Human appliances may soon move into the artificial intelligence age with smart refrigerators that automatically reorder groceries using Amazon’s Dash system. However, dogs already have an AI option for their eats.
Numerous automatic dog feeders, and even smart scoops linked to private label pet food delivery, already exist. Now, one company, Wagz, integrates various devices and a smart phone app with their dog feeder that dispenses the company’s own dog food, Whello, from prepackaged boxes, called Wagzi, sold on Amazon via the Dash replenishment system.
“The idea came to us that the entire way that food has been delivered, has been in bags for 130 years,” with Terry Anderton, founder and chief executive officer of Wagz. “It’s a business model that hasn’t changed. So when you open up a bag of food, it starts to immediately oxidize and go stale. And in this modern age, we thought that there is a better way to do food in general and it’s based on personalized data also from the dog.
“Our system is pretty comprehensive, it’s not just packaging, it’s how it interacts with the machine and also our dog collar,” he said.
Wagz dog food and products system
The Wagz Serve Smart Feeder has an Amazon Dash replenishment system built into it. A smart phone app can control when the feeder dispenses kibble in customized quantities and times. The app and feeder also feature video and two-way audio.
“It’s the very first smart dog food,” Anderton said. “It has an RFID tag in the box, these are called Wagzi, these cartridges. And how it works is, the feeder is the first fully autonomous self-ordering device of any type. So it knows how much dog food you have in your house, it dispenses the exact amount of food based on your dog age, breed, gender and activity level and then when you get low on food, through Amazon Dash, it automatically shows up at your house.”
Wagz private label pet food arrives in a three-pack of 8.5 pound boxes from Amazon. The feeder also comes with a hopper that allows pet owners to feed their dogs other kibble brands. The feeder and app also connect with Alexa.
“We’re also allowing your dog to have a voice to you through Alexa,” he said. “Because we are interpreting data such as calories consumed, water consumed, sleep habits and activity level, so you can even get a report from Alexa that says, how your dog is doing.”
Wagz pet food system and online pet food shopping
Anderton believes that the Wagz system will disrupt the pet food industry, especially as more consumers purchase pet food online.
“You know every dog food out there is making the same claims as far as all natural and so forth,” he said. “There is really nothing new, so we want to take a different approach and take it from the dog’s perspective. And the dog has specific needs, so rather than just having a formula for puppies, a formula for adult, a formula for seniors, this is about a targeted food for your dog based on its activity and breed.”
