In today’s world, we all live busy lives. Most of of us are always on the go. From work, to school, to groups events we are part of, the kids drop off routines and pick up times, along with the everyday trips to the grocery store and gas fill ups. We live busy lives.
Many of us have trained dogs that we can take with us to the different places we go but the truthfulness of things is sometimes we are working against time that it becomes easier to grab the keys and go. Which brings up the question, “Do you leave the TV on for your dogs when you leave?”.
Leaving the TV on for your dogs has several benefits that you may not have thought about. Before we talk about some of those benefits, I want you to think about how you would feel if you were left in a room in total silence. How would you feel about it? No phone to scroll social media with. Nobody to talk to. The still silence that allows you to hear the house creek and the wind blow in waves against the house. Nothing else except the occasional fire truck or ambulance siren that passes by in your neighborhood, if that even happens at all. Or the piercing ringing in your ears that only grows louder the quieter the room gets. Now, try doing that repeatedly day in and day out for hours at a time. Most people can’t even do this for 10 minutes without waniting to fall asleep or find something to eat from the fridge.
If you were a dog living like this, wouldn’t you be excited for anyone to come through the door so you could jump on them and say hello? Wouldn’t you want any type of involvement that would allow you get excited, wag your tail, and jump on your person non-stop? Wouldn’t you normally become fearful of everything around you that wasn’t part of the only experiences you had day in and day out? Which is a small part of the reason why your dog wants to bark at everything that is not familiar to them.
I now imagine you would want something playing in the background if you were a dog. Facts are most people turn on the TV within the first 5 minutes of coming home so they don’t have to experience this. Or they go straight to listening to something on their phone or scroll social media for hours between things they are doing. So if you have been leaving your dog at home in silence, here are some reasons to change those habits.
Your dog may hear sounds that mimic the outside on some of the shows and movies you leave on, creating a small exposure sensory bank that they might rely on later when you take them out.
Many dogs have been recorded showing they enjoy watching TV.
Dogs would no longer be forced to spend long periods of time in total mind-numbing silence which could level down some of the hyper-sensitive excitement you normally would receive even as your dog gets older.
Dogs also form memories of when you would be leaving if you continuously put on the same movies for them when you step out the door. Making it easier for them to identify clear patterns of expectations.
Here are some movies with a variety of sounds that I have been putting on and cycling through over the years.
- Mega Mind
- Despicable Me
- Shrek
- Jesus Revolution
- Greater
If you have specific movies or TV shows you have been leaving on for your dog when you leave over the years, we hope you drop a line and share them with us.
