# How to use timers

Tap your pet's card, open the Activities tab, choose an activity like Walk or Sleep, then tap the round play button. Doggy Time fills in the start and end times for you.

Use a timer to time an activity while it happens, like a walk, a nap or crate time.
Doggy Time fills in the start and end times for you.

## Start a timer

1. On the main screen, tap your pet's card.
2. On the **Activities** tab, tap an activity that can be timed, for example **Walk**, **Sleep**, **Crate**, **Play** or **Training**.
   Tap **More** if you don't see it.
3. Tap the round play button.

The timer keeps running when you leave the screen or close the app.

## Pause, finish or discard

1. Open the activity again.
   You can tap the running timer on the **Activities** tab, or the activity at the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap the round button to pause.
   Three buttons appear under it:
   - The check finishes the timer and fills in **Started At** and **Ended At**.
   - The trash discards the timer.
     Tap **Yes** to confirm.
   - The arrow starts the timer again from zero.
3. After the check, add any details and tap **Save**.

Tap the round button again to carry on after a pause.

## While the timer runs

- Tap **Add a note** to write a note.
- Tap **Edit start time** if you started the timer late.
- On an iPhone, the timer shows on your lock screen and in the Dynamic Island.
  On Android, it shows as a notification.
- You can run timers for different activities at the same time.
- Everyone on your account sees the same timer and can finish it.
  If someone else started it, you'll see **Activity started by** and their name.

## Enter the times yourself

On a new entry, tap **Or enter manually** to type in when the activity started and ended.
Tap **Or start timer** to go back to the timer.

To always start with manual entry, tap the gear icon on the main screen, then **Settings**, and turn off **Use Timer Entry Mode**.

## Free plan

The free plan includes 10 timers.
The timer screen shows how many you have left.
After that, activities open with manual entry, and you can still log anything you like.
Upgrade for unlimited timers.
See [What's free and what's in Premium](https://www.kidplay.ai/help/doggy-time-premium-features).

## On your watch

You can also start, pause and finish a timer from the Doggy Time app on your Apple Watch.
On the watch, tap your pet, then the activity, then **Start**.
See [How to track a walk with your Apple Watch](https://www.kidplay.ai/help/how-to-track-a-walk-with-your-apple-watch).

## Walks with a map

For a walk, you can also record your route and distance.
See [How to track a walk on a map](https://www.kidplay.ai/help/how-to-log-a-walk-with-the-map-feature).

## Troubleshooting

- **The activity has no timer**: only some activities can be timed.
  For a custom activity, turn on **Has Timer?**.
  See [How to create a custom activity](https://www.kidplay.ai/help/create-and-log-custom-activities).
- **"Timer start time cannot be after now"**: pick a start time in the past.
- **"Exit without saving?"**: tap **No** to go back, or **Yes** to leave without saving the entry.
- **Activities open without a timer**: you've used your 10 free timers, so new entries open with manual entry.
  Tapping **Or start timer** and then play shows how to upgrade.
  If you have Premium, check that **Use Timer Entry Mode** is on in **Settings**.

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Source: https://www.kidplay.ai/help/how-to-set-timers