More People Would Rather Watch TV with Their Dog Than Family Claims New Study

More people than you think would rather watch TV with their dogs then watch with their own family. The news comes from a study that was conducted last month. The studio also revealed some other interesting nuggets of information, including the fact that nearly 60% of dog owners claim their four-legged friends have favorite shows and movies. As for the genres that dogs prefer, comedy was number one, but action is right below it at number two. Specific movies were not included in the study's findings.

Rover polled 1,000 U.S. dog owners in January and asked them questions pertaining to consuming entertainment at home with their pets. They found 78% of Americans say they watch TV with their dogs very often or always, and 90% said they're watching more TV and streaming more content since the public health crisis started. 42% of pet parents say they watch anywhere from 8 to 15 hours of TV or movies a week and 21% say they watch over 16 hours per week. As it turns out, over 40% of dog owners polled would rather consume entertainment with their dogs, even when asked about their own families.

Of that 40% of dog owners who prefer to watch television with their dogs rather than their partner, friends, or children, 57% of them wait for their dogs to be in the room before starting a show or movie. The study says that 70% of dog owners make sure that their dog is nice and comfortable before starting a TV show or movie and that 72% of those polled get a snack ready for their furry companions. Some pet owners even "say they move to give their dog their spot or let their dog lay on them even if they can't see the TV."

The Rover study also states that 2/3s of dog owners leave their TVs on when they leave the house, while 80% claim that their dogs bark and react to TV shows and movies at different times. A lot of people have been spending more and more time indoors because of the pandemic, so some dogs might be sick of their owners at the moment. There's no way of actually polling dogs to get that data, but it seems to make sense.