Understanding video content responses could make ophthalmology more accurate.

A survey of dog owners across the world could provide ophthalmologists with data to support more accurate tests for canine vision.

The study examined the observations of 1,600 dog owners from places including the UK, USA and countries in the European Union, who recorded their dogs’ responses to different video stimuli.

Dog owners reported on the types of screens in their house, how their pets interacted with the screens, and the sort of content they interacted with the most. This was compared to other data about their dog’s age, breed, sex, and where they lived.

Dogs could also be shown four short videos, each featuring subjects of possible interest, including a panther, a dog, a bird and traffic. The owners then rated their dog’s interest in each video and how closely they tracked the on-screen movement.

Most dog owners recorded their pet’s behaviour to be active when watching videos, with many pets jumping or tracking the on-screen action rather than passively lying down or sitting.

Dogs enjoyed watching content featuring other animals, with videos of other dogs proving particularly popular. However, videos including humans were the least popular, ranking ninth out of 17 categories.

Their age and vision correlated with how much they interacted with the screen. Sporting and herding dogs also watched more content than other breed types.

The data also highlights on-screen movement to be motivating, and cartoons proved engaging for over ten per cent of the dogs.

These findings may support canine ophthalmologists to devise more accurate assessments of dogs’ vision. By ascertaining what type of content sustains a dog’s attention, a ‘dog eye chart’ equivalent can be created to assess canine vision.

They could also be used to monitor how dogs’ visual attention changes as they age.

Dr Freya Mowat, a veterinary ophthalmologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, contributed to the study.

She said: "We know that poor vision negatively impacts quality of life in older people, but the effect of aging and vision changes in dogs is largely unknown because we can't accurately assess it,

"Like people, dogs are living longer, and we want to make sure we support a healthier life for them as well."

The full study can be found in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

Image © Shutterstock