Bill Leslie: The people prove dogs do watch TV

I decided to be a good boy and fetch my Jan. 28 story on dogs watching television. Your feedback on the report was more than enough to justify a follow-up story.

Posted 12:11 p.m. Feb 14, 2020 — Updated 12:11 p.m. Feb 14, 2020

I decided to be a good boy and fetch my Jan. 28 story on dogs watching television. Your feedback on the report was more than enough to justify a follow-up.

To refresh your memory, my story was about a best-selling book that stated: “Dogs can’t see television but they pretend to like it so they can be close to you.”

I pointed out that my dog Rufus definitely watches television and barks loudly every time a dog appears on the screen. I offered video proof.

Many of you agreed with my story.

Amanda Pollard sent me a video of her two-year-old lab Jett totally engaged with a televised dog show last November.

It’s interesting to note that Jett is the first of four labs in the Pollard family to show any interest in television.

Rufus is the first dog in the Leslie family to show interest in television.

Scientist Alex Riemann weighed in on the debate suggesting that HDTV is now allowing pets to see images like never before. I believe this is a very important point.

Christie Kelly wrote that her dog Baby Boo “not only watches TV and loves it but also has favorite shows.”

Kelly adds: “He growls and barks at ‘bad guys’ sneaking up on main characters.”

Ursula wrote that she has five dogs but only one watches television. That dog growls and barks only when people are fighting or dogs appear on the screen.

Cheryl West sent in a photo of her dogs Bruce and Ollie. They are Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Cheryl says 14-year-old Bruce has been watching TV since he was very young and that he growls at scary scenes.

Barb Brack wrote that many years ago she had a golden retriever that reacted to horses on her television. When the horses disappeared from the screen, Barb’s dog searched behind the TV monitor set to try to find them. How cute!

I heard from Debbie who said her fostered Chihuahua mix likes to watch the Carolina Hurricanes and seems fascinated by the fast moving puck.

Kerry Harwood in Durham told me her 7-year-old miniature golden doodle Kona definitely watches television. “She loves Animal Planet and Nat Geo but we have to put our feet down and turn off Animal Fight Night because animals battling is just too much!”

I think we now have evidence to prove that some dogs do watch television. We as dog parents definitely have a responsibility. It’s up to us to make sure our beloved pets don’t hurt themselves or the TV by crashing into the screen!

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