Cesar Millan Shares Advice on Watching TV with Your Dog

Dog owners might be familiar with the name of Cesar Millan. After all, he is one of the best-known dog behaviorists on the planet, as shown by the fact that he is a best-selling author as well as the fact that he offers a wide range of dog-related products and services to interested parties. As a result, it is clear that Millan is a expert when it comes to canine matters, which is why dog owners might be interested in hearing what he has to say about letting dogs watch TV.

What Does Cesar Millan Recommend When It Comes to Watching TV with Your Dog?

For starters, Millan says that choosing the right programming can help keep dogs entertained whereas choosing the wrong programming can leave our canine companions feeling stressed-out. However, this is connected to a significant extent to how humans react to the material being shown on the TV screen because dogs often take their cues from their humans. As a result, if a dog owner watches something that entertains them, chances are good that will help their dog to relax as well. In contrast, if a dog owner watches something that irritates them, chances are good that their dog will become agitated as well. Over time, these tendencies can become self-reinforcing.

With that said, Millan states that there are some kinds of programming that can prove beneficial for dogs as well for one reason or another. For example, footage featuring dogs has a high chance of catching a dog’s interest because dogs tend to have difficulties distinguishing between real dogs and the dogs shown on modern TV screens. Other examples include nature shows, calming music, sports, and even cartoons that use comforting tones resembling those used by a lot of dog owners when addressing their dogs. Of course, there is no guarantee that all dogs will react in the same way to all content, which is why this is something for which dog owners will have to make up their own minds by paying attention to their own experiences with their own dogs as well.

Speaking of which, Millan states that it is fine to use TV as a way to entertain dogs even without the dog owners present. However, this is true so long as this is something that happens on occasion rather than something that happens on a regular basis. In fact, Millan outright compares the proper use of TV for dogs to the proper use of TV for children. In short, it can be a good way to reward dogs once they have gotten enough, but overdoing it comes with some serious drawbacks. This is particularly true if dog owners are using their TVs as a way to dog-sit their dogs, which is particularly problematic because they won’t be home to intervene in case some kind of problem pops up. After all, dogs have difficulties distinguishing between reality and the things shown on TV, meaning that a particularly excitable dog could very well end up doing something unwise if they see something on the TV screen that causes them to react.

Having said this, Millan believes that TV can make for an excellent tool for dog owners seeking to take care of their dogs. In part, this is because the TV can help keep dogs entertained. However, it should be mentioned that TVs can do a great deal to educate dogs as well, which is perhaps unsurprising when dogs take in so much information with their sight. With that said, this is true so long as the use of the TV is being monitored by a human presence, who can make sure that the use of the TV remains appropriate for the desired ends as well as step in to intervene should something comes up that demands it. Otherwise, both dogs and dog owners can end up regretting letting the dogs watch too much TV, particularly since such tendencies can be habit-building in the long run. Something that can cause serious problems for dog owners in the long run if they have second thoughts about the way that they are using their TVs to keep their dogs placated and want to switch over to something more suitable.

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