“This is my dog, belly-flopping from a dock.” Read the rest

This cute Australian Shepherd pup's name is Zero.

Zero loves skritches. Read the rest

“The greeting we get every time we come home!!!!” Read the rest

As promised by the video title, this pooch just loves to chat.

UPDATE: The conversation is over, sadly. The video was removed. Read the rest

Will dogs obey commands from robots? In IEEE Spectrum, Evan Ackerman writes that "Yale University’s Social Robotics Lab led by Brian Scassellati presented a paper taking the first step towards determining whether dogs, which are incredibly good at understanding social behaviors in humans, see human-ish robots as agents—or more specifically, whether dogs see robots more like humans (which they obey), or more like speaker systems (which they don’t)."

Spoiler: The dogs do respond to the robot's commands much more frequently than they obey the voice from the speaker system, even if the experiment appeared to baffle the animals.

From IEEE Spectrum:

We asked [lead researcher Meiyin] Qin whether she thought it would make a difference if the robot was more or less humanoid, how much of a face it had, whether it smelled like anything, and other traits that dogs might associate with human-ness. “Since dogs are very sensitive to human social cues, the robot being a humanoid or not may make a difference,” Qin says. “However, if a non-humanoid robot behaved like an agent (e.g., behaved like a dog, or exhibit any social behaviors), dogs may also respond in a social manner.”

She explained that, in terms of whether the robot has eyes or not, or smells like a person, these factors could also impact how dogs respond to the robot. But Qin adds that the researchers need further evidence to give a more affirmative answer. “Whether the robot moves or not could affect the dogs differently,” she says.

“Zooopah.” 

A guy and his German Shepherd, just playing the flute, like you do. Read the rest

Why do dogs often walk in circles before lying down for bed? Turns out, it's a survival trait inherited from their evolutionary ancestor the wolf. Read the rest

You probably heard that the U.S. Postal Service is tanking, expecting to run out of money by October 2020. Interestingly, it's not funded by taxpayers, but entirely through the sale of postage, gifts, and services. So, now there's a growing movement to help save them by purchasing postage stamps and other products from their online store. Like this Dog Mail Carrier Costume for $17.99. So, do your part, dog owners!

P.S. I'll take one of these, please!

Thanks, Carolee! Read the rest

Phil the enormous malamute hasn't taken a bath in months, is increasingly in need of a bath, and has no intention whatsoever of having a bath.

SPOILER: Ultimately, Phil is bathed. Phil's vengeance begins at exactly 14:00. Read the rest

Ben Campbell: "I got some fake teeth for some quarantine comic relief and well... Thomas stole them off of the table." Read the rest

JB Rhine (1895-1980), the founder of parapsychology, spent the bulk of his career attempting to scientifically investigate ESP, psychokinesis, and clairvoyance at Duke University. While Rhine debunked numerous claims, he also reported on many experiments that he argued were evidence of psi phenomena. In 1952, the US Army consulted with Rhine on their idea to use psychic powers to detect landmines. The psychics weren't people though; they were German Shepherds named Tessie and Binnie. From author Nick Redfern's retelling of the weird tale over at Mysterious Universe:

Although Fort Belvoir was the place from where the work was coordinated, the actual tests took place on stretches of quiet California beaches. A contingent of soldiers, Rhine, Binnie and Tessie hit the beach and the work began. The role of the troops was to bury dummy mines (thankfully!) at varying depths in the sand and to see if the dogs could locate them. To begin with, both dogs were kept in the back of a covered, military truck – to ensure that they couldn’t see what was going on at that same stretch of beach. That is, until it was time for the operations to begin.

Incredibly, it didn’t take Binnie and Tessie long to find the fake mines. The work progressed and the military was impressed. But, was it all coincidence and random luck? To ensure that wasn’t the case, the Army began to make it more and more difficult for Tessie and Binnie to find the mines. Instead of just burying the bogus mines deep in the sand, they took the devices into the water – to depths of about six or seven feet – and had the pair try and find them.

Vakis Demetrious posted this clip from Limassol, Cyprus. He writes:

5th day quarantine.

Stay Home Safe but don't forget your dog happiness..

(And yes, I understand that if the dog wanted to run off, it could easily pull the drone right along with it.) Read the rest

Behold Stella, exemplifying the canine propensity to barrel headlong into piles of leaves.

I’ll just leaf this right here... Stella’s BEST LEAF JUMPS OF ALL TIME!

Amherst, New York's Just Pizza & Wing Co. is slapping dog adoption fliers on their pie boxes to help animals at the local SPCA find their forever homes. And if you adopt one of the dogs, you get a $50 gift certificate for the restaurant. From CNN:

The unique idea came after Mary Alloy, who owns the pizza franchise with three of her children, began volunteering with the Niagara Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Alloy worked with Kimberly LaRussa, an SPCA event coordinator, to come up with ways to help more shelter animals find their forever homes.

"Kimberly texted me one night and was like, 'Hey, what would you think about putting pictures of the dogs on pizza boxes?' and I just couldn't wait," Alloy said. "We are all animal lovers here, so I got permission from the franchise to do it and immediately got to work..."

"We've had a tremendous amount of interest and support from the community and beyond since the story went viral on Friday," LaRussa told CNN. "Many people want to order a pizza just to get the shelter dog photo, other pizzerias have offered to put flyers on their pizza boxes, and so many people are tagging their friends and family."

"A New York pizza shop is putting photos of dogs on pizza boxes to help them find homes" (CNN)

Previously: Woman spots her dog, lost in Idaho, on a Florida brewery's "adoptable dogs" beer can Read the rest

Meet Ryker, Happy Mutants. Ryker, a Belgian Malinois, studied at the Double H Canine Training Academy, and here is footage of his failed test to become a service animal. Ryker was instead adopted by his trainer, Zach James.

More of Ryker's antics follow below.

Read the rest

Dogs traveling through the Osaka Itami airport in Japan will soon be able to kick up their paws before boarding their flight. The domestic-only airport is setting up an outdoor canine lounge where pups can take a shower, have a drink, and find relief at the flushable pee pole. It isn't clear when their grand opening will take place.

Although rare for dogs to get the spa treatment at an airport, New York's John F. Kennedy has Itami beat with a "pet oasis" for all kinds of animals (birds, cats, dogs, horses...) called ARK. Started three years ago, ARK, which takes in animals, including those needing to be quarantined, for a longer amount of time, will take pets on a walk, feed them, give them a bath, and even perform vet services.

Source: Reuters

Image: Taro the Shiba Inu / Flickr Read the rest