The pet-tech market is an ever-increasing hub for apps and wearable goods to make life a little easier for our four-legged buddies, and for you, their owner. Check out these options. 

Pet care 101

Training a new puppy is never easy, but having a mobile mentor helps! Puppy Coach 101 is a nine-step coaching session that walks you through the obedience basics. The app covers everything from the initial create-training stage through to the inevitable what-to-do-with-a-teething-puppy phase. For those that don’t happen to work from home, PetNet’s Smart Feeder lets you control your dog’s eating habits via smartphone – dispensing portions at times set by you, to take the guesswork out of the task.

Speaking of portion sizes, The Fat Dog Diet acts as a diet tracker, providing target goals and exercise time (to be used after discussing options with your Vet, of course). iKibble helps you identify which foods are and are not safe for your pet; breaking foods down into approved groups and those to be avoided. And in case of a four-legged emergency, Pet First Aid (iOS, Android) is packed with potentially life-saving info, helpful if 24-hour vets are scarce.

Out of the house

The rise of wearable tech has your pets covered. Tagg’s GPS-collar and app lets you know where your cat or dog is at all times, making lost pets a thing of the past. Dog owners will also appreciate Tagg’s sisterproduct Whistle, a combination app/wearable that monitors your dog’s activity to ensure they are getting enough exercise. And for those wanting to keep an eye on their pets, iCam monitors direct video feeds live from your house — using a motion capture option to track when a cheeky kitten goes exploring.

And what about pet mates? DoggyDatez makes it easy to find nearby playmates by tagging your location with a photo. You can even claim your own territory for a bit of friendly competition, not unlike 4square. With cloud storage apps like Dropbox accessible anywhere, you can store your pet’s important documents in one place in case of emergency.

Weird and wonderful

Sheepdog, Samoyed, or Pomeranian owner? If you’re an owner of a high-strung breed, you can now source music to help your dog chill out. Though still in a research phase, Pet Acoustics ($1.99) provides specially composed music, designed to promote relaxation for your pet. And for those who are looking to understand their companions a little better, Dognition provides a series of personality tests designed to take the guesswork out of your pet’s odd behaviour.

Cat fans will appreciate Pluto.tv’s dedicated cats channel featuring, you guessed it; cats and kittens 24 hours a day! Finally, for those who just can’t get enough of them, you can dog-ify your weather updates with WeatherPuppy, giving you a daily weather update with a new dog every day.