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[HotHamBoy]

I've had multiple dogs react to certain noises on TV - dog barks, animals sounds, doors, etc - and other dogs that never react to those sounds.

Even less common is actually watching the TV and following the action. We had several dachshunds and only one would pay attention to the TV. That dog would actually sit and watch for long stretches of time, from as far as the couch. He would even growl at "bad guys" (coincidence? projection?). Sometimes he would try to chase after animals that ran off-screen. He even watched TV as we put him to sleep due to painful tumors (the vet was in disbelief).

I'm just curious why different dogs, even within the same breed, would have such a different reaction to TV stimulus - from intently watching to never acknowledging.

 

[Sinfamy]

My cat doesn't even acknowledge itself in the mirror.

 

[Jacce]

Because all dogs are different, just like people. Some pay attention to tv, some don't care. Some bark at doorbells, some don't.

 

[Straight Edge]

My dog barks at cartoon dogs on the tv. It's like he understands what a dog is in abstract terms.

 

[The Albatross]

It's a good question.

My dog responds to dog like things on the TV and runs behind it when they go off screen to look for them. The Xbox dog avatar was one.

But most of the time he has no interested except if a TV commercial rings a door bell, which I swear to god there ought to be a fucking law against that (and radio commercials playing emergency sirens)

 

[Busty]

The dogs that bark at the TV are able to detect when the NSA are listening in on them and are warning their owners.

Spoiler

#satire

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Yeah same here, we had a cocker spaniel who would never pay any attention to the TV.
Whereas our chihuahua always watches tv, and you can see her eyes following the actors etc.

 

[Plum]

Having a dog that goes insane whenever a dog is on TV really shows you just how many dogs are on TV, especially in the adverts.

 

[sturgboski]

My dog used to watch the dog show and puppy bowl. She barked at the dogs in Pets Life before they started speaking English. Just the other day she stopped mid going for a toy when she saw dogs on a TV for a dog food commercial.

She is hit and miss though. She doesn't do it all the time and I swear at times she's following non dog related stuff on the TV. I'm surprised she grew out of the whole "who is this other dog in the mirror?" phase so quickly.

Out of all the dogs my family has had over the years, this one reacts to the TV the most.

 

[Snagret]

My tv might as well have been invisible to my old basset. He liked when we watched TV because it was a good opportunity for him to get some pets, but I don't think he ever even glanced passingly at it and was completely unfazed by barking sounds coming from the speakers.

He was also the type of dog to bark at any dog or person he saw passing by out the window.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Yeah same here, we had a cocker spaniel who would never pay any attention to the TV.
Whereas our chihuahua always watches tv, and you can see her eyes following the actors etc.

That's funny, my mom's chihuahua is oblivious to the TV.

 

[DonMigs85]

My old Lab always perked up and stared at the TV whenever dogs or cats came on. Guess he recognized the body language. He loved watching "Untamed Africa"

 

[Beren the Empty-Handed]

I had a dog that not only would watch tv, but had figured out that commercials were usually more likely to have animals in them than the regular shows. When the commercials started playing he'd perk his ears up, and when a commercial came on that had an animal in it (especially a dog) he'd jump up and go watch. He'd even do this with commercials that didn't show an animal for the first couple of seconds. So he memorized which commercials had animals in them, and when he recognized one he'd get up to see the animal.

There was also this one time he was chilling out with my uncle. My uncle had the tv on but decided to mess with my dog to see if he was really interested in what was being shown or if he just liked the lights. So he turned the tv to a channel that just had static and left it there and watched what my dog did. According to my uncle my dog stared at the static for a few moments and then turned to my uncle, looked him dead in the eye, and then turned back to the tv. After a few seconds, he did it again, this time with an audible huff. My uncle still didn't respond, so my dog turned around, glared at him, and left the room. My uncle (who was never a pet person, believing them all to be dumb) was flabbergasted.

That dog was a riot.

 

[water_wendi]

im guessing dogs with really sensitive noses wouldnt be as interested as other dogs like terriers who have vision that seems to notice small moving things (rodents).

 

[HotHamBoy]

im guessing dogs with really sensitive noses wouldnt be as interested as other dogs like terriers who have vision that seems to notice small moving things (rodents).

Yeah, that makes sense, but we have examples of dogs in the same breed reacting totally different.

 

[water_wendi]

Yeah, that makes sense, but we have examples of dogs in the same breed reacting totally different.

Yeah each dog is different though.

 

[MadSexual]

My dog sings to the Rick & Morty theme.

