We have all seen our dogs “watching” TV at least once.
Some dogs seem to like watching the TV all day and appear to be genuinely engaged in what’s happening on the screen.
For others, it seems like they’re just fascinated by certain images, sounds and videos.
This is especially true when there is an animal on the television and some dogs can’t help but pay attention or bark.
But do dogs really “watch” TV? And, if so, what are they really seeing and responding to?
Well, some research has been done on those very questions…
According to Julie Hecht, an animal behavior PhD student at The City University of New York, dogs have different reasons for barking at the television. This is why it is difficult to determine whether they are reacting just because there is another dog on the screen. Hecht also added that when our dogs hear a lot of noises at the same time, they may just join in.
On the other hand, Clive Wynne, a psychology professor and the Director of Arizona State University’s Canine Science Collaboratory has a different opinion. Wynne exclaimed that it is possible that our furry little friends can see certain visual images in the TV.
He said that certain movements in the TV can attract our pets. A dog’s brain has circuits that fire when they see a galloping motion of another animal in the screen.
As a result, our dogs respond or look at the TV because their brains are patented to respond. However, Wynne also added that he suspect a dog doesn?t know whether or not he?s looking at another dog.
What Dogs Actually See When They Look At A TV
Dogs doesn’t have the same vision as we humans do. When they look at the TV screen, they see it differently. Dogs only see shades of yellow and blue on the TV.
According to Wynne, he thinks it is the sounds on the TV that appeals most to dogs. This is because they have sharper hearing than we humans do.
He also observed his dog react to the sounds of dogs barking on the television. But not only that, his dog also reacts to the meowing of cats and crying of babies on the TV.
This is probably the same as most of our dogs. They react to what they hear on the TV more than what they see.