TV Has Parental Ratings and Trigger Warnings: Can We Get Dog Alerts Too?

TV viewers have parental warnings and discretionary viewing labels, but can we get dog alerts for common triggers?

The post TV Has Parental Ratings and Trigger Warnings: Can We Get Dog Alerts Too? appeared first on TV Fanatic.

These days, trigger warnings exist for everything under the sun, including the giant fiery star in the sky.

TV has parental warnings, but it would be great to have dog alerts, too. TV has a lot of scenes and sounds that can be as disturbing to dogs as some scenes are to people.

Before you start a TV show — and usually after it comes back from every commercial break — we get a small box in the corner with a string of alphabet letters. These simple letters refer to the content warnings you’ll witness during that episode.

Think of shows like Chicago PD and Law & Order: SVU. Some of the most common parental warnings we see on TV (do we really need them?) include:

• V – Violence
• N – Nudity
• L – Language
• S – Sexual situations
• D – Drugs

These letters influence the show’s parental guide ratings, which can vary from safe for all ages (TV-Y) to only for mature adult audiences (TV-MA).

• John Krasinski, Matthew Rhys Join Cast of Silent River: Will the Sexiest Man Alive Play a Serial Killer?
  by Tyler Johnson
• Vanderpump Rules Fires Tom Sandoval, Ariana Madix, and ENTIRE CAST Ahead of Season 12! What Does This Mean For the Show’s Future?
  by Tyler Johnson
• Black Friday Frenzy: 13 Movies and TV Shows That Prove Holiday Shopping Is a Real Nightmare
  by Lisa Babick

Networks use these viewer discretion advisories to cover their butts so viewers can’t come after them for getting triggered. Some of us consider it yet another way that we’re softening up the younger generations.

Many parents shelter their children too much to the point that they won’t watch a show with a “potty” word in it. I use bad words in my daily parenting cause I don’t have soft kids.

We listen to hard music, and I share my favorite PG and PG-13 films with them. My youngest son was watching The Walking Dead when he was five.

My oldest daughter is still a Criminal Minds junkie after her first episode when she was eight. It inspired her to go to college to become a forensic psychologist.

Everyone has their own parenting styles, and there’s no perfect way. None of us know what we’re doing anyway.

But while I’m not too restrictive about what my children watch, I still have to sit with the remote next to my hand, ready for lightning-fast reactions at the slightest prompts.

Sadly, there are no warnings for the types of triggers I have to hide.

See, my children are older these days, so there’s little I have to hide. Obviously, we avoid nudity, sex, and excessive gore. But drugs, strong language, mild violence, and such, not so much.

But I do share my personal space with six obnoxiously attentive canines who have an unhealthy obsession with violating personal boundaries and binge-watching TV.

It’s not uncommon to hear dog parents who have canines that enjoy screen time. One social media profile I follow on Facebook (guess my age) has a massive mutt with an obsession with Paw Patrol.

I read about a study about why dogs seem more interested in TV these days than in the past. None of my other dogs have ever seemed as reactive to the screen.

Apparently, it’s because TVs display pictures in higher definition than old screens.

Don’t I know it. I have to scold my dogs multiple times a day when they see a trigger on the screen: cats, running animals, babies, and balls, especially those that bounce. Tennis is a big issue here.

• Brilliant Minds Season 1 Episode 9 Review: The Colorblind Painter
  by Laura Nowak
• NCIS: Origins Season 1 Episode 7 Review: One Flew Over
  by Joshua Pleming
• NCIS Season 22 Episode 6 Review: Knight and Day
  by Lisa Babick

But the dogs don’t just react to what they see on the screen. There’s a bigger problem afoot because they’re even worse when it comes to noise.

As TV fanatics, we’ve got an uber-awesome surround sound system. But that backfires several times a day. All will be quiet and calm in the house while Mom works with the TV on for emotional support.

I’ll get lost in the words and lose my vigilance on what’s happening on the big screen. And then chaos erupts.

A horn honks. Or a dog barks. A baby cries. Or the worst trigger of all, a doorbell.

Even though it’s not really happening, the puppers do not know that. They will come out of a knocked-out coma-deep sleep like they’ve been cattle prodded.

Now, that may not seem too bad until you consider that five of the six dogs are giant pit bulls, ranging from 50 to 111 pounds. The sixth is a six-pound teacup Yorkie with the loudest yappy voice that incites a riot amongst her soldiers.

At the slightest provocation from the TV, they scatter to the various doors to stand guard. Their massive paws pose a severe risk to the glass panes as they stand on their hind legs to look outside.

When they stand up, these dogs are over four feet tall.

When they’re on all fours, they zoom around their obstacle course, knocking over things, including a coffee table on wheels that frequently gets pushed out of position.

Now that you understand the plight, it makes sense that I’m only one of thousands of pet parents who would love pet alert warnings on TV. Give us a heads-up that there will be dog triggers.

A simple box at the top of the screen after every commercial break to warn that the following scenes may contain scenes that may be disturbing for canines.

They could use codes like:

• H – horns
• D – doorbell
• B – barking
• K – kids
• C – crying
• A – alarms
• S – sirens

Does anyone else have the same issues with their dogs acting like WWIII has started at certain sounds (or sights) coming from the TV? What are your dog’s triggers? Would a dog rating warning be useful to you?

The post TV Has Parental Ratings and Trigger Warnings: Can We Get Dog Alerts Too? appeared first on TV Fanatic.