(Image Source: ABC News  )

BY JUSTIN PROCHASKA

ANCHOR EMILY SPAIN

 

You're watching  multisource  global video news analysis from Newsy. 

TV is officially going to the dogs. A new canine-based cable channel launched in San Diego this week, but it’s not for animal lovers and dog owners. As WTHR reports, it’s actually for man’s best friend.

“It's called, well, DOGTV, and has nearly 800 programs for dogs. Each last 3-5 minutes long to fit with a dog’s limited attention span.”

The channel’s programming is based around three parts: stimulation, relaxation and exposure. The programming is designed to relax dogs and keep them at ease when the owner isn’t around. But, do dogs even pay attention to the screen? A researcher at Tufts University says they sure do.

“With digital picture dogs can see the picture just the same as you and me. And they do see it. And they do watch. And they can be entertained by it.”

So how exactly does it work? A dog trainer told ABC News that dogs have a weaker color spectrum than humans and DOGTV adjusts the colors for the pups vision. The image may look muted to human eyes, but the colors pop to some dogs.

“DOGTV has colored those trees, maybe put a little blue or yellow on these trees so a dog can really see them.”

The idea came after a dog owner felt guilty for leaving his dog at home all day at work.
Here’s a sample, courtesy of WTOP .
 
Not everybody is sold on this new breed of television, though. Cesar Millan, from the reality show “Dog Whisperer” told NBC , DOGTV is barking up the wrong tree because dogs are more concerned with other senses, rather than just what they see and hear on TV.

“DogTV seems a fun concept and it may help your pet make it through the day, but what they see is much less important to dogs than what they smell. Dogs are pack animals and to be separated from their pack leader is one of the most stressful things that can happen to them.”

Catering TV programming toward dogs isn’t an entirely new phenomenon. An advertising campaign is underway in the UK where TV ads contain high-pitched sounds causing dogs to bark and react to them.

“The pet-food commercial features a high-pitched sound, similar  to a dog whistle, which is inaudible to humans. But its creators hope it will make dogs prick up their ears and  bark – forcing their owners to pay attention to the product being advertised.”

Right now DOGTV is only available in San Diego, but the channel hopes to expand to other markets where your pooch can fetch the remote.