dogs

A pair of Georgia-based scientists have engineered a hand-held device containing parasitic wasps able to do the work of drug-sniffing police dogs and bomb-testing robots. However, the wasps' most interesting feature may be their ability to sniff out ... bedbugs. The "Wasp Hound" is the brainchild of researchers Glen C. Rains and W. Joe Lewis, who, along with associate J.H. Tumlinson back in 1988 published a report that suggested wasps, like dogs, could be used to detect certain targets. Since then, Mr. Lewis made it a personal crusade to develop working prototypes that support his radical ... (view more)

How smart is your pooch? Many of us have often wondered how Rover, Rex, or Cocoa interpreted and understood the wider world around them. Now, a recent psychological study has pinpointed just how smart our dogs are, and the results are surprising. ... The report was part of a presentation called "How Dogs Think," staged in front of a Toronto crowd this past weekend. The presenter: University of British Columbia emeritus professor of psychology Stanley Coren, perhaps the leading expert in the examination of dog intelligence. Canines Think Like Toddlers Coren's finding: that the best way to study ... (view more)

In response to security flaws, prisons all over Israel will soon be equipped with a computer program that can interpret the sounds of a guard dog to distinguish between warning cries and normal barking. In the past, Israeli prisons have relied on ... guard dogs to help monitor the surrounding areas and send out warning signals when a convict attempts to escape. However, this system has seen its share of flaws in the past, as guards have admitted to not being able to hear the dogs calling out to them or were unable to respond quick enough to catch the criminal. Other times, the guards would simply ... (view more)

If you've taken a stroll through the park recently, you might have noticed a number of dogs sporting collars with attached ID tags, trinkets, G.P.S. equipment and...G.P.S. equipment? Garmin, a manufacturer of global positioning equipment, now makes ... tracking devices that keeps tabs on dogs whether they are walking through the park for exercise or chasing down a rabbit during a hunt. The latest Global Positioning System comes in two parts: a hand-held unit for the owner and another device that is mounted directly onto the collar or harness of the animal. (Source: nytimes.com ) Now if the dog ... (view more)