![]() When your dog successfully completes a challenge, the food tray swivels out to reveal a treat. Depending on the challenge, the touchpads light up in different dichromatic-friendly colors with different levels of brightness and emit different tones. While the science behind CleverPet – animal cognition, associative learning, adaptive training – might be complex, its operation is simple. The idea of the CleverPet was born when three cognitive science PhD candidates at the University of California – Leo Trottier, Dan Knudsen, and Philip Meier – started discussing whether they could use advanced cognitive and behavioral science techniques to develop a device that would train animals automatically. The most impressive part of the hub is what you don’t see: the software. Thankfully, the hub is impressively engineered, built hardy enough that I could, in my frustration, skip straight to step three with no repercussions. And if that didn’t work, shake the ever lovin’ sh*t out of the hub. If that didn’t work, remove the treat tray. Jamming wasn’t too common, especially if using dry, firm treats, but when jamming did occur the solution was to remove the food pod. It also makes for easy troubleshooting according to me, as access to all of the moving parts is sometimes essential for clearing kibble-gone-rogue. The dome, food pod and treat tray with stainless steel food dish are all removable, which makes for “easy cleaning” according to the startup guide. It’s easy! Almost as easy as tearing it apart to take photos, which is how I got started. The hub arrives fully-assembled all you need to do to get started is open the spring-loaded hatch, fill the food pod with treats, and read the startup guide. And as it gets similarly slobbered on, I am happy to report that it is extremely durable, with a non-slip bottom that can withstand vigorous nosing and touch pads that can withstand equally vigorous stomping. At 6.3 inches high, 14.6 inches wide and 16.1 inches deep it takes up just a little more space than an extra-large dog bowl. As for the hub itself, it is a sleek dome shape, far more streamlined than the initial Kickstarter design. This was made super easy by the Apple-esque packaging, with numbered stickers on the hub walking you through the different parts and a clean, clear startup guide for the getting the app and hub communicating over WiFi. Now let the games begin!īefore the devastating pwnage could commence, we had to unbox and setup the Cleverpet hubs. Thank you, Cleverpet, for tearing our family apart. We humble hoomans would be the Navi to their Link, the Tails to their Sonic, the Luigi to their Mario, the crowbar to their Gordan Freeman in the first inter-species competitive co-op game console battle. Sure, the dogs would be the ones actually testing the hubs, but they wouldn’t be the only ones playing. “ Baxter is smart! He knows to come when you say pickle!“Īs our conversation on the merits of a Fido-focused game console devolved into Xbox Live-worthy trash talk, I realized that we didn’t just need to try a CleverPet, we needed to try two CleverPets. I think Ziggy could pick it up pretty fast. “ I mean, this is the dog that responds to the name ‘Pickle.’“ “ I don’t know if Baxter is clever enough for something like the Cleverpet,” she said. ![]() I thought this game console could be a game changer, but Lauren was dubious. I never did end up going back to look at my mom’s vacation photos (and I never will, mom, so stop tagging me) but I did find a way for Ziggy and Baxter’s never-ending “Let’s Play” to end with them actively participating in something that they’ve only ever enjoyed from the sidelines. In other words, CleverPet is a game console for dogs! To be honest, accidentally clicking a sponsored post in my Facebook news feed usually results in me rage quitting the app, but CleverPet was the exception. For every game console Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo makes, I have a photo somewhere of Ziggy and Baxter getting their game on.ĬleverPet is a digital entertainment device that engages and rewards your dog for solving puzzles – using a combination of colors, lights and sounds – that scale in difficulty according to your dog’s ability.
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