Follow up on Doggie Daycare Dvd's
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Cats and dogs rarely become addicted to television. This is because they lack thumbs and generally cannot work remote controls.
Does television stunt the development of cats and dogs? I’m not aware of a scientific study on the matter, but I sincerely doubt it.
In fact, I have rarely seen animals express much interest in television. So, when the kind folks at Off the Wall Entertainment sent me At Home Doggy Daycare and At Home Kittycat Daycare, both on DVD, I was skeptical. The DVDs are designed to have visual and auditory content that is stimulating to and interesting for pets.
Since I am, sadly, between cats at this time, I watched Kittycat Daycare by myself. It was quite entertaining. Features include kittens playing soccer as well as visuals of squirrels frolicking, fish swimming, and birds flitting about.
Doggy Daycare has similar features tailored, theoretically, to the needs of dogs. For this DVD I decided to perform a non-controlled, non-randomized, non-blinded study with an n of one and publish the results in a non-peer-reviewed venue (my blog). I called my pal Buster into the living room and put on the DVD.
Up to this point, I should point out, Buster had never shown any interest whatsoever in television. We’re talking about a dog who will sit through Barry Lyndon, Walk The Line, The Matrix, and The Big Lebowski as if nothing is happening.
Buster loved the DVD. He paid rapt attention to the video from the instant it started. When the soundtrack featured a squeaky toy Buster ran to the speaker. For a moment I thought he might try to use my new sound system as a chew toy. Fortunately he did not.
Buster whined during the scene featuring a dozen dogs frolicking together in a play area. I think he was sad to be left out of the fun.
A harrowing moment occurred during the scene entitled “Nutty Neighbors”. Buster nearly knocked over the television trying to chase the star of the scene (who happened to be a squirrel).
It’s a good thing Buster doesn’t have thumbs. If he did, he’d be at risk for addiction to At Home Doggy Daycare.
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