}

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Useful or not


The product in this video may be useful for some dog owners. Or, maybe not—I really have no idea. Certainly some dog owners will think it’s a good idea. Even if it is a good idea, our house doesn’t need it. But stuff all that: I just like the commercial.

I tend to think that most dogs left alone for the day are probably best left alone—the device could make things worse for many dogs. Dogs with severe separation anxiety might benefit, but there are many techniques that veterinarians use to help. But as with human things, I tend to think if something helps then it helps—no matter what others think about it.

A comment on this video said that if people have to leave a dog alone, they shouldn’t have a dog. Ironically, that plays on the exact same fears and feelings of inadequacy that some dog owners have: People often feel guilty about leaving their dog alone for the day, and both the negative nellies and the sellers of this product aim squarely at that.

I think that PetChatz is a good idea, though perhaps more so in the future. I see holographic visits to one’s dog—though, in the meantime, it’ll be a bigger screen. Even so, some people may find the current version useful.

Me, I just like the video.

2 comments:

rogerogreen said...

What's this, two posts in one day? What are you trying to do, still hit your one a day quota?
The little I know about dogs is that I'm glad I didn't have to take them outside when there's 6 feet of snow, as there as south of Buffalo recently.

Arthur (AmeriNZ) said...

There will probably be more days with multiple posts (two or more) than not for the rest of the year. You're quite right, oh observant one: It IS about trying to hit my average this year, which at the moment is looking iffy, at best.

I'm lucky in that in the places I've lived with dogs, they've been able to, um, er, walk themselves in the yard, leaving actual walks as exercise/adventure.