Those who have a dog housemate know; Leaving your dog alone at home for more than 1 hour can be stressful. In addition to the possibility of getting bored and upset, you may also worry about being bored too much and damaging your belongings. The solution used so far was to leave a few toys around, but as times have changed, so has our communication with pets.
Forget moving toys or dog sitters, you’re underestimating Generation Z dogs. A new device developed by a woman who teaches in animal and computer communications in Scotland is ending the era when humans were the only species you ‘FaceTime’.
Pandemic dogs cannot be separated from their owners
Pets can experience separation anxiety during this period, when we partially return to normal life, as pets grown during the pandemic process are too attached to their owners. Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas, an educator at Glasgow University in Scotland, realized this and developed a device she called the DogPhone. Thanks to this device, dogs can send calls to their owners when they want to talk to their owners and can “talk” in a video manner.
Sharing his findings on the subject with the Computer Machinery Association Digital Library, Hirskyj-Douglas realized that the technologies developed for pets were prepared for humans and wanted to develop the opposite device. Hirskyj-Douglas, a 10-year-old Labrador dog, also took inspiration from his own dog when developing the device. The working mechanic of the DogPhone, which was finally completed, is when the dog learns how to reach its owner, and when it wants to see its owner, it takes the necessary action. This move is to play a ball to which the device is attached.
Ilyena Hirskyj-Douglas stated that after trying this device for a while with her dog, her dog called her about 5 times a day. Also, the owner could call the dog and the dog could pick up the phone if he wanted to. Thus, the dog of Hirskyj-Douglas, who was in the office all day, was able to stay at home peacefully without feeling the absence of his owner.
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