How can I train over the internet?
There are two methods which trade-off ease of setup and reliability of the trigger to feed. The speed of your internet access will be a big factor in the type of behaviors you can train. For example : clicking for calm laying in the bed may work with slower internet latency than say target training.
Method A sound trigger.
Pros
-Easy setup
-Requires only two way audio/video service.
Cons
-the speaker quality of the laptop etc will effect performance
-sounds in the room with the animal may trigger the feeder.
Method B. Pet Tutor® Control Center
Pros
-Very reliable
-Not effected by sounds in the room with the animal
Cons
-Requires additional remote desktop access
Methods to trigger Pet Tutor® via the internet(i.e. virtual animal training)
Method A. Using Smart Remote sound triggered mode.
1. Setup a 2 way audio between the trainer(remote location over the internet) and the room with the animal(with Pet Tutor®)
ex. Google Hangout, Facetime, Skype etc. *
So in the room with the animal a laptop, computer or tablet will feed the video/audio to the trainer over the internet.
2. Put the Smart Remote into sound trigger mode(single or double trigger).
3. Put the microphone(upper right corner of remote) directly on the speaker of the computer/laptop in the room with the animal.
NOTE: the size and quality of the speaker on the device you use will determine how well the remote can pick up the trigger sound
4. With the trainer on their smart device(laptop, computer, tablet or even smartphone) make a trigger sound into the microphone of the device.
If the connection on the internet is of high quality this sound will be sent to the speaker in the room with the Pet Tutor® and the remote will
pick it up and fire the feeder.
* a variation on this is to simply use a standalone webcam(ex. Dropcam, Foscam etc) with an app for it. The speed of these systems will vary and most are not optimized for real time. So speed for training performance with these may not be acceptable. But if you have one already..give it a try!...and let us know how it works.
Method B. Using Pet Tutor(r) Control Center software.
1. Startup the Pet Tutor(r) software on the laptop in the room with the animal. The remote must be plugged into the USB port and the feeder must be on.
2. Go to the screen with the big feed button("Internet").
3. On both the computer in the Pet Tutor® room and in the location with the trainer start-up a third party remote desktop access program(ex. TeamViewer(r)*)
4. Using the remote desktop program(not supplied by Pet Tutor®) the trainer can now push the "FEED" button on the screen were the Pet Tutor® Control Center software is running
*There are several packages available that the help desks now use to remotely access your computer. TeamViewer(r) is one which is free for personal use but there is a fee for business use.
Other articles:
Internet training Tips
Other articles:
Internet training Tips