Kiddog

Smart Safety Treat Dispenser

KIDDOG is a smart treat dispensing system designed to give dogs controlled daily rewards while doubling as an emergency evacuation tool. By combining sound and positive reinforcement, the product trains dogs to move toward a designated safe area, even during high-stress situations like a house fire.

Student Project inspired by:

40,000 PETS

According to National Fire Protection Association 40,000 pets die every year in U.S. house fires

NO DOGS

Current products are only designed for humans

MARKET GAP

Kidde can lead the market with a pet-focused product line

The Hidden Risk at Home

During house fires, many pets hide instead of escaping. Traditional smoke alarms are not designed to trigger behavioral responses in animals. There is currently no accessible system that actively guides pets to safety using conditioned behavior.

Turning Treats into Training

Dogs naturally respond to reward-based cues. By integrating timed treat dispensing, acoustic signals, and emergency activation features, Kiddog transforms a daily habit into a trained safety behavior.

How can we increase a dog's chances of surviving a house fire until firefighters arrive?

Initial exploration

Exploring a wide range of product directions that could align with Kidde’s fire safety heritage while introducing a new pet-centered function.

Scale proportion and functionality

After defining the concept of a smart snack dispenser, I began exploring scale, proportion, and overall form through full-scale mockups.

Building 1:1 prototypes allowed me to evaluate physical presence, camera and speaker location, solar panel size, treat container capacity, and dispensing access.

Details Refinement

This final sketch phase refined the chosen direction into a production-aware form. I resolved proportion, hierarchy of components, speaker placement, camera, and treat dispensing access.