My dog has been known to paw at my iPod and smartphone, sometimes turning off the music, calling my friends, and once sending a gibberish text to one of the Consumerist bosses. I thought she was just being a dog and randomly stomping on things that I pay attention to instead of her, but there could be more to it than that. Maybe we should check out the iPad classes for dogs now offered in Manhattan.

Yes, this is a thing. While cats are pretty interested in tablets, dogs require more coaxing. The Wall Street Journal visited one iPad class for dogs, where the instructor got students to pay attention by smearing the screen with peanut butter.

There are iPad games for cats for paid and free download, but dogs are harder to engage with technology. It’s not like they’re going to do your online banking or edit your photos, anyway. Not that doing something useful is the point. “I don’t necessarily do very useful things on the iPad either,” the trainer trying to sell dog owners on iPad classes explained helpfully to the Journal.

Cats have more natural interest in tablet games, but one expert is concerned: chasing virtual prey that never stops, never gets tired, and that the cat can never catch can be frustrating and may not be good for the animals in the long run.

Some Users Just Can’t Keep Their Paws Off the iPad [WSJ] (via Betabeat and Dogbook)

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