Why the delay before the Feeder ejects food? Won't this hinder my dogs ability to understand the game?

This is a very subjective issue with conflicting perspectives. We consulted with a board certified veterinary behaviorist, our strategic investor who has been working with dog behavior modification for over 40 years and is one of Britain’s leading animal psychologist, the head of the University of Arizona canine cognition program, and dozens of dog trainers and behaviorists (both customers and non-customers) about this issue.

We’ve been advised that the critical timing is between the dog taking the correct action with the toy and the marker sound “marking” the correct behavior from the feeder. When a dog hears the marker sound, they know a reward is coming and the food delivery process becomes a ritual. The timing between correct behavior and marker sound should be less than half a second. (It takes 300-500 milliseconds for the message to travel from the toy to feeder over Bluetooth.)

Our design goal for PupPod is to engage a dog in mental stimulation, which is quite different from teaching a skill as quickly as possible, which is usually the goal in dog training. It’s worth noting that we’ve had thousands of dogs successfully learn the game. If your pup is interacting with the Rocker, let them keep experimenting & if possible try not to give them any direction. Theres a good chance they will make the connection given enough time!

There is also a positive outcome from the current design, which is that many dogs will sit during the dispensing ritual. Check out this video of Poppy and this one of Larry playing the game. Notice how they sit during the dispense ritual. Larry actually sits when the food drops into the treat tube, which can encourage patience. In the video you can hear the rewards ping when the tube loads, which is Larry’s cue to sit. In this video of Kazu, who is super high energy and very impatient, you can see him being VERY active with the toy, but as soon as he hears the “marker” sound, he stops interacting with the toy and is 100% focused on the feeder and the reward ritual.