FAQ

While a torn-up couch is easy to notice, you also want to watch out for more subtle signs which tell you that your dog is bored. 

Dogs are individuals, so the way they express boredom can be different from dog to dog. If you notice any of these signs, you should  include more activation in your dog’s daily life:

• Restlessness: When dogs don’t have the chance to get rid of their energy during the day, they have trouble settling down and relaxing.
• Attention-seeking behaviour: Do you feel that your dog begs for cuddles, scratches, and playtime a lot lately? Try to include some more stimulation in their day.
• Destructive behaviour: Bored dogs are, well… bored. So at times, destroying things around the house might be their only entertainment. Don’t be mad at your dog, but think about giving your dog more human-approved activities to blow off steam.
• Obsessive barking: Your dog knows what triggers your reaction. Just telling your dog to stop barking won’t do the trick in the long run. Find fun ways for both of you to include more activation in your daily routine.
• Increased drowsiness: Dogs sleep a lot during the day. If you notice that your dog hardly does anything else, it’s time to include more action in his day, though.

All dogs need mental stimulation. Not getting enough of it will have negative consequences for your dog’s wellbeing. The serious consequences boredom can have on dogs’ wellbeing were highlighted by a recent study which was conducted by the ‘The Royal Veterinary College’. They looked into the effects boredom can have on dogs and found out that those can be severe. Dogs who experience boredom regularly have a higher chance of becoming sick and developing mental health issues, which can result in a decrease in life expectancy. We know you don’t want that - which is why we have created Go Dogo. If you prefer to mentally stimulate your dog yourself, you will find lots of suggestions for that in our DIY section

That heavily depends on your dog, but our general recommendation would be two 10-15 sessions a day. You can choose to play more, but always make sure to observe your dog’s behaviour and stop playing before your dog gets too exhausted. Mental workout is hard work for your dog, so make sure they have time for a nap after each session.

Don’t worry about it! The goal of Go Dogo is not to get through the levels as fast as possible, but to give your dog some mental stimulation. Some dogs will race through the levels, others will stay on the first three levels for some time and that’s perfectly fine. As long as your dog has fun and uses their brain to earn themselves some treats - all is exactly as it should! If your dog struggles with a level, feel free to help and cheer them on. Or go back to the previous level for some rounds.

The Go Dogo Fireworks Training Program is based on computer vision and expert protocols. The dog is turning on the sounds by him/herself, and regular Go Dogo games are added to help keep the emotions positive. Moreover, pace and patience are not easy aspects for us humans. But tech has endless of both, which ensures a slow, but steady progress, with less chances of setback or even failure. When the dog learns to work on it more detached from the human, it builds more confidence in general. The method is brand new and still being tested and refined. Scientists and an army of behavior experts are involved in the process an it will help a lot of dogs taking the first crucial steps towards tolerating loud noises.

At the moment, the Go Dogo game (audio and visual), including the setup instructions, is solely in English. The app is available in both English and Danish, based on your iPhone language settings & region.

If your dog is barking while playing Go Dogo, there’s a high chance he/she thinks that barking is what gets him/her the treat. When this happens, Go Dogo is unintentionally rewarding an unwanted behavior, which is why you need to intervene.

Please follow this 4-step protocol until your dog understands that barking does not make the treat come out:

1. Have your Go Dogo turned on in Level 3: Focus.
2. Stand next to the Go Dogo and cover the front camera with your hand.
3. When/If your dog is not barking, move your hand.
4. If your dog barks cover the camera and catch any treat on the way out, to avoid rewarding the bark.

You may have to repeat on occasion if the problem resurfaces.

If your dog is anxious about new things such as Go Dogo, please follow the protocol below for 1-5 days or until your dog understands that Go Dogo is a nice activity. It will pay off! Anxious dogs are actually those that benefit the most from learning to interact independently with Go Dogo, so it’s important to be patient.

While going through the steps below, keep making sure that your dog is relaxed and not afraid. Take as many breaks as you need.

