Digital broadcast has made television accessible to our four-legged friends of the canine variety, and a channel is getting ready to debut that will be just for them. The ultimate goal of the channel is to help anxious dogs deal with extended periods alone at home.
Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Nicholas Dodman notes that many dogs suffer from separation anxiety, and it is said that leaving a radio or television set on for them can help them weather the loneliness.
Dog vision is calibrated differently than human vision, and the speed with which the television screen is replenished under analog broadcast left most dogs seeing only flickers.
But faster digital screen replenishment has made it possible for dogs to see what’s happening on screen, and that is what DOGTV intends to take advantage of.
According to Dodman, dogs prefer programming content aimed at them. Additionally, the programming used color schemes attuned to what a dog’s visual parameters.
“The dogs clearly showed an interest in watching a television channel for dogs,” Dr. Dodman stated. “In assessing dogs’ interest in watching DOGTV, it appears that DOGTV is a valuable enrichment tool for dogs left home alone.”
Research is said to show that dogs with access to television will watch it 12%-13% of the time when home alone.
The service has been tested on an on-demand basis in San Diego and is slated to debut in major cities later this fall.
RBR-TVBR observation: What will be interesting is learning how the creators of this plan to monetize it. I know in our market, as much as our dog would like to join us on our trips to the store to point out his preferences, the stores just won’t let him in.
