Do Dogs Care About The Tv Show You’re Watching? A New Study Suggests They Do

Dogs whitethorn beryllium our champion friends, but does that needfully mean they bask watching our favourite TV shows? According to a caller study, nan reply mostly depends connected your pup’s temperament.

Lane Montgomery, a investigation postgraduate student astatine Auburn University, precocious completed a study that progressive 453 dogs, ranging successful property from 2 months to 16 years, and their guardians. The squad published their findings in Scientific Reports.  

To footwear nan study off, participating canine parents answered a bid of questions, including whether they had tried to thatch their pooch really to watch TV and really galore hours per week their TV is turned on. The study besides looked astatine really galore seconds, connected average, nan canine was engaged pinch nan TV.

Armed pinch this knowledge, nan researchers observed nan dogs’ reactions to some animal and non-animal stimuli, arsenic good arsenic their inclination to travel objects connected nan screen. During nan study, nan dogs watched TV for an mean of 14 minutes and 8 seconds.

In short, dogs described arsenic “excitable” were much apt to travel on-screen objects, seemingly unaware that they didn’t beryllium successful existent life. Meanwhile, dogs considered to beryllium “fearful aliases anxious” were little apt to travel objects connected nan screen, but much apt to respond to non-animal on-screen stimuli specified arsenic car horns and bells.

Overall, however, astir half of nan dogs surveyed –– 45%, aliases 206 –– responded astir often to animal noises connected nan screen, including barking and howling.

While analyzing canine TV viewing habits is tiny successful and of itself, nan researchers opportunity their findings could person applicable implications, specified arsenic training for dogs who misbehave while nan TV is on.

Similarly, nan researchers wished that watching TV could connection dogs an “enriching and meaningful experience,”  as phys.org describes it.