“They May Be Watching Because We’re Watching”: What Science Says About Dogs and TV
New studies reveal how your dog’s personality shapes what it sees—and likes—on screen
Dogs and Screens: A Matter of Personality
At the end of a long day, many of us settle into the couch with a show. But what about your dog? Can they wind down in front of the screen too?
According to new research published July 17 in Scientific Reports, the answer depends not just on what’s on the screen—but who your dog is.
“Personality of the dog influences their viewing habits,” says Jeffrey Katz, lead study author and psychology professor at Auburn University. Dogs with high excitability are more likely to react by pawing at the screen, scanning the room, or trying to follow off screen movements. Those described as anxious or “negatively reactive” responded more often to non animal stimuli like doorbells or human faces.
And yes, dogs really do prefer animal centric content over people or objects.
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What Dogs Really Like to Watch
The survey based study included 513 dog owners, 453 of whom confirmed that their dog actually watches TV. Owners were asked how often their pets responded to various types of content—other dogs, animals, humans, cars—and what forms of engagement they showed. The team devised a new system for this, dubbed the Dog Television Viewing Scale (DTVS).
Most owners said their dogs responded most enthusiastically to animal content, whether audio or video. As the authors write, the presence of animals on screen was “more interesting than people and inanimate objects.”
These findings closely mirrored a 2024 University of Wisconsin study, which surveyed over 1,000 dog owners and found that other dogs were the most attention grabbing subjects for canine viewers. That study also noted some breed and age based trends: sporting and herding dogs were overrepresented among frequent watchers, while older dogs engaged less.
It’s Not Just the Show—It’s Who’s Watching
But personality remained the biggest factor. Highly excitable dogs were more likely to react to moving objects and animals, while anxious dogs were more sensitive to non animal sounds and visual triggers. Strikingly, age, breed, and prior TV exposure didn’t stand out as major predictors of TV habits.
Katz and his team didn’t cherry pick trends. Instead, they let the data speak. “The statistical approach lends credibility and reduces the chance of inadvertent bias,” says Freya Mowat, a veterinary ophthalmologist at the University of Wisconsin who studies dog vision. “It was just sort of surprising or reassuring how similar some of the outcomes they got were,” she adds.
Why Dog Vision Is Different
All of this builds toward a larger question: What does TV even look like to a dog?
According to Mowat:
- Dogs have two types of color receptors, compared to humans’ three. So, they’re red green colorblind.
- They have a higher visual fusion rate than humans, which means some video might look like flashing lights instead of smooth motion.
- They also see in lower resolution, due to fewer photoreceptors.
In other words, TV made for humans isn’t ideal for dogs. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t interested.
Beyond the Screen: Future Research and Real World Testing
Katz wants to take this further. He envisions a citizen science project, where owners submit videos of their dogs watching TV, helping researchers catalogue and classify behaviour.
Originally, he hoped to find universal calming content for dogs. But now, he admits, “We wanted to come up with a more general set of stimuli that all dogs would like… That would be a serious challenge.”
Some dogs might never find a video that relaxes them. Others might get over stimulated if left alone with a wildlife documentary.
Meanwhile, Mowat’s team is focused on developing better tests for canine vision. Right now, she says, methods are “crude and non standard”—like waving hands in front of a dog’s face or obstacle course testing. A tailored video series could change that.
So… Why Do Dogs Watch TV at All?
If vision is poor, colour is limited, and motion is potentially choppy—why are dogs watching?
One possible answer: us.
“They may actually be watching because we’re watching,” Mowat suggests. “We’re sitting on the couch with them, and it’s an enjoyable, companion level thing to do.”
So next time you catch your dog glued to the screen during a wildlife show, remember—they might not care about the plot. They just want to be part of the moment.
