My dog likes to change channels

[Mabus]

(I posted this on another thread and was asked to repost it here.)

He does it on purpose too. One Saturday evening I set up the VCR to record something on C-Span. I think it was the Harken Fish Fry and then left for the monthly party at my friend's house. We left the tv on to provide light and sound for the dogs. (I know, they're spoiled.)

The next day when we rewound the tape we got about ten minutes of the fish fry. Then the channels went up one by one (from channel 27 to channel 40) to the Animal Channel. There was a dog show. After the dog show, right after the program ended, my dog started channel surfing again. He ended up on National Geographic channel for a little while (three channels) and then up another fourteen channels to MTV.

It's happened more than once. We've the set the VCR and left only to find the channel changes throughout the tape. We've started hiding the remote or taking it with us.

When we're watching tv in bed at night, this dog sometimes he gets it in his head that its time to change the channel. He walks over to the remote and just keeps hitting it with his paw until he gets to wherever he thinks he wants to go. My husband and I just look at each other and wonder what he's doing or thinks he's doing.

I've missed some crucial plot points of movies/shows because of his channel surfing. I've got a tv set up in the kitchen on the same feed as the living room tv. The dog has changed channels on me when I'm in the middle of doing dishes. I have to dry my hands, go in the other room, find him, take the remote from him and turn it back. Last week he changed channels at the end of "The Wire" when one character told his drug/business partner that he offed his partner's nephew. Huge plot point. If my husband hadn't been watching in the bedroom I would have not known what happened until the replay on Monday.

We also have to put the remote up at night or the tv gets turned on in the middle of the night. For a while I thought my husband was turning it on and falling asleep and he thought I was doing it. One day I finally showed him how to set the timer to turn it off. He said he was thinking of teaching me. We knew it was the dog.

[Longhorn]

1. Thanks for bringing this over to our group!

You should write Ellen DeGeneres about your dog. She'd probably fly you out to LA to be on her show. What kind of dog is he? My dogs react only to the occasional door knocking or dog barking on television. That, and the fact that they know when I turn it off, I must be leaving the room! :D