In 2008, U.S. pet owners spent $43 million on their furry friends. Walk into

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any pet store and it’s easy to see how — $60 brushes, $200 designer cat scratchers, $450 midcentury dog beds. But the market for pet gadgets has been dismal, resulting in large part from the excess of novelty goods that are more expensive than practical. Really,whoneeds a gizmo that can ‘‘translate’’ your dog’s barks? This doesn’t mean useful pet gadgets don’t exist. As a certified dog trainer, as well as a local cat rescuer, I’ve seen and used my fair share of teched-out pet gear. Some of it has been useful, some of it laughable. Those that get it right, though, alleviate a problem youmay not have even knownyou had. And like your cellphone, once you use them you won’t know how you lived without them.

LITTER-ROBOT

One thing I constantly hear while rescuing cats is, ‘‘I love ’em, but I hate litter boxes.’’ Who doesn’t? Opt for smart engineering instead.

There have been plenty of litter boxes to claim automated self-cleaning, but the Litter-Robot is the only one I’ve seen that delivers. A weight sensor marks when your feline friend enters and then leaves the Death Star-like device. The Litter-Robot then counts down from seven minutes and, as long as the sensor hasn’t been activated again, the globe begins to spin counterclockwise.

Gravity pushes the litter — any clumping or scoopable type—over a sifter, which separates the clean from the soiled. Waste is dispensed into a bag within the bottom of the machine.

Once the bag is full (about a week of single cat use) you open the drawer, pull out the bag, tie it up and throw it out. There are two major drawbacks to the Litter-Robot: its price, $329 (Litter-Robot.com), and its size — roughly two feet, or 60 centimeters, per side — but it’s a small price to pay never have to clean a litter box again.

PET PORTE On those TV programs showing funny home videos, there’s always a family finding a dog or raccoon stuck in their cat door. The Pet Porte, $156 (PetPorte.com) uses the radio frequency from the microchip already embedded in your cat (or small dog) to ensure that furry crashers stay out. The clear, plastic door remains locked until a sensor reads your pet’s microchip.

Pet Porte works only with European microchips; this autumn, the company will release a door that can read U.S.

chips. Light sensors allow you to program the door to lock after certain hours so your kitty doesn’t go out for a nightcap.

DIRT DEVIL PURPOSE FOR PETS PORTABLE EXTRACTOR

If a cat urinates and no one sees it . . . it still reeks. For those hidden urine stains that can only be found with gadgetry, there’s Dirt Devil’s Purpose for Pets Portable Extractor, $109 (DirtDevil.com). The carpet cleaner has blacklight L.E.D.’s on the scrub brush that illuminate hidden stains in carpets and furniture. (How frightening it might be to discover your entire rug glowing in the dark.)

KOMFORT PETS CARRIER

Traveling with your pet is often unavoidable. And while you may be enjoying the air-conditioning in your car, it may not be making it to the plastic box your furry friend is sitting in at the back of the car. One of the easiest ways to ensure your traveling companion isn’t miserable is to set him up in a Komfort Pets Carrier, $149 (KomfortPets.com). The climate-controlled carrier features conductive plates in the floor that automatically turn on if the ambient temp in the carrier goes below 56 degrees Fahrenheit (13 Celsius). If the mercury gets too high, a fan gently blows cool air into the carrier. Unfortunately Komfort Pets hasn’t gotten the O.K. from airlines to plug in within cargo holds, so you won’t get the climate benefits while airborne.

QUICKFINDER DELUXE If you’ve ever had to cut a pet’s talons you know how stressful it can be. Just like trimming a baby’s, there’s way too much room for mistakes. Add black nails and you may as well forget it. The QuickFinder Deluxe, $24 (QuickFinderClipper.com) uses a patented sensor that detects heat radiating from the blood vessels within the nail. A miniature traffic light on the clipper lets you know when it’s safe to cut. Red, unsafe to cut. Yellow, proceed with caution. Green, clip away. You’re still in charge of keeping your puppy from squirming.

SNIF TAG

Ever wonder if your dog walker is really giving your pup a workout? The Snif Tag, $299 (SnifTag.com), is the equivalent of the baby cam for neurotic dog owners. A small tag attached to the collar uses a three-axis accelerometer and motion sensor software to determine what your dog is doing — walking, running, sleeping—and records the information within the tag’s flash drive. Back at your pad, where Snif Tag’s base station connects by Ethernet cable to your home network, all the information is uploaded to a Web site. The site breaks down your pooch’s activity by minute, hour, day, week, and month, and lets you determine, by breed and age, whether or not your dog is getting enough exercise. The tag also features a social component: When your canine companion has interacted with another Snif Tag wearer, you can contact the owner of your pup’s new B.F.F. to set another play date. One problem: Finding enough owners who are willing to buy the device.

JOG-A-DOG The easiest way to deal with destructive behavior is with exercise, but occasionally it’s not realistic to toss the ball with your pup (long work hours, snowstorms, laziness). Doesn’t mean you can’t wear your dog out. Joga- Dog, $1,195 and up (JogADog.com) is a treadmill designed with canines in mind. Side guardrails ensure your dog doesn’t escape his workout, and an 11- degree incline is said to provide the resistance needed to build strength and muscle. But like with human treadmills, the Jog-a-Dog is no substitute for the stimuli of the great outdoors.

ZOOMBAK

For those lucky enough to live on a large plot of land, your dogs could, and probably do, spend their entire day outside. So where does your pup go? Zoombak is a $99 (ZoomBak.com) GPS-enabled device that attaches to your dog’s collar and lets you zero in on where your dog is at any moment via the Web, your mobile phone, or a customer care rep. You can also sketch out safety zones on a Google-like map, and get texts if your hound throws caution to the wind and leaves the area. If Spot gets lost, you can pinpoint his coordinates online before heading out to retrieve him. Just don’t miss the $10 monthly service charge, or the thing becomes useless.

Like a mobile phone, Zoombak only works where there’s a cellular signal (and a T-Mobile one in the United States at that).