Can dogs see television?

People often say that dogs can't actually see what is going on when they watch television --but is that true? ... “They probably see the new TVs just as well as they see the world in general,” answers Ernst Otto Ropstad, an associate professor at the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science. read more

Nevertheless, while dogs can now see what’s happening on TV, they still don’t see the same as we do. More cones for better colour “Dogs see colours, but not the same colours we see,” says Ropstad. Colour vision comes from cone cells, which are receptors on the retina. To see colours you need at least two different kinds of cones. read more

Some dogs even use face-tracking as a means of identifying and relating to information they see on the television screen. However, as a study has shown, face-recognition in dog’s is a trained behavior that can cause dogs to focus on the images that they see on the television screen, effectively overshadowing their natural abilities and responses in this scenario. read more

How dogs watch TV is very different to the way humans do, however. Instead of sitting still, dogs will often approach the screen to get a closer look, and walk repeatedly between their owner and the television. They are essentially fidgety, interactive viewers. What dogs can see on the screen is also different to humans. read more