DIY Home Surveillance Camera to Keep an Eye on the Kids and Dogs
(Note to readers: I know these dogs look innocent enough pretending to sleep on the couch. They’re not. The Panasonic Home Security Camera I was sent to review was the perfect solution for these problematic pets. I was given the device for the sake of the review but not otherwise compensated for this post.)
Bronco, Rooney and Casper terrorize my home daily, and they don’t even have to break in to leave their trail of disaster.
They are our dogs. Pets. Adopted when nobody else wanted them. And forgive me, but it’s easy to see why if you leave them alone for two minutes.
Bronco has jaws of steel that have torn apart couches, carpets, computers and cameras.
Casper is old and has issues holding his bladder. But he gives warning signs by going behind furniture to take care of his business, so if you can see him looking for a hideout, you still have time to get him outdoors.
And Rooney, well Rooney, who outgrew those horrible habits as a puppy, has now been contaminated by the others’ bad behavior.
When I’m in the room with them, they’re all good enough. When I’m not, they’re not.
That’s why I’m hoping the Panasonic DIY Indoor/Outdoor Home Surveillance Camera Kit will be my special gadget to keep better tabs on these boys.
See, now I have a way to see what they’re up to when I leave the room for, I don’t know, a trip to the bathroom. That’s really all the time they need to demolish something of value. Lots of things of value.
This cool camera setup is from Panasonic and here’s the best part: it syncs with my WiFi router and smartphone or tablet, so I can see what they’re doing anytime, anywhere.
I can also record video.
And it’s not just the dogs I can watch.
I have four kids, too, from 20 to 9 years in age, who can be just as good at finding trouble as the dogs are.
So, if I want to check in with them while I’m out running errands, or away for a weekend, I don’t have to wait for them to choose to answer the phone or a text. I can just pull up the app and peek in on the action…and even say hello.
It was simple to set up and works night and day. It has vision up to 40 feet at night and is equipped with sound and video motion detectors that, when activated, send an immediate alert to your phone or tablet. That instantly triggers the recording mode, right to the MicroSD card in the hub. You can take that out and view the recording on your computer.
And on top of all that, there’s no monthly fee!
All this for a system that runs about $300.
Something tells me life has changed for the dogs…and the kids.