DogTV cable channel provides soothing sounds and images for your pooch

GlobalPost

DogTV will launch nationally in the coming months, said television executives Wednesday.

The on-demand channel, which costs $4.99 per month, offers an eight-hour block of programming, commercial and re-run free for a dog's viewing pleasure, said Yahoo News.

"DogTV provides television for dogs as a 24/7 digital TV channel with dog – friendly programing scientifically developed to provide the right company for dogs when left alone.," says the website.

The channel's success in San Diego, where it has over one million subscribers, convinced executives at the parent company PTV Media to take the channel nationally in the coming months.

According to Bloomberg, the program is also available online in Canada and even has an iPad app.

And with 46 million dogs in the US and nearly every home having at least one television, the market is rich with possible subscribers.

However, shooting television for dogs is not a straightforward task with color changes and point-of-view shots that make it fit for canine viewers.

Even the tedious music is tailored to dog sensibilities.

According to Reuters, the programming was created by a group of Israeli television entrepreneurs after hundreds of hours of research into the viewing habits and preferences of dogs.

Yet, according to animal researchers, what dogs actually see or hear on television is still up for debate.

The Associated Press interviewed Nick Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic in Department of Clinical Sciences at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Massachusetts, who said that on analog televisions dogs can only see the flickering screen.

Yet, technology such as high definition, may have changed how dogs see images on the screen and may even allow them to recognize their own breed.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.