Dispensing too many treats or none? 

(ONLY applies to Gen 1 to Gen 3 feeder...ie not the MINI)

This guide will help you address dispensing issues. If you still have trouble contact --> Support@PetTutor.Biz

 The Pet Tutor Smart Training Feeder will normally dispense 1-3 kibble(pieces of food or treats) for a treat approximately the size of a M&M candy. Smaller size food may deliver more.  IF the brushes in the feeder start to turn on a feed command and many kibble drop out at once but the brushes IMMEDIATELY stop...THEN the treats may be small or flat in which case our Small Treat Adapter may help.  

However if you observe one the following situations when you trigger the feeder then the procedure below may help. The brushes are seen when looking down into the feeder if there is no food in the unit.

•  NO TREATS. NOTHING comes out when the feeder is triggered or the brushes turn and immediately stop before anything comes out.
•  LOTS OF TREATS. After the first kibble comes out the brushes CONTINUE to turn and you may get 10 or more treats. 

Follow this checklist to resolve dispensing issues:

1. Low Power: Are the batteries fresh?  Note: The feeder "Status" led may turn red but this only indicates the food is low and does NOT indicate a problem with the unit.

2. Build up of food particles: The photo eye is below the brushes and is covered by a protective clear film. Make sure the film is in place (over the 3 dots) and no food is covering the film. NOTE: also check the clear plastic area of the brushes for possible food stuck there.

3. Bright light:  The feeder uses infrared light to detect when food is dispensed.  Sometimes a bright sunlight or bright room light falling directly on the front of the feeder can confuse the detector.  Sometimes just rotating the feeder a little will address the issue.

4. Flaky food/treats: No we are not saying the food is a flake! But some food or treats have a lot of flakes which break off and the kibble detector can mistake those small flakes for a piece of food. Freeze dried foods tend to do this more and a quick fix is to sift out the flakes in a colander if you want to use "flaky food". Most dry kibble just has a powder or dust which do not typically cause this issue. A symptom of food flakes is the brushes start to turn and stop before "something comes out".  But if you don't have a flaky food issue you may need to re-calibrate which is covered next.

5. Should I re-calibrate the kibble detector photo-eye? Do all the treats drop at once OR do the brushes continue to turn after the first treat or two comes out? 

If the brushes continue to turn then re-calibration should help and will be covered next. However, if the treats (or food kibble) is small several treats may get in the brushes at once and the small treat adapter can help (sold in our store).

So, if the above items did not help it is time to try a re-calibration or contact Support@PetTutor.Biz for assistance.

The Pet Tutor BLU app (Android and Apple(iOS) ) has a calibration procedure that is required for units built and sold in 2018 or later(ie Generation 3 feeders)

*Units sold before 2018(Gen 1 or Gen 2 feeders) do NOT require calibration steps 3 and 5 below.

Android Users contact Support@PetTutor.Biz for help with calibration.

Treat Detector Photo Eye Calibration Procedure

NOTE: The feeder is calibrated at the factory, but sometimes a re-calibration is needed after shipping. In NO case should you need to repeat calibration more than once or twice. Once calibration is successful it is likely not needed again.  The procedure does require special attention to lighting and our support staff (Support@PetTutor.Biz) can help you if you find calibration did not work for you.

Preparing for the calibration

• Empty feeder.  Make sure no treats or kibble are in the feeder and none are in the brushes. You may need to take off the blue tube which is released by pressing the 2 tabs on the side that look like speaker grills.

• Ensure volume is ON.  Make sure the volume is NOT on mute. If you press the bottom feed button it should beep. If not press and release the middle button(volume) to unmute. The volume button has 3 levels and mute.

• Normal room light.  The procedure should be done in normal room lighting. Avoid bright sunlight or a bright interior light on the front of the feeder. Don't turn off the lights just make sure there is no bright light striking the front of the feeder. Also, avoid putting your hand around the blue in the area of the brushes which is where the light sensitive photo-eye is located.

 NOTE: see demo video at the end of this page.

 Performing the photo eye calibration using iOS(Apple) or Android app*

1. *Start the Pet Tutor BLU app. Stay on the home screen.
2. Turn on the feeder.
3. *Now in the Pet Tutor app press "Settings" and "Connect" to the feeder
4. wait about 30 seconds for the feeder to "warm up".
5. *Next press Calibration in the app
6. Now on the feeder. You must press and hold down the top 2 buttons(power and volume) at exactly the same time to start the procedure. They must be held for about 10 seconds until the unit beeps and the leds on the side start to flash at which point immediately release the 2 buttons. The procedure will take about 15 seconds. The motors will turn a small amount and the leds will flash different colors(red is fine during this).  Caution: avoid placing your hand on the front of the tube in the area of the brushes as this changes the light levels in the unit.

The procedure is done.

After the calibration completes the power light will go back to a slow green flash if on battery. If on wall power the led will be off but the unit will be on.

Put some treats in the unit and test it out. 

NOTE: In some cases a second calibration may be required. 

 Questions: Support@PetTutor.Biz

(please include the feeder serial#.  ex. F320001234)

*Steps 1, 3 and 5 not needed for units sold before 2018(ie Generation 1 & 2)

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 Questions: Support@PetTutor.Biz

(please include the feeder serial#.  ex. F320001234)

 Tutorial video on how to run a calibration on the kibble detection photo-eye: