10 Awesome DIY Projects Every Pet Owner Would Love To Try

Pampering your pet doesn’t have to be an expensive affair. There are many easy projects you can try to create functional accessories to solve a problem or fun accessories to make your pet happy. And to give you an idea, here is a list of ten awesome DIY projects that every pet owner would love to try.

1. GPS Dog Collar

If your pup is a little escape artist, or you just like to let your four-legged best friend roam free, this DIY GPS dog collar is the perfect project to spend your free afternoon.

Even better, the GPS collar tracks the dog’s movements and displays the number of kilometers traveled on a status bar. This allows you to effortlessly track how far you’ve walked your dog: a game changer if you’re still wondering if Fido is getting enough exercise. Consult the construction guide of Adafruit.

2. Arduino Controlled Dog Treat Dispenser

A treat dispenser is one of the best toys you can give your pup. He slowly dispenses treats, slowing down a food-motivated pup during dinner. It will also provide hours of entertainment for your pup, especially because he will get a delicious treat out of it. It keeps them out of your way when you’re busy. Most importantly, a dog treat dispenser is mentally stimulating, which is good for your pup’s health.

The best part? You don’t need to spend money on one because it’s incredibly simple to make. As shown in Instructables guide, it only requires minimal coding knowledge and a few easily accessible tools and elements.

If you just got an Arduino and are looking for more ideas to get started with it, you’ll want to check out some great Arduino projects for beginners.

3. Internet-enabled DIY aquarium

Imagine an aquarium that can talk and respond to voice commands, has ultrasonic depth monitoring to automatically monitor pH and water levels, servo-controlled filters and bubbles, and a digital thermometer to track at distance water temperatures? Well, that’s exactly what this DIY project is. Hayden kibbles allows you to achieve. It lets you turn a regular aquarium into an IoT with all the features mentioned, plus additional features like an underwater fish camera, timed LED lighting, and scrolling dot matrix display.

4. Robotic dog toy

If your job requires you to spend most of your day away from home and you can’t take your puppy with you, this DIY robotic dog toy is a perfect companion for them when you’re away. It has three levers that a dog can play with and interact with.

The best part? It’s mentally challenging, as Fido has to learn and push every lever to perform the desired action. For example, pushing one of the levers dispenses treats. As detailed in the Instructables guide, the project is designed to stimulate your puppy’s instinctive, adaptive and functional intelligence, so that he is not only able to entertain himself, but also to feed himself when you are away.

If you’re looking for other robotic brands, check out our best Raspberry Pi robotic projects.

5. Pet Water Keeper

A treat vending machine makes life a little easier for you as a pet parent since you know your dog or kitten will never go hungry. An automatic water dispenser completes the equation by allowing your pup to hydrate even when you are away. And like the treat vending machine, it’s also pretty easy to make. As detailed on the Brand: Magazine project page, it has an Arduino microcontroller to control the water dispensing timer and a small aquarium pump to deliver the water to your pet’s bowl.

6. RFID Cat Flap

If you love your cat but are tired of being woken up in the middle of the night to let them out, this DIY cat door will be a game changer. As detailed in the Instructables guide, it’s controlled by Arduino and uses a large enough DIY antenna as a gate. When your cat approaches the door, the antenna detects the RF tag up to four inches away and unlocks. A light comes on immediately and the timer keeps the antenna door unlocked long enough for your cat to pass.

If used regularly, your cat should soon be able to push open the door in response to the light, giving her the freedom to come and go as she pleases without interrupting your sleep.

7. Twitter-Controlled Pet Feeder

If you’re looking to limit the time you waste on Twitter and don’t have a pet feeder, this DIY project can solve both problems simultaneously. Check out the full build guide at Instructables.

When complete, it automatically dispenses pet food or treats in response to your Twitter account activity. This means you can limit your use of Twitter based on your pet’s feeding schedule. This way you spend less time on the app and more time on productive tasks, and your pet stays nourished whether you’re inside or outside the home.

8. Kitty Twitty Cat Toy

If you’re the type of pet parent who wants to keep tabs on what your pet is doing, where it is, or just needs to check on it after every hour, this DIY cat toy is for you. As detailed on the Brand: Magazine project, it automatically sends tweets to your account whenever it’s up and running or whenever there’s a connection, giving you the peace of mind of knowing your furry best friend is doing well.

Like most of the projects on our list of awesome DIY projects every pet parent should try, it’s also controlled by Arduino. Even if you don’t have a chat, you can tweak it so that almost anything sends tweets.

9. Crittergram Capture Camera

Always late to capture timely photos of your pet doing something unusual, or just being the most photogenic version of themselves? The Crittergram Capture camera allows you to put an end to this problem. As detailed in the Brand: Magazine building guide, it is controlled by Arduino to automatically capture images of cats and other creatures whenever they are in frame. This means that with strategic placement, you can now snap photos of your four-legged friend yawning, stretching and doing all the cute things you wish you were quick enough to photograph.

10. Automated Laser Cat

Although cats are naturally playful, you may not always have the time and energy to run with yours. In such cases, a cat laser comes in handy because all you have to do is aim the laser pointer at an appropriate spot, move it around a bit, and watch your cat go crazy trying to catch the projection. And you don’t need to buy one, since you can easily DIY one using CatBot’s detailed tutorial on Instructables.

DIY Pet Projects That Will Transform Your Pet’s Parenting

Pets love their owners and make life more interesting and fun. The easiest way to reciprocate that love is to give them the best life and get them accessories to treat themselves, like the projects covered here, or that make their lives easier, like an automatic pet feeder.

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