Mean Trainers Make Mean Dogs

Pheromones don't work for everybody, but calm some

(NEWSER) - Businesses are churning out pet "pheromone perfumes" to give Fido—and Puff—the kinds of smells they require to keep calm and happy. The pheromones can be sprayed, hooked up to a dog collar, and plugged into wall sockets for room coverage to diffuse chemical compounds aimed at soothing animals. The "perfumes" do the trick with some pets in some situations, though they're not as surefire as drug therapies like antidepressants, say experts. For dogs, pheromones seem to work best when used with training. More»

Trained hounds in high demand as infestations rise

(NEWSER) - The resurgence of an old pest has created new jobs for dogs. Bedbug infestations have soared in American cities over the last four years, creating boom times for exterminators, especially those using canny canines trained to detect the tiny suckers. Handlers say the dogs can expertly sniff out infestations and work their way through buildings a lot faster than exterminators looking for visual traces of the bloodsuckers. More»

Japanese toymaker debuts dog translator next month

(NEWSER) - Ever wonder what your dog is thinking? The “Bowlingual Voice” from Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy claims to be able to tell you just that, the Telegraph reports. The device is made up of a microphone and transmitter on the collar that categorizes the dog’s utterances into one of six emotions—such as sadness, anger or happiness—and plays an appropriate sample of speech from a handset. More»

'Psychiatric service' pooches respond to PTSD sufferers' needs

(NEWSER) - The golden retriever nuzzles his master as though he wants a treat, trots into the kitchen, and waits patiently. His master walks over and, under the pet’s watchful gaze, takes a series of pills. The dog wags his tail with approval. He is a psychiatric-service dog, part of a new generation of service animals designed to help those with mental illness—including, most recently, Iraq and Afghan war veterans with PTSD, reports the Wall Street Journal. More»

(NEWSER) - You can tell when Rover’s misbehaved by that guilty look on his face, right? Ruff—er, wrong, researchers say. If owners believed their dogs had misbehaved, they projected that famed "guilty" expression onto the animals’ faces regardless of whether any rule-breaking had happened, a new study says. Any change in a dog’s expression is simply a reaction to the owner's scolding, the BBC reports. More»