The way domestic dogs interact with television may depend on their personalities, suggests research published in Scientific Reports.
In recent years, there has been an increase in dog-specific television programming, and the frequency with which dogs are exposed to different types of media is rising. However, to date, there has been no systematic evaluation of how domestic dogs interact with television at the population level.
Auburn University researcher Lane Montgomery and colleagues anonymously recruited 650 dog owners and constructed a novel television viewing scale to observe dogs’ television viewing habits based on the owners’ responses. The final sample of 453 dogs ranged in age from two months to 16 years. In total, 300 dogs belonged to breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC).
The survey investigated trends in dogs’ television viewing habits, including whether the owner was trying to train the dog to watch television, the average number of hours per week the owner spent with the television on, and the average number of seconds the dog paid attention. The dogs’ reactions to animal and non-animal stimuli and their degree of tracking of objects on the screen were assessed.
JUST LIKE IN REAL LIFE
Overall, dogs were observed to react more frequently to seeing animals on the screen than to other stimuli; approximately 45% of dogs (206 in total) consistently responded to canine noises such as barking and howling. Dogs considered excitable by their owners were observed to more frequently follow objects on the screen as if they existed in real life. However, fearful or anxious dogs were more likely to respond to non-animal stimuli, such as car horns or doorbells. These temperament differences could guide training approaches to correct problematic television-related behaviors.
The authors caution that since the respondents were pet owners whose dogs regularly interact with television stimuli, the results may not be representative of all dogs. However, they conclude that television interaction could provide dogs with an enriching and meaningful experience.
