Float-a-Pet inflatable collar helps track, save dog's life

While the list of random junk humans can affix to their canine companions is embarrassingly long, we have seen a few meaningful accessories that can prevent dogs from straying too far from home. Jed Berk's latest prototype has apparently wrapped as many beneficial aspects as he thought possible into what outwardly appears to be a run-of-the-mill pet collar (with a NOS tank strapped on for good measure). But the Float-a-Pet -- as the name so aptly implies -- has a few hidden tricks that presumably act to give you the upper hand in locating your pet after it makes a mad dash for that "bump in the night," or makes a not-exactly-premeditated splash into a body of water. The collar sports flexible solar cells that gather energy during the day, and are used to power light-emitting LEDs when a low-light environment is detected. Aside from turning Fido into a light show, a secondary function of the "Swiss Army knife of dog collars" is to automatically inflate around your pet's neck if the integrated "humidity sensor" tips off the built-in CO2 cartridge. You'll probably be happy to know that if your dog takes a plunge at night, not only will the collar inflate as advertised, but it will supposedly activate the blinking LEDs as well to help catch your eye while it wades to safety. Although this hasn't escaped the testing phase just yet, we can definitely envision serious dog aficionados snapping up this extra precaution for their precious pet, but if your canine has a thing for sticking its head way down in the water bowl while replenishing fluids (and this humidity sensor is a bit too sensitive), it could end up in some deep water of a very different kind.

[shelly @ Mar 6th 2008 5:39PM]

Our pool light all the sudden burned out, and in the dark of night, our 8 month old yorkshire terrier must have stumbled in and drowned in our pool last night :( I wish I had known about something like this. For all you that think this is a bad idea, try losing an animal like this and see what you think then.

[bruce @ Nov 8th 2008 12:37AM]

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[bigdogowner @ Aug 12th 2008 3:14AM]

First let me say I'm so sorry for all those who have lost there pets to water accidents. I can't imagine the heartbreak finding your pet that way.

That being said, this is a great Idea! It would be better if it came in a harness type. This would limit freak-outer while it was inflating and offer support to the body so the dog wouldn't choke.
So it would inflate like a lifejacket. This would be useful in so many ways.
We take out two Rotties boating and to the beach all the time. They are great swimmers. But our female doesn't like wearing her lifejacket once she's out of the water. This would be great so we could take the jackets off while in the boat. If they fell in, SAVED.
Necessity is the mother of invention.

[bruce @ Nov 8th 2008 12:37AM]

Dear Friend,

We got your infomation from internet to know that you are in the market of GPS tracker ,i.e. pet tracker.our pet GPS tracker is the samallest in the world

.We would like to introduce our company and products in the hope of establishing business relations with you.Thank you for spending 1 munites reading our

mail.

we are a china manufacturer of high-tech electronics such as PND ,GPS system ,GPS tracker ,and industrial PDA/PPC (handheld computer ) ,our products are

popular in Europe,Canada,U.S.A,Japan,...etc. please check the attached file .

the advantage of us is the competitive price and quality .

If you are interested in them,we will send our quotation and specifications to you.
Any questions,do not hesitate to contact us.

Best regards,

Bruce

Rainbow Industrial (HK) Co,.Ltd
add:Room 402, building 117, sungang village,luohu district,
shenzhen, china
email:[e-mail]
mobile phone :[phone]
msn :[e-mail]
skype :cloudstarnight
website:www.rainowindustrial.cn

[Ryan @ Aug 16th 2006 12:05PM]

Good God! That dog is choking to death! Take it off! Take it off!

[glacia00 @ Aug 16th 2006 12:10PM]

Now if they could invent something to keep those creepy chi-ratdog-huahuas from shaking. These are going to be so entertaining in the rain. Or how about this headline "Dog drowns when inflatable collar traps head in toilet."

[CR @ Aug 16th 2006 12:17PM]

What if your dog drinks out of the toilet? He'll be stuck there all night! This is a terrible idea.

[J @ Aug 16th 2006 12:17PM]

Yeah way to kill your canine pet

[James @ Aug 16th 2006 12:18PM]

I thought dogs could swim, and wouldn't this be a problem if they were in the rain outside, or running through a sprinkler?

