iDog Clinics Use iPad to Teach Dogs to Read

We all know someone like it. That person who buys Halloween costumes for their dog or brings their pet with them literally everywhere they go (literally). Maybe it is a friend. Maybe it is a family member. Maybe it is you. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that there is such a thing as a course on teaching your dog how to use an iPad. Because there is.

According to The Guardian, there is such a thing in foggy London town called iDog clinics. In these classes, pet owners can teach their furry friends to take “selfies,” read words on a screen, and even create their own masterpiece by using a specially designed painting app.

The creators of the iDog clinics, Anna Jane Grossmand and Nicole Stott, decided to create these iPad and pet sessions as a way of helping owners and their four-legged friends make a deeper connection.

“These courses are about having fun together, developing the bond between you and your dog, and refining your training skills. Plus you will walk away with a cool party trick,” promises Stott, while Grossman is quick to point out that we are not here to teach our dogs to do useful things, such as online banking.”

City Dog is in the process of developing an app that is specifically designed to help your pet use an iPad. For now, the group uses such paw-friendly apps as Big Camera Button, App for Dog – Puppy Painting, and Big Words.

That’s right. You can successfully train your pup to take a selfie with its nose, paint an abstract picture with its paw, and react a the visual cue of the word “Sit.”

“So many of our clients love to spoil their dogs with material stuff, but their dogs don’t care about all that. What they really want is mental stimulation. They want to play,” Grossman says. “We’re teaching owners how to get engagement from their dogs, which is the foundation for all dog training.

Cats, on the other hand, are the complete opposite. Believe me, I’ve tried to stimulate my cat’s interest in a variety of fish and laser pointer apps. He just looks at me like I’m stupid and pretentiously saunters away.