The logistical obstacles of dog owners or other dogs remotely interacting, however, are daunting. Researchers Carman Neustaedter of Simon Fraser University and Jennifer Golbeck of the University of Maryland found that a majority of pet owners surveyed felt Skype, or similar systems, would be a good way of either talking or watching their pets. An upcoming paper which will be presented at the 2013 Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing conference investigated the feasibility of creating Skype-like video systems for pet owners to communicate with their pets. Scientists have, however, conducted research into the ways dogs use Skype. There is also anecdotal evidence of the high-pitched connection noises on Skype making dogs uncomfortable, but this has not been verified by any academic literature. One special challenge for dogs is that the compressed audio of Skype makes it especially hard for them to hear the person or the animal on the other end of the line. Compared to humans, canines rely on their sense of smell for communication and interaction far, far more–and their sense of vision means they see a computer monitor or tablet screen far differently. Apart from obvious differences in paws and hearing, dogs experience the world in an entirely different way. Both dogs and cats have very different sensory toolkits than humans. For the past few years, there has been a cottage industry in iPad apps for pets. However, dogs don’t experience technology in the same way that humans do. The idea that canines could adapt to the latest trends in technology is attractive to viewers, and it’s something viewers love. Dogs are adorable, and dogs performing the same tasks as human beings has always been a source of humor and fascination–after all, there’s a reason why paintings of dogs playing poker have persisted for more than 100 years. He reacted to (the other dog) howling like he usually does,” Wasel said. He reacts to other noises, and he when he see’s other dogs he sometimes does it. “We figured that if it worked through the phone, maybe we could try something on the computer. Wasel told Fast Company that the idea for the video came from her dog Gaytor howling at her family’s answering machine in high school when he heard familiar voices.

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