Waiting Paws

Teaching a dog to stay home alone takes many short practice exits: leave for 10 seconds, come back, wait two minutes, leave for 30 seconds… A trainer sends the schedule, and you are left juggling a stopwatch, the chat with the schedule and a camera app, then writing down for the trainer how it went.

Waiting Paws does all of that in one place. Paste the schedule, press one big button per step, watch the dog on the camera while you are behind the door, and send the trainer a ready log afterwards.

How it works

1. Paste the schedule your trainer sent. The app understands exits and their durations, "or until the dog stands up", breaks after a particular exit or for all of them, triggers of an exit ("+ jacket", "+ take the keys") and conditions for coming back early ("🟡 If she lies down - come back in 30 seconds"), in English or Russian:

   Sunday training - Anna/Mark - 25.10.2026
   All breaks 2 minutes
   Exit 1 - 5 seconds
   Exit 2 - 10 seconds + jacket
   Break 5 minutes
   Exit 3 - 3 minutes OR until the dog stands up
   🟡 If she stands up and walks off - come back in 1 minute
   🟢 If she lies down - come back in 20 seconds
   

   Conditions right under an exit are its own; ones written once for the whole training go to every exit or only the long ones. Check the exits before the start: any exit or break can be changed with a tap, and under each exit you see its ⚡ triggers, 🏃 conditions for coming back early and 📝 note, all editable for that exit. The schedule can be corrected during the training too, say when every break turns out longer than the app read it: on the Mac right on the timeline (click an exit or a break to type its length, or drag its edge; ⇧ snaps to 5 s) or with Schedule…, on the iPhone with ••• → Edit Schedule. The timers follow at once.

2. Two buttons, the same on the iPhone and the Mac. Outside once the door is closed behind you: a countdown to the planned time, and the live camera shows the dog. Going over the plan is highlighted. Under the timer: when to come back early ("Lies down — in 0:40") and when not to come in; in a break, what to take for the next exit. The trainer's whole text opens right on the training screen without reconnecting the camera.

3. Back Inside: the break counts down to the next exit. A break that runs longer turns yellow and counts up, so you always see how long it really was. If the dog got up or barked too early — or went to the door during the break — False Start repeats the same exit after a break.

4. After the last exit the training is saved together with its video, and the log for the trainer is ready to send:

   Sunday training · Anna/Mark
   10/25/2026, 6:00 PM–6:13 PM (13 min) · exits 3 of 3 · false starts 1
   
   Exit 1 — 5 s: outside 0:05 ✅ · break 2:04
   Exit 2 — 10 s: false start, outside 0:03 ❌ · break 1:00 (plan 5 min)
   Exit 2 — 10 s, attempt 2: outside 0:11 ✅ · break 5:02
   Exit 3 — 30 s or until the dog stands: outside 0:30 ✅
   

Features

• The trainer's schedule, read for you. Paste it from Telegram, WhatsApp or notes and fix anything before the start.
• One big button per step. Exit and break timers, overrun warnings, the next exit starts on its own, false starts are counted as attempts. Under the timer: when to come back early and when not to come in; in a break, what to take for the next exit. The trainer's whole text opens right on the training screen.
• Live camera while you are outside: full screen, pinch to zoom. Add a second camera (another room, say) and switch between them without reconnecting. On iPhone and Mac the recording follows the camera on screen; Windows records the first one. Picture quality and the camera's own settings (night mode, image flip, status light and whatever else the model supports) are right in the app.
• Video recording of every training, or a recording without one. Saved as a regular MP4 with sound, ready to share; on iPhone also copied to Photos.
• A log for the trainer: one line per attempt, in the trainer's notation, sent as plain text.
• History of trainings with their videos and logs. On Mac and Windows: a progress chart, a table of all trainings and "jump to the exit" in the video.
• iPhone and a computer together. Leave the Mac or PC with the camera and take the iPhone outside: it shows the computer's camera and drives the same training. The link works over your home network, and the first connection is approved on the computer. Pairing, the training and its commands are encrypted; the camera's video, sound and controls go unencrypted, protected only by a password.
• Works without a camera: timers, schedules and logs only.
• English and Russian.

Screenshots

Cameras

• Xiaomi (Mi Home) cameras: sign in with your Xiaomi account right in the app (password, then the code from the SMS or e-mail) and pick the camera that faces the door. Cameras of homes shared with your account are listed too. Tested with the Xiaomi C200 and C302.
• Other cameras: any camera with an RTSP or HTTP stream works with the built-in go2rtc. ONVIF and anything else that go2rtc supports work through your own go2rtc server.
• The camera and your phone or computer must be on the same Wi-Fi network: the video goes straight over it.
• The iPhone app shows and records video while it is open. In the background the recording pauses and continues when you come back.

Install

Windows

Download the latest version from Releases:

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