First TV channel exclusively for dogs is launched (Video)

posted at 5:54 pm on February 19, 2012 by Howard Portnoy

The creators could have used the call letters WOOF had the station been east of the Mississippi, but as it is based in San Diego they settled for DOGTV. Far from just another Animal Planet, this channel is designed solely for canines. The images and sounds are said to be scientifically calibrated to a dog’s eyes and ears, and the programming is purported to be at once therapeutic and entertaining.

Warren Eckstein, a pet psychologist(!), radio show host, and proud member of the DOGTV family, is quoted by the Mail Online as saying:

Let’s face it, part of our society is watching TV. Why shouldn’t dogs have the ability to have their own channel?

We’ll return to that question presently. For now suffice it to say that DOGTV broadcasts 24/7 (for those pet owners with insomniac pooches).

The network is the brainchild (brainpuppy?) of Nicholas Dodman, a professor of Clinical Sciences at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and program director of the Animal Behavior Department. He was assisted in his creative efforts by a team of pet experts, trainers, and broadcast media professionals.

All of the programming on DOGTV is one of three types, each catering to a different basic creature need. For dogs who are feeling the world is too much with them, there are shows in the relaxation mode. These are “designed to relax the dog, reduce stress levels and keep him calm through soothing music, sounds and visuals.” A sample clip of relaxation programming is here.

Shows in the exposure mode, in contrast, “help comfort and habituate dogs by exposing them to different day-to-day stimuli.” Typical of the video in exposure programming is footage of outdoor scenery as seen from inside a moving vehicle.

Programming meant to stimulate Fido includes “active camera movements, exciting animations and moving objects and animals with appropriate sounds and frequencies help encourage dogs’ playfulness, even when home alone.”

Those last two words—home alone—appear frequently in the literature at the DOGTV website, seeming to provide a clue to an another raison d’être for the new venture: to assuage the guilt of overwrought dog owners who are forced to leave their pooches to fend for themselves while the family heads off to work or school.

But if that is the true motivation, is it really in the best interests of man’s best friend to make him another hapless victim of the boob tube? Is the next step to design little couches sized exclusively for pups so that they, too, can achieve “potato” status?

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