 

[ArgyleReptile]

My first dog used to react to herself in the mirror for the longest time. She stopped doing so probably around the age of 2 or 3.

My second dog reacted to the mirror when she was a puppy, but then stopped before she even hit 1, I think.

My third dog never reacted to the mirror at any point in his life.

 

[Kettch]

Because all dogs are different, just like people. Some pay attention to tv, some don't care. Some bark at doorbells, some don't.

Wait, there are dogs that don't bark at doorbells?!

 

[Arcia]

One of my cats responds to stuff on tv, but only when its showing things she recognizes. Birds or other cats mostly. I put on Animal Planet for her sometimes and she will even chatter and swipe at the screen. My other cats don't give a shit, but then again she is the youngest and really hyper while my older cats are pretty chill.

 

[Revolutionary]

My dog reacts to cats on the TV

 

[cwmartin]

My dog doesn't really give any fucks about the TV, except for two circumstances. If there is another dog, or a doorbell. Then it's game over lights out imma bark for hella long.

 

[ArgyleReptile]

Wait, there are dogs that don't bark at doorbells?!

My second dog never barked at door bells or the door being knocked...until she learned it from the first dog. We moved, bringing our second dog with us and leaving our first dog with my grandmother. Second dog stopped reacting to knocking and to door bells...until we got our third dog, who would react to the knocking, thus making the second dog, once again, start reacting to door bells and knocking again.

 

[jett]

Had a fox terrier that absolutely hated watching fighting times games on TV such as Tekken. Would bark madly at the screen, I think he disliked any sign of violence.

My west highland terrier on the other hand does not care about TV, I'm pretty sure he can't watch it.

So who knows. Guess the fox terrier had a more developed eyesight.

 

[HazySaiyan]

My dog doesn't react to the TV, he just reacts to the reflection of the TV in the window. I think he thinks somebody's coming down the path.

He's not very bright.

 

[Theandrin]

I have 3 dogs. One of them will watch tv with us and bark at any animal that comes on screen. The other two don't care at all and basically just ignore the tv. First dog I have ever had that will watch tv and react to what she is seeing.

 

[haigyman]

My chorkie loves watching TV, especially spy thrillers it seems. He'll always bark at dogs, real or cartoon, as well as Joseph Gordon-Levitt for some reason.

 

[zeemumu]

My dog doesn't react to TV aside from being caught off-guard if the volume's loud and a dog barks onscreen. Never tried a mirror on him though.

 

[thechristoph]

I have two dogs and a cat. Dog one doesn't pay attention to the TV or mirrors. Dog two gets excited when he sees animals on TV. Usually he gets excited for dogs, but I was playing Zelda yesterday and he got really excited when he saw some horses. He looks behind the TV if an animal runs out of frame. Both dog two and the cat seem to understand mirrors. They'll make eye contact with me through the mirror and do their usual cute animal things to get my attention. They don't try to look behind the mirror or follow the reflection if it moves out of their line of sight.

 

[BackLogJoe]

Older TVs are hard for dogs to see. If you have a HDTV then it's more conducive to doh viewing. Also, color schemes matter, too. If you get DogTV for your dog on DTV then they take color into consideration when creating programming. My dog will watch DogTV all day like a couch potato.

 

[Apathy]

Different dogs find different things fascinating when it moves.

My dog loves watching ufc fights, she's glued to the action. Hates really slow stuff like a drama

 

[DeathoftheEndless]

I think some dogs are smart enough to realize the pictures and sounds aren't real.

 

[Aselith]

Because some of them are huge hipsters and don't want to acknowledge that they own a TV

 

[HStallion]

I'm more curious what my dog dreams about. It seems like she has some epic doggy adventures with some of the reactions she is having in her sleep. She'll be whining one moment then growling the next then twitching like crazy. Its always interesting to watch and I wonder what's going through her head.

 

[d9b]

The dogs that bark at the TV are able to detect when the NSA are listening in on them and are warning their owners.

Spoiler

#satire

 

[Oni Jazar]

My dog used to bark at any animal on TV just by sight. Even cartoon animals. Even walking and talking animals like Brian from Family Guy.

 

[Kelpie]

I had a Yorkie who would bark at TV dogs and doorbells. She didn't really watch TV though except when I played video games. I had a GameCube at the time and she'd quietly watch the screen while I played. Animal Crossing was the only game that would make her flip out and bark/growl. I miss my little gamer buddy.

 

[Mr.Shrugglesツ]

My dog reacts to cats on the TV

Nice fan.