ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Some animal shelters, like the Lollypop Farm, had reported an increase in pets being brought back to shelter with the loosening of pandemic restrictions. But two former Rochester Institute of Technology students have developed a new app in hopes of reversing that trend.
Chubby likes to go outside, but his owner, Ting Zhu, says he is easily distracted.
“When he was very young, his owner didn’t take him outside regularly every day,” Zhu said. “So he just kept Chubby in his house, which makes Chubby become too sensitive to ever go outside.”
She and her roommate, Howard Shyng, wanted Chubby to be more relaxed when he goes outside. So while students at RIT in 2019, the two created a new app and company called Sniffy Labs.
The app brings in professional dog trainers who provide step-by-step instruction that allows anyone to train their own dog on their own time.
Shyng points out about three million dogs are sent to the shelter every year for behavior issues.
“Lots of owners know that their dogs need training, but they just don’t have the time to do that,” Shyng said. “And going to outside classes, the group settings, don’t fit into their needs. So we were thinking if there could be something to help, do dog training at home, and that’s how we shaped this idea.”
Zhu says Chubby has improved a lot since she adopted him two years ago with the help of Sniffy.
“I bring treats with me out on the walk, not every day, but sometimes I take it with me,” Zhu said. “I reinforce Chubby while he walks very nicely. And each time he walks very nicely, I will give him a treat. So in that way, Chubby knows that this behavior gives me the treat. So you just keep reinforcing the process and your dog will learn.”
It also helped Maureen McGrath, who owns three pugs and has used Sniffy for two years.
She told Shyng and Zhu that she use to have a lot of trouble walking her dogs, until she took advantage of the app’s leash training.
“It was stressful for me,” McGrath said. “And I probably passed that stress onto the dogs because I would be yelling at them and pulling on them and sometimes just getting upset. And now, I just pull them off to the side of the road with their leashes and harnesses and they just sit there and wait. As we are walking, they are not pulling on the leash. It’s wonderful.”
Shyng and Zhu are happy that they can help dog owners like McGrath and when they play with Chubby outside, they think about how they can do more.
That’s why they are launching a Kickstarter campaign to add more robust training content, nutrition and health care tips, and more customization to suit one’s needs.
Shyng believes this could help reduce the spike in dogs being sent to local animal shelters.
“I think people bring dogs home because of loneliness during the pandemic,” Shyng said. “And after its end, people started bringing those animals because they didn’t establish a strong bond with their dog. So with our training style and training philosophy, we not only help owners teach their dogs basic behavior manners, we help them establish a strong that can last forever.”
