Is Your Pet Watching TV?

Originally Published on 1/13/2021

If you are like me, then cuddling up with your fur-friend to binge the latest Netflix show is how you spend most evenings. We know our pets love to be around us and cuddling give your pet emotional comfort, but do they love your current binge as much as you do? Short answer is, yes, if they are engaged they most likely are enjoying it or it is at least stimulating.

First we should talk about pets and their vision. Dogs see in dichromatic vision; they see mainly blue and yellow, with very little red. Cats on the other hand see a bit more red than dogs, but not much more. Humans, for comparison, see in trichromatic vision - blue, yellow and red and we have the ability to see all colors. This contributes to how engaged your pet is to whatever you are watching on TV.

Like some humans, cats and dogs are far-sighted, they can see thing far away very clearly, but as they come closer those same objects are blurred. This is why cats and dogs rely so much on their sense of smell when distinguishing objects.

Domestic dogs can perceive images on the screen just as we can, and are intelligent enough to recognize on screen images of animals and have the ability to recognize on screen dog noises such as barking or the dreaded doorbell! My dog, Sassy, is a Beagle/Jack Russel mix and the terrier in her makes her very aware when someone is at the door. She will awake from a deep sleep just to bark and run to the door to check things out when a doorbell on a commercial or TV show rings.
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Dogs register images more quickly than humans. Older TV's that show a lower number of frames per second look like an old 1920's film to dogs. HD TV's deliver a higher number of frames per second and are fluid for dogs. In my opinion, if that's not a reason to run out and get a new TV, I don't know what is!

Dogs are drawn more to shows with animals or fast moving objects in them as opposed to the local news channel. There are dog specific shows or channels, such as Dog TV, meaning they are made for your pup! These shows and channels run in HD, so they have more frames per second, and specially color their shows to cater to the dichromatic vision. These shows, to humans, look perfectly normal and colors as they should.

Did you know that whether your dog reacts to the TV or not could be based on their personality or breed? Some dogs only react when a dog is on the screen or they hear a dog. Some may even run behind the TV looking for the pup they see or hear! Hound dogs are scent driven so they may be less likely to react to animals or anything on TV because they use their nose to confirm if that animal or object is near. Whereas, herding breeds may be more stimulated with fast moving objects or animals on screen, even if they cannot smell them.

Cats are definitly more interested in the movement on TV than what the object is. Cats have the ability to see in a bit larger color spectrum than dogs and can distinguish objects clearly from a further distance than dogs can.

My Calico, Regina loves to watch TV! She loves to lay on the couch with us and the dog while we relax, her twin sister Phoebe, not so much. Phoebes' only goal in life is to cuddle and receive as many rump rubs as possible. But, Regina, she loves bright, fast moving colors. She always jumps up at the TV while we are watching The Challenge. The contestants are moving fast and usually wearing bright colored jerseys and she tries to catch them by pawing at the screen. When we are watching my favorite show, Friends, Regina could care less... (Yes, my cats are named after Phoebe Buffay and her alter-ego Regina Phalange from Friends.)

So, what we know is some cats and dogs really do enjoy watching TV. Others will just want to cuddle and be with you while you are watching your favorite show. Because what we do know for sure is that our pets really just want to be with us as much as possible. So throw on Netflix and settle in to binge your favorite show with your best friend!