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Video Camera/webcam


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I'd like to set up a video camera to take footage of a dog while I am absent - it would be outdoors, and trained on a run. The dog is a rescue and I want to establish better what her reactions are to being left alone.

Has anyone done this before? What did you use and any tips or traps? Is this something you could set up a webcam for?

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You have a couple of options depending on how much money you want to spend. If you have a computer you can set up a webcam to record onto the hard drive of your computer. If you have a smart phone you could even have a look at what is being recorded while you are out.

A little bit more expensive is the Swann range of cameras. If you buy a receiver with either a hard drive or a memory card you can hook up a camera / cameras. Wit these you can spend maybe just over $ 100.00 & work your way up from there.

Swann have an online shop you can buy refurbished products at a much lower price than what they retail at Dick Smith, Officeworks or Big W.

Good luck

Greg

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Not sure about setting up a video camera but there is a camera set up you can get that works with wifi in your house then you can view the dog or whatever you are filming while you are away from the property on an application on a smart phone. Read about them HERE Harvey Norman have them 2 for the price of one HERE

From what I can tell these are not a recording device they just view the subject and you can see what it is seeing via your smart phone/tablet/computer etc. So if you don't have wifi or a device you can view on they would not be any good. I'd love one to check out what the doggies get up to while I am at work.

If anyone has one of these id love to hear if they are worth it?

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We use an IP camera from Compro Technology. It comes with its own software and it's great because it swivels. We had a friend's dog staying with us recently and we put "Kuma Cam" on so that they could log in during the day and see how their doggy was going :) We used it most when we started leaving the dogs alone while we were at work.

Then there's software called Blue Iris. It works with any web cam and takes video footage and photos. We had ours set to take a photo every minute or so. Sample below:

One day, OH emailed to let me know that the dogs were up to no good. Here is Hoover watching Elbie remove the cover from the Doggy Futon. Then he decided to join in pulling it around :p

futon01.jpg

It kept them entertained for a little while.

futon02.jpg

futon03.jpg

futon04.jpg

Finally, OH had had enough and phoned the house. His voice came over the speaker phone onto the answering machine saying: "Leave it! Elbie leave it!" Here you see the dogs' ears all alert before they obediently drop down and leave the futon alone.

futon05.jpg

Hoover: "Do you think that the humans are at home?"

Elbie: "Shhhh, pretend to be good."

futon06.jpg

The video footage is particularly hilarious with both dogs stopping dead in their tracks, heads darting around, ears going absolutely crazy as they tried to figure out where the sound of OH's voice was coming from. At one point, Hoover comes hurtling towards the camera as if he thinks the sound is coming from THERE. :laugh:

Then when we first got Elbie and he was a little puppy, we filmed him when we ducked out to the shops just using a crappy camera from an XBOX. Video quality wasn't too bad :)

Edited by koalathebear
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KTB, that video is just priceless! Why do they have to destroy the most expensive thing they can get their teeth on. :rofl:

Ringing and telling them to leave it was a stroke of genius! It would be good if the app to view had some sort of voice technology attached to it. :laugh:

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KTB, that video is just priceless! Why do they have to destroy the most expensive thing they can get their teeth on. :rofl:

I know! That Aldi dog mattress was brand new! And if we'd got home 5 minutes earlier, we could have saved it :rofl: He was only a very young pup in that video.

Ringing and telling them to leave it was a stroke of genius! It would be good if the app to view had some sort of voice technology attached to it. :laugh:

Low tech but it worked :laugh: The camera we have has sound now - we wanted to know if they were barking during the day while we were out. It was good to know that they spent a lot of time running, sleeping and chilling - not pining or barking.

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Thanks everyone. There is no power out to the area so I would have to go for something battery operated (one way or another). I could run an extension lead on a fine day I suppose, as I want it for a specific purpose, not continuous monitoring.

This is the most suitable battery operated thing I can find - we're on top of a hill and conditions can be pretty heavy weather wise - but is a bit more than I want to spend. Will have to do some more research:

http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1063

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