Meet CleverPet -- The New Game Console for Dogs

Dog parents, welcome to the future -- this is?CleverPet. We know you feel terrible leaving your pets all alone when you go to work, listening to their whimpers and looking into those sad eyes. Anyone who has a dog knows that they miss you when you are away, but

CleverPet

might make being home alone a little more bearable.

RELATED STORY: What Causes Anxiety in Dogs? A game console specially designed to keep your dog engaged even when you are not home, CleverPet uses a series of lights, sounds, and patterns to catch your dogs attention and doles out a treat

every time a certain command is performed, keeping them coming back.Now, if you are worried that the CleverPet is going to have your pet snacking all day, fear not! The way this game works, it becomes more challenging with every snack your dog is rewarded, keeping the game from becoming a simple call and response treat dispenser.

RELATED STORY: How a Healthy Dog Weight Can Prevent Disease What?s more, if you feel that your pooch is extra clever (or just feel like having them take a break from the game), you can monitor the game and adjust the settings remotely from your smartphone, increasing the difficulty, or just plain shutting down the machine.It starts out simple enough -- the lights and sounds go off to get your dogs attention. At first, your dog may be a little apprehensive about the mysterious machine in the corner beeping and blinking, but as soon as the first treat pops out, dollars to donuts says your dog gets over their initial misgivings.RELATED STORY: A Guide to the Best Christmas Gifts for DogsSoon after, to get the much sought-after snack, they have to press any of the buttons in front. From there, once the button pressing becomes ingrained behavior, things get a little trickier, introducing specific lights and sounds that require a specific set of button pushes to receive the same reward. After a while, your dog will be all ready to take the test to get into Mensa.Want to learn more? See their Kickstarter

video here.The CleverPet console is currently in development and being funded on the crowdsourcing powerhouse Kickstarter. For a donation of $159 or more, contributors will receive a unit from their first production run, when shipping begins in February 2015. The rest of us will have to wait until launch, when the product will be available for $279 MSRP.

What do you think about electronic games for your dog? Would you consider buying one? Let us know in the comments! And if you are looking to improve your dog's quality of life,?sign up for

?

PetPlus, a benefit program for pet owners that provides member-only access to medications at wholesale prices, plus discounts on food, supplies, vet visits, boarding and more.