My brother sent me an article from the May 2008 issue of Reader's Digest, called "Best In Show" by Steve Burgess. The author talks about dog friendly remote controls (a thing of the future) and dog DVDs (a thing of the present). The article says "the DVDs offer plenty of motion to catch your dog's eye, and music designed to soothe".
So do we all have to take our wall mounted TVs and stand them on the floor like we did when he lived with futons and cinder block bookshelves? I don't think my dog even bothers to look way up there to see the TV and she certainly isn't going to be encouraged to watch TV from the furniture.
Are the owners truly thinking of their dog as a means to provide additional stimulation, or is it a substitute? If you take your dog for a good walk before work and one when you get home (assuming he's locked up for 8-10 hours per day) then he'll most likely sleep as dogs have done for centuries (well the ones that were housebound and not working)
Or, is this just another way for some people to make money and for owners to spend money?
Jazz (my Australian Cattle Dog) only pays attention to the TV when dogs are in distress (like the Vet TV shows) - but my mom says her schnauzer, Finnegan, watches TV and I've heard other dogs that are interested and even react to certain TV shows. According to the article, dog expert Stanley Coren says "nose-oriented breeds are less likely to respond to the TV". It would have been good for Jazz if she had paid attention to sounds electronically transmitted because I had hoped the Desensitization CD would have helped cure her noise phobia - but she paid no attention to it - no matter how many decibels I played the fireworks and gun sounds - she had no reaction. But shoot a kid's cap gun in the house and you've got a real reaction.
Is this the next doggie evolution? Or just people novelty?
