Characterizing TV viewing habits in companion dogs

Televisions provide a unique perceptual experience to dogs, which can result in added enrichment (e.g., mental stimulation) or stressors (e.g., reactivity towards images) in a dog's day to day life. However, little research has sought to quantify and identify the mechanisms responsible for television viewing behaviors in dogs. A novel Dog Television Viewing Scale (DTVS) was distributed to companion dog owners. Questions were related to the types of stimuli the dog behaviorally reacted to (animals, inanimate objects) and the sensory domains through which these stimuli were perceived (vision, audition). A principal component analysis was conducted on the DTVS items using 453 responses. Generalized linear models were conducted to examine the impact of demographic and temperament factors on component scores. Notably, DTVS scores were best explained by components related to the types of stimuli (animals, inanimate objects) present on the television and the types of behavior the dog exhibited (following behaviors, stationary behaviors). Furthermore, measures of certain temperament traits assessed by dog owners, namely excitement and negative reactivity, were predictive of component scores. These results suggest that television viewing habits may be predicted by aspects of a dog's personality and that dogs may represent objects in the 2D television format similarly to the 3D environment. These results inform toward the perceptual experience of companion dogs and potential dog welfare interventions (e.g., shelter dog enrichment). In practice, engagement with television could provide dogs with an enriching, meaningful experience.