The Apple Watch for Your Dog

Another week, another bonkers but brilliant crowdfunding campaign for another bonkers but brilliant gadget. This time around it’s Buddy, the smart dog collar, which allows owners to keep tabs on Fido’s whereabouts when he’s out of sight.

Naturally, the gadget, which has some of the characteristics and tools of a personal fitness tracker embedded into it, is sleek and shiny, plus it’s waterproof and has LEDs built in. There’s even a little logo on the front that looks like a balloon dog from your favorite neighborhood summer festival!

The company behind the collar, Squeaker, is also responsible for Poochlight, a dog collar with LED lighting. And here’s the really fun part: the device has an affiliated app that “allows the pet owner to create a virtual activity fence for the dog, which will alert the owner if he dog somehow moves beyond that activity fence,” according to Mashable. The collar also has a Wi-Fi-enabled base station, giving off a flashing-light display should the dog start to stray from his fenced in area.

And if you’re an Apple Watch owner, you can download an app that will integrate the dog collar’s lighting system with the Apple Health app. Really.

Squeaker launched a Kickstarter campaign for Buddy the dog collar August 3 and by August 18 had raised $104,768 of its $281,233 goal, with 14 days remaining in the campaign. If fully funded, the collars will sell for $180 apiece and will come in small, medium and large sizes.

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