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| Morby Enjoying her favorite show! |
There are certain shows I love to watch, and do so religiously. I love to watch Bones, CSI, Law & Order: SVU, and just about any crime programming that details actual crimes and their resolution. I also love Hell’s Kitchen, and just about anything on HGTV. If asked, I could tell you why I like any of the shows I actually watch. Have you ever watched your pet watching TV and wondered what it was about that particular show that they liked? When I caught my dog, Morby, watching TV, at first I thought she was only responding to action on the screen but not necessarily having a “favorite” show.
Research done on cats and dogs infers that is exactly what she was doing. Contrary to what most people believe, dogs are not completely color blind. It is only the reds and greens that dogs can’t see, putting them at a distinct disadvantage at Christmas time. It turns out that dogs can see the color blue very well. I am relieved to know that since blue is my favorite color and whenever I would ask Morby how my navy suit looked, I knew she was answering me honestly when she said “woof”.
I had actually never witnessed any of my previous dogs watching TV, so naturally when I discovered that Morby could be a couch potato I was intrigued, especially when you consider that I understood that dogs were color blind. At first, it seemed that she only reacted to animal sounds that came from the TV – you know, since she was color blind. Specifically, any sound that sounded like a baby animal. I soon realized however, that she was actually able to see the action on the screen, as her head would dart from side to side. Admittedly, when I first got Morby, I was also an Animal Planet fanatic – particularly The Planet’s Funniest Animals – which is what she ended up responding to most times. So cliché, I know. However, I figured that she would really react to anything with a baby-animal sound and any type of animal activity.
Of course, I decided to try an informal experiment. I would find some programming on Animal Planet with similar sounds and footage as The Planet’s Funniest Animals. She would of course be interested enough to approach the TV but it would hardly hold her interest. Then I took it one step further and tried to find similar programming on other NON-animal specific channels. Again, she might show some interest but then she would turn her head or even walk away, sometimes to get us drinks or something. When I would put The Planet’s Funniest Animals on, she would be riveted.
I am sure that she was able to see most of what was going on despite the presence of reds and greens…because she did watch TV at Christmas also. I am also certain that she actually enjoyed this particular show and it had nothing to do with the presence of the color blue…although that was enough for me to watch it….because I LOVE the color blue. I never could get her to appreciate The Smurfs and I could forget about James Bond all together…something about the lack of Bond dogs.
This behavior did, however, cause some additional concerns for me. Morby tended to sit too close to the television. No amount of pleading could get her to move back. So I would just change the channel.
Source: What Your Pets Really See On TV
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