Does your dog envy your iPhone?  Well wait no more.  You need a Dog-e-Minder.  Order before midnight tonight, and your dog can be sporting tech bling in just the 6-8 weeks you need to allow for delivery.

For just $19.95 this electronic tag can be hung on your dog’s collar.  It has three buttons allowing you to keep track of up to three periodic events in your dog’s life.  Yes that’s right—your dog has periodic events in his life, specifically being fed, peeing, and taking his medicine.  Think of this like a low end Palm Pilot for Fido.

Unfortunately, there’s no automation for sensing an event.  Fido has to push a button every time he’s fed in order for this to work.  However, not only is it inconveniently located around his neck, but his paws are too darned clumsy to push the tiny buttons anyway.  And let’s face it.  What self respecting dog is going to be honest about the last time he was fed?  There’s always room for one little dinner mint.  So for this to work, you have to push a button every time Fido eats, craps, or takes a pill.

That’s right, this electronic wizardry has all the convenience of a notepad on the fridge (if your dog carried the fridge around).  You still have to remember to click the button every time the dog goes out to do his business, or you won’t know whether or not he’s faking it next time he paws at the door.  So now, instead of wondering when the last time was you gave the dog his heartworm meds, you can fret about whether or not you remembered to push the button when you last got him to swallow a pill… whenever that was.

While I understand the marketing appeal of selling this as something you would hang on your dog’s neck, the more I think about it I think it would be more practical if you just hung it around your own neck.  That way you’d think about Fido more often, your friends would know you were a dedicated dog lover, and chances are, the device would accurately show when one of you last peed.