Down, boy! DOGTV broadens its reach
Every night, a dog, a cat and a pig sit together around the television in the living room. For Houdini the Yorkshire terrier, watching the DOGTV network is his favorite time of day.
The sound of chirping birds, the wind, waves on the water, and the sight of bright colors and fellow dogs on the screen keep him calm when his human parents are at work and help him fall asleep at night.
“DOGTV is like an instant babysitter,” said Houdini’s owner, June Thompson, 47, secretary at the Clayton County Police Department in Georgia. Watching the channel has become a daily bedtime routine for the family: the three animals, Thompson and her husband, Jim.
The network was launched on DirecTV in 2013. It’s now available on Xfinity by Comcast as video on demand, meaning people — and pets — can watch whenever they want.
DOGTV aims to combat boredom, stress, separation anxiety and hyperactivity in dogs. The channel’s visual and auditory content is scientifically designed with pet experts and is based on more than 60 studies on dog behavior, according to Gilad Neumann, CEO of DOGTV.
The channel has three main programs: relaxation, which reduces stress and anxiety for dogs when they’re left alone; stimulation, which prevents dogs from sleeping too much and keeps them active; and exposure, which gradually exposes dogs on screen to challenging situations such as door bells and vacuum cleaners.
DOGTV also creates music for dogs. “Dogs like soft, melodic music,” according to Nicholas Dodman, chief scientist of DOGTV. The piano seems to be dogs’ favorite instrument. Other instruments that suit dogs’ ears are the cello and harp, he said.
Dogs are colorblind, Neumann and Dodman said; they see blue and yellow but not green and red. In the video production process, DOGTV’s editors adjust the colors so dogs can see better.
“When humans look at the channel, the colors can be a little off. The sky can be pinkish, the ground can be yellowish, because we add colors. But for dogs, it makes a huge difference,” Neumann said.
People often ask Neumann why he and his team created something for dogs but not cats.
Neumann said dogs need a calming influence more than cats. “Cats are ... not upset when they are left alone,” he said. But dogs “feel very sad and lonely.”