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CleverPet 2020 Update

Hey there,

This is Leo, CEO of CleverPet. I'm writing to share some good news: even with everything that's been going on, we're still here :)

The bad news is that we're out of stock of our V1 CleverPet Hubs — we've transitioned to focusing on getting the next generation out the door, and over the course of the next few months we'll be sharing with you the work we've been up to over the last while.

We're also going to be sharing more regularly about the stories that excite us at CleverPet. We're enthusiastic about the potential of dogs' and cats' minds, and every day they and other animals surprise us with their intelligence. Even in the last couple of years we've discovered entirely new dimensions of what they can do.

Throughout history most people believed the mental abilities of dogs and cats were extremely limited. But consider this: 50,000 years ago, how many humans could have passed a test of basic arithmetic?

Because behavior researchers haven't been able to get dogs or cats to recognize themselves in the mirror, they concluded dogs and cats would never be able to do so. But now that everyone has a videocamera in their pocket we're finally able to capture rare glimpses of hidden potential: maybe dogs and cats can do recognize themselves, but most of the time they just aren't interested. This is why I'm super excited by videos like these two, one of a cat and one of a dog, each appearing to have figured out how mirrors work.

We're delighted to be here discovering, with you, what dogs (and cats!) can do. If you're enthusiastic like we are, please reach out! Feel free to shoot me an email (leo@clever.pet) or set up a time to chat (https://calendly.com/leo-1/10-minute-founder-check-in).

Be well, and bye for now!

-Leo

PS If you've got videos of your dog or cat doing anything smart or surprising, and you'd like the world to see their cleverness, you can share videos of them here.

Introducing Color Match

Spark your dog's creativity

 Watching an animal think and make decisions may be one of the most fascinating behaviors we get to see at CleverPet. We love it when a dog approaches a new puzzle, pauses to look at each of the touch pads in turn, and then makes a careful response. If we’re lucky, they get it right and we get to see their happy reaction.
 

We love the opportunity that CleverPet provides to watch dogs’ and cats’ “little gears turning”. It’s that kind of creativity and exploration that makes CleverPet uniquely fun for humans and animals alike. We've wanted to see more of this, and so today we’re excited to announce Color Match, our first new game for the CleverPet Hub! Color Match is the world’s first game for animals that rewards them for exploring different problem-solving strategies.
 

How does Color Match work?

During the first ten challenges of CleverPet, dogs work to solve problems in which there’s only one correct response. With Color Match, dogs can decide which approach they’d like to take to solve the puzzle.

Color Match consists of two challenges: Matching Two Colors, and Matching More Colors. The object of the game is to have all touchpads match so they’re the same color. The dog does this by cycling each touchpad through a sequence of colors by using their nose or paw. The first of the two challenges, Matching Two Colors, starts off simple with only blue and yellow colors to choose between.
 


As dogs get better they progress to the next challenge, Matching More Colors. By adding just one more color, the difficulty of the game increases exponentially. Mastering Matching More Colors requires that dogs develop significantly more skill. At this challenge level it’s not enough for dogs to touch the touchpads randomly: as they advance the game gets more challenging by requiring that dogs solve the puzzles in fewer and fewer steps! 
 


Wait, dogs can see color?

Many believe that dogs can only see in shades of gray, but that isn’t true. Dogs – and cats too – can definitely see color, even if their color abilities are more limited. Dogs, like some humans, have trouble distinguishing between red and green hues. This is because dogs only have two color-sensing cells, or cones, in their retinas which limits their color perception to a blue-yellow spectrum. 

Fortunately, we made sure we found LEDs for the CleverPet Hub that emit exactly the right wavelengths in order to make maximum use of dogs’ abilities to see color. Color Match lets you see with your own eyes your dog’s “hidden” abilities. 
 


So, how do you get Color Match? There’s nothing for you to do: after your dog has mastered the previous challenge, Learning Longer Sequences, they’ll automatically graduate into the Color Match game. 

We can’t wait to see what your dogs (and cats) can do!

-Team CleverPet

 

Taking Care of Your Dog's Eyes

Taking Care of Your Dog's Eyes

There is a myth that dogs have poor vision. While they see the world differently than we do, dog vision is optimized for what their wild ancestors did: hunt.

What are the differences between a dog's vision and a human's vision? How do they see the world differently, and why? Additionally, how do we best take care of our canine companions' eyes?