailers like Amazon. The Petzi can also be found in-store at select retailers (a list is available on Petzi’s website). For the latest prices and discounts, check here.

For everything this camera offers it is a wonderful deal and a bit less expensive than similar devices.

Advantages of the Petzi

Just from the features list it’s easy to get an idea of why the advantages of the Petzi. If you’ve been doing some comparison shopping for a pet camera, here are 4 reasons you might want to choose this device over the others.

• Offers Four Ways to Interact – While many security-style cameras only allow you to see a real-time video, Petzi allows you to interact via See (watch your pet), Speak (talk to your pet), Snap (take a photo) and Treat (launch treats). Being able to say hi to your cat or dog and call them over to the device to give them a treat really improves the total experience of this product.
• Treat Dispenser Launches Treats – Not only does the Petzi have an amazing treat dispenser that you can control with the touch of a button but it does more than just drop treats. This dispenser launches the treats out from the device. Don’t worry- the launcher doesn’t toss the treats hard enough that it could injure your pet’s eyes. The launcher adds some fun for your pet but also is beneficial for multiple dog or cat households. Rather than dumping treats in one spot for a greedy pet to gobble, it “sprays” it so each pet has more opportunity to get a treat.
• Incredible Customer Service and Consistent Innovation – A very significant benefit of the Petzi is how incredible their customer service is. While many tech companies drop the ball on customer/product support, Petzi’s team is quick to return calls/emails and really makes an effort to provide the best service possible. Additionally, it seems as though the original Petzi device is just the beginning. They are progressing towards releasing a better model.
• Overall Easy to Setup and Use – Another advantage Petzi has over the competition is how simple it is to use. Even if you are tech-savvy you can easily have the camera working in minutes. Simply plug in the device and fill with treats. Use your phone or tablet to download the Petzi app and create a profile. Pair the Petzi with your wifi connection and that’s it. The app’s interface is super simple and nicely designed. The app and camera access are also protected with a 128-bit AES encryption to prevent hacking.

Even with some amazing benefits, the Petzi isn’t without it’s faults. Compare the benefits to the competition but don’t forget to also compare the disadvantages.

Problems with the Petzi

While the Petzi is one of the best pet wifi cameras of it’s kind, it’s still a somewhat new device and not without its disadvantages. Before investing in this camera you should consider the following 3 issues associated with this device.

• Only Has One-Way Audio – Even having audio in the first place is an excellent feature for a security-style camera but when it comes to interactive pet cameras, one-way audio can be a problem. Being able to speak to your pet can be great for general interaction or calming a nervous pet but not being able to hear if your pet is in distress is a disadvantage. Owners who are looking for a camera because their dog experiences separation anxiety when alone may want to look into a different device with dual audio.
• Treat System Inconsistent/ Prone to Malfunction – It’s unfortunate that one of the major selling points of the Petzi has issues. It seems as though the treat launching part of this device is inconsistent with how many treats it will give- sometimes you push the button and a single treat comes out, other times a whole handful of little treats will launch. This might not be too much of a problem, except the device is also apt to breaking completely. Some people have found that within a couple months of use the lever part of the dispenser breaks, even after getting a replacement from the company.
• Audio and Video Delay – The final common issue with the Petzi is the delay in both video and audio. There is roughly a 5 second delay in accessing video for viewing and a 5 second delay from real time footage. The audio also has about a 5 seconds delay from speaking into the app and your pet hearing it. A small delay can be expected from most cameras of this type but 5 seconds it definitely on the higher side.

Final Take – Is the Petzi Ready for Prime Time?

Overall the Petzi is a top-notch wifi pet camera that has developed quite a fanbase since it’s creation. Pet gadgets are increasing in popularity and as technology develops it seems as though our pets will soon be just as connected as we are.

If you are looking for just a smart camera, then I’d recommend checking out the Petcube which I recently reviewed here. However, it doesn’t have the “treat” function.

While many pet tech items are more of a luxury than anything, a good quality pet camera like the Petzi can truly be an life-changing tool for pet owners who travel often or own pets that require special attention. You can check out this listing for the best pricing.