Does your dog watch television?
Mine does…
At first I thought it was just a hoax or a coincidence.
But most evenings, he’ll stroll into the family room and park himself on the recliner, sofa, or my lap and watch a little television with me…
Harley has always seemed desensitized to television #couldcareless…
WHAT DOES JAXSON SEE? –
Dogs definitely do not only see in black and white. When and where this myth got started, we have no idea. It is actually believed that dogs see primarily in blue, greenish-yellow, yellow, and various shades of grey. source: Blue Dog Bakery
- Human vision is “trichromatic”, so we see a full range of colors.
- Dogs have “dichromatic” vision – meaning they only have two primary colors.
Experts believe dogs can see television images like we do AND they can distinguish between people and animals on the screen.
The type of screen, however, makes quite a difference.
Older television sets show fewer frames per second compared to flat screens. If your dog watched Lassie on an antique model, it probably looked more like a fast motion silent film.
Humans have also gone so far as to stake a claim that some dog breeds watch more television than others.
Hounds for instance are driven by smell and aren’t as interested in visuals, but herding breeds, such as terriers, may be more stimulated by moving objects they see on the small screen.
Hearing a barking dog on the set often gets TV-watching dogs excited. While some dogs not only bark at animals on the screen, but also run behind the TV looking for them.
I’d like to believe that dogs are like people – “different” as is their personalities.
Jaxson is mesmerized by the boob-tube, Harley? Not at all.
When Harley sees or hears a dog on television, he acts as if the dog is “stuck” in there – is never coming out – so he doesn’t get excited. #smartypaws
When Gilad Neumann, created DogTV he did not want to turn your dog into a couch potato. But if you were going out for a few hours, he hoped you’d leave your television on and tuned to his cable channel, Dog TV, the first channel directly targeting canine viewers. Source: Bloomberg
DogTV, an HDTV cable channel designed for dogs, interests canines because HDTV has a much higher number of frames per second and is specially colored to accommodate dogs’ dichromatic vision, said Dodman, who is the channel’s chief scientists. Source: Bloomberg
DogTV has different modes –
- Relaxation – is designed to relax the dog, reduce stress levels and keep him calm through soothing music, sounds and visuals
- Stimulation – active camera movements, exciting animations and moving objects and animals with appropriate sounds and frequencies to help encourage dog’s playfulness, even when home alone
- Exposure – using the most advanced veterinary science, special sounds and visuals help comfort and habituate dogs by exposing them to different day-to-day stimuli (like a dog reacting to a ringing doorbell or a moving vacuum cleaner).
We do not subscribe to DogTV.
But during my research for this post, I played a few “free” episodes from YouTube on my monitor and Jax hopped up in the chair like he was at the Multiplex Theatre. #bigscreendoodleaddict …
Initially I thought music was the big draw to Jaxson’s television attraction because he loves “Empire” #lookoutcookie
But yet he likes to watch Anderson Cooper’s 360 on CNN. #gofigure
So, tell me – does your dog watch television?
TAKE THE TEST –
Play this video from DogTV on your computer and tell us if it captures your dogs attention.
*This post is not an endorsement for DogTV.
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to ALL who have loved UNCONDITIONALLY with your whole HEART ❤️
May 6, 2016
None of us have any interest in the TV, not the picture or sounds it makes. Our cousin Lena always falls for the doorbell when it rings on TV. The cats would be more interested if they could get closer too a TV I think. Jax can watch for all of us.
May 6, 2016
Only a few doorbells seem to trick Jax into running to the door. The older he gets the less he falls for it.
May 6, 2016
Cathy,
Teddy is an avid tv watcher. Animal shows or anything with enough depth to show figures doing things. Close up love scenes and he walks away.
Regards to you and your TV fan
Rich
May 6, 2016
Haven’t checked out Jax’s actions during a steamy love scene. Will have to watch for that LOL – Take care Rich! Hugs to Teddy 🙂
May 6, 2016
We really enjoy cartoons and Nature channels
Lily & Edward
May 6, 2016
Do you really? That’s very interesting.
May 6, 2016
Jax is like Charlie and Harley is like Baxter. Doesn’t care at all.
We used to think it was only animals but it turns out it’s not. Charlie gets pissed off only at certain dogs, lions and tigers and polar bears. And he can’t stand Telus commercials because they have animals in them and he recognizes the songs when they come on tv and he’ll come running from another room just freaking out. I’ve slews meant to do a video and send it to Telus as a funny but never have.
Happy Momma’s day, give your two fur kids a smooch for me. 🙂
Xo
May 6, 2016
The visual you painted made me laugh. Yes, please send them the video – I’m sure they will love it. Have an incredible weekend girl – take care!
May 7, 2016
Callie was our TV watcher. Shadow and Ducky couldn’t care less. I remember back when I was still watching Dog Whisperer, Callie would bark at the dogs Cesar was working with. It was as if she was trying to help Cesar. Or maybe just stir up the cauldron a bit. BOL.
May 7, 2016
Jays when I think I’ve got Jax all figured out – he’ll run towards the couch and start watching tv when he hears the Anderson Cooper 360 music come on. #sillydoodle! Happy Mothers Day…
May 7, 2016
Haha, I did not know there is something called ‘Dog TV’! That’s just too funny!
My Lab, James, loves to watch kid shows! When my cousin comes over with his 1 year old, they are sitting side by side, watching Bumba!
It’s really funny!!
Love x
May 7, 2016
Dogs do such unbelievable things it’s almost impossible to catch all their antics on camera. But OMDoodle – if we only could….
May 9, 2016
I don’t notice our dogs paying attention to the television. If a dog barks, they ignore it unless it’s persistent and then they sit up and bark back; but not at the TV.
I need to see if we have Dog TV here and see if the dogs will watch. I have a feeling Zoey will bark her head off.
May 9, 2016
There are plenty of 3-4 minute shows on YouTube to try (they’re free). Let me know if she likes it. Try the calming ones – see if they mellow them out any. It didn’t work for Jaxson LOL He just seems to like certain shows #sillydoodle
May 10, 2016
I thought it might be a Lab thing because Luke has been our first dog to watch TV since our Lab mix Maggie many years ago. But Jax proves me wrong!
Luke definitely knows what’s on there – he’ll bark at dogs or other animals, and sometimes people. He will also sometimes look out the door afterwards (which is right next to the TV) as if he thinks whoever he saw might be out there!
I wouldn’t dare try that DogTV when I wasn’t home – we might come back to a broken TV – LOL.