[Loque @ Aug 16th 2006 12:22PM]

I'd be so entertained by this.


Come here, fido! *HOSE*


Good god, I hate dogs.

[boynamedsue @ Aug 16th 2006 12:25PM]

look at the device geniuses. Its got a huge tube of compressed gas on it. Its probably not meant to be worn all day every day.

[CR @ Aug 16th 2006 12:30PM]

It's just a CO2 cartridge, so it's not heavy. Most people would leave it on their dogs all the time.

[Chris @ Aug 16th 2006 12:33PM]

I'm sure you'd just use it like a life jacket, only on when you're going to be near water.

[PodMonkeys @ Aug 16th 2006 12:37PM]

For the most part Chihuahuas shake because they are nervous. Get a Chihuahua nice and safe feeling and it probably won't be shaking.

I was just wondering what if someone puts one of those on a "toy" sized dog? Would the dog be heavy enough to flip itself over if it inflates head side down? Or would we end up seeing a plastic lily pad, with a dog butt for a flower, floating in the pool?

[Rikko @ Aug 16th 2006 12:43PM]

Reminds me of when early airbags deployed falsely and killed people...
This is probably the dumbest idea I've seen in a while - the photoshopped chihuahua adds to the icing. Nevermind that a dog with a flotation device strapped to its NECK will probably panic when the thing deploys and end up strangling itself or worse.

Please, people, don't fasten compressed gases or combustible to your dogs unless you are training them to run under tanks and detonate.

[Ben @ Aug 16th 2006 12:55PM]

WHAT WILL THEY THINK OF NEXT?

[MatDai @ Aug 16th 2006 1:03PM]

"and are used to power light-emitting LEDs"... light-emitting light emitting diodes. Hold on while I go to the ATM machine.

[physics @ Aug 16th 2006 1:05PM]

Dogs can swim. Or can learn to swim.
http://www.angelfire.com/vt/curlycoats/Water.html

[David @ Aug 16th 2006 1:06PM]

I don't think your dog's collar is getting soaked everytime it drinks from the toilet. And if so, you may want to start washing your dog more often, or close the toilet lid to reduce its chances of spreading toilet germs, or strap on the additional "suds-your-toilet-drinking-dog" collar.

[mr. T @ Aug 16th 2006 1:50PM]

The picture is totally photoshopped.
Well, maybe thats good for the sake of the dog.

[Doug McKay @ Aug 16th 2006 1:51PM]

About 2 minutes after I put it on him, Fido would scratch his neck and the CO2 cartridge would take off like a rocket.

Or the neighborhood kid would see it on him while he's playing in the yard and yank on the hose.

Anyhow, wouldn't a standard 12g CO2 cartridge way overfill that tiny float in the picture? Fido would go jetting across the lake when the excess gas vented down his neck.

[Riley @ Aug 16th 2006 2:01PM]

Did anyone else picture Chris Farley being strangled by a child-sized inflatable life jacket when they read this?

[KilgoreTrout XL @ Aug 16th 2006 2:01PM]

All I can think of is that taco bell dog, floating down a river, wide-eyed, looking back and forth, and wondering "Why is my neck blinking?"

Does it have an optional alarm system as well?

[Helo @ Aug 16th 2006 2:10PM]

That looks like a severed dog head on an inflatable raft.

[eric @ Aug 16th 2006 2:21PM]

Hahaha, and then there was this big fish!

[Gordy @ Aug 16th 2006 2:44PM]

Well, this would kill my dog. Instead of swimming to shore (which he and any other dog can do), he'd burn all his calories trying to get this thing off of his neck.

When he succeeds, he'll just sink...exhausted.

[LTM @ Aug 16th 2006 5:25PM]

I'm just so lost for words............

[Shadyman @ Aug 16th 2006 8:32PM]

Good God! That dog is choking photoshopping to death! Take it off! Take it off!

[John Doe @ Aug 16th 2006 8:32PM]

Brilliant. Kill your dog by hanging him in the water. When this thing goes off its going to panic the poor thing and cause it to sink (What you think wet fur is light as air?) strangling it causing it to panic

[iworm @ Aug 16th 2006 9:09PM]

The dog in this picture like my dog.

