18/11/2025
Do your pets react to things they see or hear on TV?
https://www.facebook.com/share/1DHQdST1Gj/
DOGS AND TV
Why are some dogs fascinated and some show no interest?
Studies have shown that dogs can perceive images and sounds coming from a TV. Dogs also have the ability to visually identify images of other dogs amongst pictures of people and other animals as well as sounds that they’re familiar with like barking, whining, squeaky toys or certain cue words coming from a TV.
But, just because they can, doesn’t mean that they do! Some dogs are not in the least bit interested while some appear fascinated by what they are seeing and hearing. The individual personality of the dog and breed specific traits seem to be the deciding factor. Breeds that are more attuned to movement may show more interest in TV, while breeds driven by scent may not be interested at all.
Even though dogs are able to recognise screen images, they see images differently than we do. Dogs have dichromatic vision which enables them to only perceive colours on the yellow and blue spectrum. To dogs, every colour appears yellow, blue, brown or grey. Despite their different colour perception, they register moving images far quicker than we do. Modern, high-definition TV sets have a higher number of frames per second than older TV’s and are more likely to capture their attention.
Using the science of dog vision, a dedicated TV channel was developed especially for dogs. It features a higher number of frames per second and has colours set to accommodate the yellow / blue visual spectrum. The channel is aimed at providing entertainment for dogs when they’re left alone.
Out of curiosity, I gave this channel a trial run and my Schnauzers were not in the least bit interested even when I excitedly pointed to the dog chasing balls and splashing through water on the screen. My pointing only caused them to check if there was a bug on the screen that they could catch or if there were any food crumbs around the set and after a quick sniff, they all went back to snoozing, very confused as to what I was making such a fuss about! They are definitely a scent driven breed. That said, I have also seen dogs that are fascinated and even very vocal about what they see on the screen. As with most dog behaviour, it all depends on the individual dog.
