Have you heard? There’s a cable network just for dogs called DOGTV. It debuted Monday on the west coast, and is gearing up for a nationwide launch, costing about $5 a month. Its creators describe it as an “ideal babysitter” for your pet, with 24 hour programing designed to help “prevent mental fatigue, depression, and boredom”. Wow! If a TV network can do all that, maybe we should all tune in! While I do agree that auditory and visual stimulation are great supplemental enrichment to a pet’s day, it’s not the be-all and end-all of entertaining your dog and certainly not a significant tool for preventing the development of major behavior problems.

One of the biggest behavior issues DOGTV claims it’s programming can prevent and even help alleviate is separation anxiety. While programming for dogs certainly won’t hurt anything, I think it’s a little misleading. It seems that “separation anxiety” has become a trendy label that gets slapped on any dog exhibiting undesirable behavior that only occurs in the owner’s absence. As a result, we’ve got pet owners with the phrase running rampant on their lips desperately seeking a magical cure. There is a big difference between separation anxiety and the multitude of other reasons a dog may be disruptive or destructive when alone.

So what IS separation anxiety? True separation anxiety is an extreme fear response. In fact, a dog with this condition experiences fear so severe, it may be more accurate to call it a separation phobia (Hetts, 1999). They aren’t able to function normally and can really hurt themselves! As an example, I’ve seen dogs that have broken their teeth trying to escape. Can you possibly imagine how painful that is?

If your dog is experiencing extreme fear when left alone, a TV network will not solve his problem. It’s equivalent to a panic attack for goodness sakes. People with panic attacks typically need professional help to deal with them and the same is true for dogs. Often the best treatment comes from a veterinarian in partnership with a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist.

As long as your dog isn’t having true separation anxiety, DOGTV is fine. It certainly can’t hurt! Some of the programing they offer could serve as beneficial enrichment, such as the relaxing sounds. But television programming is not a substitute for exercise or one-on-one interaction with your dog. Whether it is from you or a petsitter, dogs are social animals and need interactions with people.

The channel has yet to launch nationwide, so I can’t give a full review of the programming until that happens. Until then, I’ll look for some of the research their web site mentions to support their claims and see what the science says.

Here’s an idea, if DOGTV made a dog version of Battlestar Galactica, I wouldn’t be surprised if wives across the country would walk in and find their husbands and dogs watching together. Problem solved!

Reference

Pet Behavior Protocols: What to Say, What to Do, When to Refer by Suzanne Hetts

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