[Yeah, whatever @ Aug 16th 2006 9:14PM]

"...the integrated "humidity sensor" tips off the built-in CO2 cartridge..."

Sounds like those "rocket racers" we built around a CO2 cartridge. Sounds like a bad idea already.

[Dave @ Aug 17th 2006 12:59AM]

Do they make one for Guinea Pigs? I'll buy one if they do.

[ML @ Aug 17th 2006 8:10AM]

My border collie can swim

[wolff000 @ Aug 17th 2006 3:19PM]

And I thought dog clothes were the dumbest thing I'd ever seen. I see I was proven wrong. After some additional thought though I could see this helping the smaller breeds of dogs that may not have the power to keep themselves afloat long enough to reach shore. as far as choking the dog that's not an issue as long as the thing deploys outward not inward, which i'm sure it does. Also depending how fast it inflates it may not scare the dog at all. I for one would give it a shot if I had a little rat-dog near water. Luckily my dog can swim really well and is trained well enough to not jump in water unless I tell her to, then again she also doesn't touch her food until I give the command that its ok. When you have a dog that weighs 170lbs. and is 4'2" obedience training is a must.

[Eddy @ Aug 17th 2006 3:21PM]

Can we just teach the dog how to swim?

[Lea Go @ Apr 6th 2007 5:43PM]

Greetings,

As what i read on this posted article, i found out the informativeness of this
kind of topic. For that reason i opened up an idea and some knowledge in this
field. well, you made just did great job..more power!

sincerely,
Lea Go
Dog Bark Collars

[Lea Go @ Apr 6th 2007 5:43PM]

Greetings,

As what i read on this posted article, i found out the informativeness of this
kind of topic. For that reason i opened up an idea and some knowledge in this
field. well, you made just did great job..more power!

sincerely,
Lea Go
Dog Bark Collars

[Lea Go @ Apr 6th 2007 5:46PM]

Greetings,

As what i read on this posted article, i found out the informativeness of this
kind of topic. For that reason i opened up an idea and some knowledge in this
field. well, you made just did a great job..more power!

sincerely,
Lea Go
Dog Bark Collars

[sinthia Szato @ Jun 13th 2007 1:04AM]

OK, you negative people out there,,,,,,this is a good idea,,,,and why????? Because our 35 lb pug fell in the pool at 1:00 am last night and because he doesnt swin, at best vertically, for a few minutes. So we heard him, ran to the pool tore our nightshirts off, dove in and hauled him to shore. No, some dogs are physically not designed to swim, or are too stupid to find the way out of a pool, at night, or they have bad eyesight,,, or their fur is too heavy and pulls them down. So the first thing I did was to Google "inflatable dog collar wondering if there was such a thing, and low and behold someone is working on it. So more power to you, this is an inventive thing. There are negatives to just about anything and quirks to work out, but if this device saves a life of a pet, its a good thing.

[Dave @ Jun 28th 2007 10:18AM]

Sinthia,

I am so glad you heard your dog and managed to save him. We lost our pug on July 27th, 2005. While we were at work, he jumped in the swimmimg pool in the backyard. It was one of the Wal-Mart type ... 12 feet across, 4 feet deep, and with an inflated ring around the edge. We'd actually taken him swimming in the river with us a few times and took him into the pool when we were home and let him swim around with us, but there's no way he could get out over that ring once he fell in. The cover was on the pool at the time, too. It's been almost two years now, and it's still heart-wrenching for me to think about.

He was just about the pinnacle of fitness in a pug ... 1 year, 9 months old and only 18 pounds, and that was all muscle. We kept him in great shape, and he still couldn't make it out. We never would have imagined that he would make a four-foot jump into the pool.

So for all you nay-sayers ... if you've ever lost a pet to a drowning accident, you'd be singing a different toon. Something like this could have saved my dog's life, and I applaud it's inventor for it.

[designer dog collar @ Sep 24th 2007 10:21PM]

this is a nice idea. ;)

-Andrei
http://www.designerdogcollar-4less.com

[no bark collars @ Oct 1st 2007 7:34AM]

Float-a-Pet! Innovative prototype, indeed. I'll buy this product once it's released in the market. Haha.