Picture this: it's a weekend afternoon, siesta time, and you're on the sofa. You're flicking through channels (or browsing Netflix for a light film). Then your dog walks into the living room. It jumps onto the sofa next to you, but then gets down again and gazes intently at the screen, very close up. Later, you'll probably go for a walk, to "stretch your legs," but now it's time to rest a bit. You might even take a nap. Meanwhile, your dog can't take its eyes off the screen...
The same scene would work by swapping the television for a computer or tablet screen. Because dogs, in case anyone still had doubts, love screens. They are hypnotic.
Of course, us aristo-parents already knew that. You only have to observe them. But now it has been corroborated by recent research from the University of Central Lancashire in the UK. And not only that: by tracking dogs' vision (using methods similar to those used in humans), they have found out what kind of audiovisual content they prefer.
So what do dogs like? Well, logically, what they like most is seeing other dogs. To find out what they are like, what they do, how they live... Which makes even more sense in cases where there is only one dog in the family. You only have to see how this dog reacts while watching its favorite movie: Bolt:
The study also found that what grabs their attention and initially attracts them to the TV or other devices is the sound. Hearing a bark is, of course, guaranteed to get a dog's attention. But also whimpers, toy noises, and human voices giving commands or praising the dog.
As for how they watch TV, dogs do it quite differently from us. They usually don't stay still, sitting in the same place for hours (as we do), but instead approach the screen for a closer view. They also tend to walk repeatedly between their aristo-parent and the television. And this is because dogs are, above all, restless and interactive viewers. Moreover, they don't see the same things as us. Because, as you may already know, their vision is dichromatic. That is, they have two types of color receptor cells and can see within two light spectrums: blue and yellow.
All of this has been taken into account by the creators of the first canine television channel: DogTV. For those who don't know it yet, DogTV is an exclusive channel for dogs, present in more than thirteen countries, where priority is given to quality content of canine interest and where all programming is selected by experts from all over the world, with the aim of entertaining, but also reducing stress and separation anxiety.
Maybe while you were reading this, your dog was intently watching the screen... Have you told them yet why you like ARISTOPET so much?