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Pet Tutor: The Dog Treat Dispenser You Wish You Had

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Pet Tutor Dog Treat Dispenser Review

Dog Treat Dispenser
Courtesy of Pet Tutor

Technology continues to advance within the pet industry at lightning fast speed. Several new pet-friendly apps, dog monitor camera systems and remote training devices will positively change dog training forever.

At the top of the technology heap is Smart Animal Training Systems’ Pet Tutor. The dog treat dispenser is a shining star beaming with endless pet training and enrichment opportunities for dogs. With Pet Tutor’s technology, endless options and a savvy dog trainer, this tool has the power to replace shock collars. The only limitation to the product is a dog trainer or pet owner’s imagination.

What is a Pet Tutor?

Pet Tutor is a computerized dog treat dispenser programmed with different dispensing settings, which can be controlled through a smart remote or mobile app. Pet Tutor’s tube is made of stainless steel and lexan, which is a clear and super strong polycarbonate. Lexan is so strong that it’s considered bullet resistant, and used in safety glasses.

In addition, this blue cylindrical device is mobile. You can place it on the ground, mount it to a crate or hang it from a wall with a 3M removable hook.

Setting Up Pet Tutor

Pet Tutor sets up easily, dispenses dog treats soundlessly, and offers endless mental enrichment ideas and training possibilities for your dog. It only takes a couple of seconds to set up the treat dispensing function. If you’re using the training system’s more advanced settings, such as installing a Bluetooth app, setup can take 5-6 minutes.

Dispenses All Types of Treats!

Another huge bonus is Pet Tutor will dispense different types of high value treats. Smart Animal Training Systems has a patented treat dispensing design that prevents training treats from jamming, so any type of treat can be used. Think kibble, chopped up hot dogs, diced string cheese, etc. Some animal trainers use chopped up carrots to teach horses to stand still during grooming while others are dispensing birdseed when teaching birds new behaviors.

Pet Tutor Creator

Wes Anderson created Pet Tutor as a fun game that infuses and combines positive reinforcement training principles and mental stimulation. In the past, Wes worked as an electrical engineer and statistician. He studied neuroscience with a focus on Alzheimer’s research. Recently, Wes decided to focus on another passion and became a dog trainer. Using his extensive knowledge, he designed and created Pet Tutor and committed himself to offering the latest updates as technology advances.

How Will Pet Tutor Help My Dog?

Pet Tutor is a game changer in the animal behavior world. This dog training tool can slow down fast eating dogs, offers different forms of mental stimulation and teaches a dog that barking doesn’t pay. Yes, this dog treat dispenser will certainly help dogs.

Slow Fast Eating Dogs

For fast eating dogs, Pet Tutor will slow down meals by dispensing one kibble at a time. Instead of inhaling food within seconds, dogs may take up to 20 minutes eating their meals, depending on your chosen setting. All you have to do is go on the Pet Tutor smartphone app and change the setting to dispense treats over a period of time and voila! With a few taps, you’ve maximized your dog’s mealtime.

Provide Super Powered Mental Enrichment

Take mealtimes up a notch by teaching a dog to walk over and touch a Kong Wobbler. The dog learns that touching a Kong Wobbler, that’s sitting on the ground, will dispense a treat from the device. Simply place a smartphone that has the Pet Tutor app, or remote, inside a plastic Kong Wobbler to get started!

Stop Dog Barking

Pet Tutor’s technology will dispense treats while a pet owner is away or out of sight. Using a smart remote or app, pet owners can reward dogs for quiet behavior from another room or even online. When away, you can use the training system to reward your dog’s quiet behavior for you. Dogs quickly learn that quiet behavior pays well and barking becomes a thing of the past.

Help Dogs With Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety in dogs is much more than excessive barking; it’s a very serious issue. In short, dogs with separation anxiety panic when they’re left alone, which can result in them seriously harming themselves. The training system can certainly help with separation anxiety, but it requires the expertise of a professional dog trainer or veterinary behaviorist for best results.

Smart Animal Training Systems is committed to evolving its products as new pet technology is discovered. Pet Tutor offers remote rewards through a smartphone or tablet. Pet owners can check in on their dogs using Pet Tutor’s tablet or smartphone app. Additionally, pet owners can instantly dispense treats to reward good behavior remotely.

