Can your dog see images on the television screen? Yes. Without any doubt in my mind, your dog can see and correctly interpret the images on television. Study after study and people I respect and admire disagree with this opinion.
Bruce Fogle, author of the "Dog's Mind," explains in great detail the anatomy of the dog's eye. It is this anatomy which proves a dog can see no more than the pixels on the TV and these pixels do not form pictures as they do for humans.
Years ago a German Shepherd mix we had rescued began to bound out of bed and seemed to Saturday morning with a mood that made everyone around him to enjoy the morning. As humans, it took us a little while to figure out why Saturdays were so important. We had our theories. Maybe it's because that was one day when the family was usually home most of the day; school and work behind us. He would join the boys in front of the television and it seemed he might like the noise of cartoons. I would hear him from the other room making verbal noises that varied from whining to growling to outright barking. Thinking the "boys" were playing, I would go about my morning work.One Saturday completely changed the way I would view dogs and made me want to learn more about them.
We lived in Arizona at the time and one Saturday, I decided to take a break from my chores with the boys. I was surprised when one of them switched channels from cartoons to a show where two local newscasters featured dogs and cats who needed to be adopted. I was curious, but even more so when my sons joined me on the couch leaving Gunner sitting in front of the TV
His ears stood straight up as the music and introduction for the show began and he started prancing around the room, high-stepping as if he was in a marching band. I had never witnessed this behavior though for my boys it appeared to be old hat.Gunner settled for the commercial break and then followed a half hour of some of the most entertaining television I have ever seen. Gunner verbally gave his opinion on every animal paraded through the show, though the cats merely received a grudging growl.
The dogs were a different matter and I watched in awe as Gunner put his nose on the TV dog and sometimes it merited a paw. Whenever here was a German Shepherd, however, he became highly agitated, barking loudly. I still don't know if he liked what he saw or was trying to pick a fight. Now this, again, was before I really started studying dogs as more than mere pets.
Recently my mother shared the story with me about a Beagle named Molly. My mom was at the neighbor's house watching "Pride and Prejudice"; the dog appeared to be sleeping when a pup appeared in the show. At this point the Beagle came to abrupt attention and ran to the television and put her front paws on her new doggie friend.It's important to point out that these were not dogs (or cats) that were barking or making noise of any kind and there certainly was no animal odors being emitted from the TV. Clearly the only sense these dogs had to use was their sight.
I have six German Shepherds; Mouse got her name from her high pitched bark and some of the mannerisms she had when she was still marked as a pup for sale in my kennel. There were homes for eight puppies before Mouse's litter was born but her mother, Austin, produced 15 puppies. Mouse was the runt. Mouse's grandfather was a pure black long-coated Schutzhund-lined German Shepherd from Germany. She was the only one born in her litter with long hair though she actually turned into a mid-coat. When she was three months old and still at the kennel, my husband, who helped clean the kennel on his days off fell in love with her and brought her in to join our pack.
Mouse loves "Funniest Home Videos," from start to finish. She watches everything except the commercials where she loses interest. Cats, rabbits, kangaroos and other animals interest her immensely as do little children. However, only the dogs really get her going. She will put her nose over some of them as if trying to prove her alpha role. On others she appears to be trying to sniff them out. She will growl talk to the dogs.
Keep in mind, there is no barking coming from the TV; there is merely the human commentator telling jokes throughout the show. Sometimes, when a dog runs across the screen, Mouse will run with it and look in back of the television and then out the door as if she is trying to figure out where it went. And just like with Gunner, only the German Shepherds get a boisterous welcome. We plan to get this on camcorder for Youtube in the very near future.
Maybe dogs' eyes don't look like ours but here is a thought, though not scientific; maybe their eyes are different from ours and don't have to share the same qualities in order to see the TV screen.
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