Animals have of course become partners to humans, both for work and play. Dog is man’s best friend, isn’t it? So, how far would one go to be with them? So many people consider their pets part of the family, so they treat them like one. Would you?
This of course goes beyond Skype and the care one has for an animal of any kind. However, technology is constantly evolving, and will we as humans invest into technology for our pets?
There are of course advantages to the specific use of Skype. This in the traditional usage has made talking on the phone something of the past. Now people from across the globe can be face to face, without being face to face. There are pet training classes now offered completely though Skype, both for the pet alone and the owner. Hanrob Pet Hotels, Petropolis Pet Resort, and other pet-related lodgings have joined in the fad: PetSkype™“Owners can arrange a time to call the hotel and ask to speak to their pet before staff take an iPad into a room to make the Skype connection.”Get with the program, pets are getting a lot more than treats these days! Co-founders of Skype have even invested in an European Pet Community Network, coining two new websites: UnitedDogs.com and UnitedCats.com; all which just adds to a pet-lovers dream.However, even if humans have become so accustomed to this cold-hard reciprocated love, can animals?
Skype, without careful monitoring, can harm a pet, as well as your wallet. There is the fact you would have to leave it on and position it so that you can see the pet but the pet cannot reach the computer, iPad, etc. It’s a cute idea, but to watch over pets, a pet-sitter might be best. However, Gizmodo.com did offer other solutions such as wireless IP camera, which can easily be bought on Amazon.Yet, getting to the heart of the matter is that pets, animals in general, unlike humans do appear to find the two-way face time ineffective compared to a good pat on the head or hug. Firstly, Skype (and voice telephone systems in general) are optimized to transmit frequencies between 500Hz and 4kHz. This is good for the average human being, but canine dogs in particular have a wider range of tones, meaning your pet may not even be able to recognize your voice over a wireless communicator. Further more, dogs may hear you, but the fact that there is no physical presence to connect itself to the familiar voice in the usual familiar way, might confuse the pet Animals have different sensory toolkits than humans. 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.
On January 11th, A video titled “My dog can Skype!” was uploaded to Youtube. It received over 700,000 views. This means people clearly love their pets, and they find it either funny or fascinating that pets can “use” Skype. Yet, did the dogs really “Skype” or are they just barking at the noise they hear…Ironically, it is the pets who think this technologized world is lacking in something…whether it be emotional or physical. Yet, with our constant progression, what is stopping us from giving our pets iPhones?Either way, the pets appear to enjoy it and the owners can’t get enough of it!