While many dog camera systems offer this option, there’s a slight delay between pressing the treat dispense button on a smartphone and the treat being dispensed. When changing dog behavior, timing and speed is essential.

https://youtu.be/Jrlrj62-GMY

Leaving Your Dog Home Alone? Try These Tips

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3 Ways to Keep Home Alone Dogs Entertained

Home Alone Dogs
adogslifephoto/iStock

As pet owners, we feel guilty when we leave our dogs home alone all day. Whenever I leave for work and I’m shutting the door behind me, my heart sinks to the floor because I hope my home alone dogs won’t be bored. Just to make sure they’re entertained while I’m away, I leave food stuffed toys and puzzles behind for them. I also enlist help from a pet sitter when my dogs are left alone for more than 4 hours. Check out these three tips that will keep your home alone dog busy while you’re away!

Provide Food Stuffed Toys

Food stuffed toys are a miracle; I can’t say this enough. I purchased rubber Kong toys online several years ago and ever since I’ve been filling them with food and storing them in the freezer every week. Before leaving for work, I toss a frozen food stuffed Kong in each dog’s crate. A frozen food stuffed dog toy will keep my home alone dogs busy for at least an hour. These durable rubber toys are pretty safe to leave with them unattended. Over time, my dogs have learned it’s a good thing when I leave for work because it means a frozen interactive toy.

When purchasing Kong toys, choose a black Extreme Kong for powerful chewers or a Classic Red Kong for normal chewers. As for size, check out Kong’s size recommendations, which lists sizes based on your dog’s breed and weight. When in doubt, choose one size larger, especially for powerful chewers.

Use a Kibble Dispensing Toy

This is another amazing dog toy and a must-have if your dog eats kibble (dry dog food). Your dog will need plenty of space when playing with a kibble dispensing toy because she needs to move the toy around to dispense food.

It’s always best to teach your dog how to use a kibble dispensing toy first before leaving her home alone with it. To do this, pour her evening meals inside the toy and encourage her as she bops it around. Once she confidently and happily pushes the toy around with her paws or nose, and hasn’t tried to chew it, you can leave your dog home alone with it. Pour your dog’s breakfast inside a kibble dispensing toy and place it on the ground before leaving for work.

I’ve had excellent results with Kong’s Wobbler (small or large) and Buster Cube kibble dispensing toys. These toys aren’t indestructible though. We’ve had to replace them several times due to gashes and cracks caused by my dogs tossing the toys across hard tile.

My dogs are very tough on toys, so a Wobbler will last about a year with everyday use and a Buster Cube will last a couple of years (this toy is super strong). Several of my clients swear their dogs absolutely love their Tug-A-Jug toy. With this toy, a dog must tug on the rope to dispense treats from inside the “jug.” It’s quite a challenging toy. We don’t use Tug-A-Jug toys in our home anymore because my dogs bashed a huge hole in our wall from slinging the toy in mid air and chewing the rope to pieces.

You may also be interested in: Indestructible Dog Toys (Well, Almost)

Hire a Mid Day Pet Sitter

If you’re gone for more than 4-6 hours at a time, I highly recommend paying a professional pet sitter to visit and potty your dogs mid day. During a typical visit, pet sitters will spend at least 30 minutes playing, walking and pottying your dog while you’re away. Honestly, I think asking a dog to hold it for longer than 4 hours is asking a lot. Your home alone dog needs to get out and stretch her legs, and of course potty. Plus, your pet sitter can refill your dog’s kibble dispensing toy or toss another frozen Kong in her crate for even more fun. I think all of that is easily worth $15-$20 per visit.

A Few Cautions for Your Home Alone Dogs

Never leave two or more home alone dogs with food stuffed toys because even the sweetest dogs will fight over food. If you choose to give two dogs food stuffed toys, you should toss them in your dogs’ crates, and then close and lock the crate doors. If you’re leaving two or more dogs home alone with kibble dispensing toys, which require room to make the toy work, then I recommend keeping each dog in a separate room with closed doors.  For dogs left loose in your home, you should separate them with super sturdy safety gates.

Lastly, please don’t leave dogs alone in your backyard because it’s not safe. Your neighbors could complain, your dogs could be stolen or your dogs could learn to escape your yard. It’s not worth it, so keep your dogs indoors when they’re home alone.

Dog Training Nation is a dog training blog for pet owners and dog lovers. We cover a range of topics from puppy socialization tips to dog aggression to dog health. It is our hope you share our content to make the world a better place for dogs.

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