1. Set up the Go Dogo system as instructed, without your dog in the room.
2. Turn the Go Dogo off, unplug it and put it down on the floor. Place some treats around it and on top of it and let your dog take them.
3. Put the Go Dogo back on the wall, turned on.
4. Release treats in the app by pressing the bone on the front page.
5. Turn your TV’s volume down to low.
6. Turn on Go Dogo on level 1 and move together with your dog, on the opposite side of the room.
7. Give your dog a treat every time you hear the “Dogo!” cue.
8. Move gradually closer to the TV, while praising and giving a treat at each “Dogo!”
9. When your dog is happily taking treats in front of the TV, you may turn on level 2.
10. Gradually turn the TV volume up to normal.
11. Turn on level 3 - and proceed as normal.

You may have to go very slow - some dogs need days or even weeks.

It is essential for our system to be set up correctly so that our cameras can see your dogs in all their glory. In the Go Dogo package, you will find a Setup Guide booklet. Scan the QR code from the cover page and follow the instructions it leads to.

If you're in doubt, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

You have two options to mount Go Dogo.

The first and best option is to mount the Go Dogo main unit to your wall, close to the TV. You will need to use a screw that fits your wall (not included in the package). The side camera has to be placed at a 90° angle, so it can see your dog from either the right or the left side. The side camera can be attached to a bookshelf, table, etc. with double-sided tape (which is included in the package).

If you cannot mount Go Dogo to your wall, you can use a tripod. The Go Dogo main unit has a hole in the back which fits all standard tripod screws. Be aware that your dog will be able to topple the tripod over, so do not leave your dog unattended when you choose this set-up.

As your dog should not come into physical contact with Go Dogo, you will not need to clean Go Dogo on a daily basis. But you might want to clean the treat carousel, the treat carousel holder and the treat dispenser extension from time to time. The yummier and stickier the treats you use are (did anyone say “sausages”?), the more often you will want to clean these items. 

And this is no problem at all: Simply take the treat carousel + holder + extension out of the Go Dogo main unit and wash them with warm water, dishwasher soap and a soft cloth. Please don’t use a hard brush or a rough sponge as this might damage the surface. 

While you cannot put the Go Dogo main unit or side camera under water (the electronic parts would not be happy about that), you can use a soft cloth, soaked in a bit of warm water and dishwasher soap to remove any stains.

We have talked to dog experts about this and their recommendation is to not use the pet parent as it could be confusing for your dog. If you’re playing Go Dogo with your dog while you’re in the room with them, they might struggle to understand why they can see you on the screen and in person. And if you choose to let your dog play Go Dogo while you’re gone, your dog might get stressed and look for you behind the TV or start trying to get to you. That’s why we have recorded our awesome dog trainer to do the training session with your dog.

At the moment, it is unfortunately not. But we are planning to add that functionality in the future.

Our recommendation is to start with the treats your dog likes best to get them excited about the new game. Please make sure that the treats are not too sticky, as those can get stuck in the treat dispenser, leaving your dog without the reward they deserve. If your dog is happy about any kind of food, you can use kibble (if that is what you regularly feed your dog) and feed it a part of their daily food portion while playing Go Dogo.

As a pet-tech company, we don’t care much about people, and mostly about dogs. ;-)

Jokes aside, we actually want you to set up your Go Dogo unit so that the cameras mostly see your dog and not much else. When you’re setting up Go Dogo, we’ll ask you to define the dog’s “playzone” - which is the area the cameras will be able to see. 

You can always check what the cameras see by going into System Settings in the Go Dogo app, select “Camera Setup” and check on your screen what the cameras see.

We would love you to check the “allow data collection” box in the settings of the Go Dogo app. Doing that will help us to train our algorithm to become better by allowing us to store pictures of your dog. We are never going to sell your data - or use it for any other shenanigans. But the more people allow us to collect their data, the quicker our algorithms can learn and become even better at detecting dog postures in the future.