Tales of The TV
Whenever a dog comes on the TV, my husband mutes it as fast as he can. If you ask him why, he'll tell you, "when Lucy sees or hears a dog, she flies off the couch and puts her paws on the TV stand, trying to get at it."
He did it the other night I pointed out that Lucy was dead to the world, snoring like a freight train, and I assured him she wasn't going to move, let alone get up and attack the TV like a demon.
He was unconvinced. But I asked him to humour me—for science.
And you know what happened? Absolutely nothing. Her breathing slowed for a second, and her ear twitched but that was it.
What Really Happens (and When)
When it comes to big, loud, and scary behaviour, it can really feel like your dog is doing ‘the thing’—or all the things—every time, all the time, but that's rarely true. We tell ourselves stories because it’s how we make sense of things we don’t fully understand.
In Lucy’s case, she struggles with fast movement and barking—especially when there’s more than one dog or when the barking goes on too long. And even then, it doesn't happen "every time". She often watches for several seconds before getting up, and other times any animal will set her off. It happens when she's awake, maybe a little bored, and definitely when she's over- or under-stimulated. That's a really important distinction.
The Real Takeaway
If we want to change behaviour, we have to put the stories and assumptions aside and actually look at what's happening.
Is it “jumping up on everyone because they’re really excited”? Or does it only happen when they meet new people—or in groups? Could that jumping come from feeling overwhelmed, or something we’ve accidentally reinforced?
Or is "barking at everything out the window" actually barking at slow movement, small dogs, or big dogs? Does it only happen more in the morning or the evening?
When we're able to approach our dogs' behaviour with more curiosity and less emotion, the problem becomes clearer—and seems smaller somehow.
Jumping, barking, pulling, chasing—all happen for different reasons. Each reason requires a different approach. "Every dog on TV" isn't just vague—it can be misleading.
