Should I be worried that my dog is addicted to TV?
So it all started a few weeks ago, I started watching Too Cute on Animal Planet (a show about puppies and kittens growing up). It is adorable. My dog never once has shown any interest in TV until that show came on, and she would sit in front of the TV for literally the entire episode. Then she started watching TV even when there weren’t animals on (although at times she would get bored and lay down). When I play Call of Duty: Ghosts she watches because there is a dog that you can get at times, and she whines and cries at it whenever she sees it. Now she watches me on the computer. In fact she is watching as I type this. I also have a couple of pieces of artwork on the wall in here that has dogs on it and one day I caught her staring at that!
So now you have the history of it. I worry because at times she gets really into it and starts whining and even shaking sometimes. I think I know dogs pretty well, but even I am having a hard time telling if she is just really really excited, or if she is just stressing herself out. Thoughts?
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As long as she isn’t getting violent if you turn the tv off I don’t think it’s a big deal, lots of people leave the tv on when they are away to keep the dog busy.
Maybe stop showing your dog images of another dog in a warzone and possibly getting killed, it might be sending the wrong message lol. Who knows, your dog sounds like she may be worried about the dog on tv.
Seems she wants to see the puppies
I wouldnt think so, I use to leave the tv on all the time for my puppy, I have never heard of such a thing as a dog getting addicted to tv.
I think it’s likely that she’s trying to please you by emulating your behavior. She sees another dog, and she’s, like, “Oh, master is watching our story!” I’d stay away from violent shows with dogs.
Buy her Lassie on DVD and read more books!
I think she likes seeing the other animals and when she is watching other shows she is waiting to see other dogs or animals.
Possibly it stresses her out. One thing that comes to my mind is how my nephew when he was a toddler would burst into tears when he saw his mom on TV. She could be sitting right next to him, but if we popped in a DVD that had her in it he became inconsolable. All we could guess was that it terrified him that mommy was in the box. This was back when TV’s were more of a box than a board.
What you describe is harmless.
When the dog figures out how to use the remote control—that’s when I would start to worry.
(Note: it sounds like the dog is lonely and needs companionship.]
How old is she, and what breed? Is she alone a lot? This sounds a little like what many Border Collies do: As they don’t have access to a flock of sheep, they concentrate on staring at the fern – they may choose a human to “herd” from room to room, or spend hours watching the sleeping cat. It’s a form of obsessive-compulsive behaviour. The shaking would worry me, to be honest.
I would need more information to suggest anything useful.
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