Now, a device that ‘translates a dog’s barks into words’

September 19th, 2009 LONDON - For the first time, a sex doll has been made for dogs to meet their erotic desires. The toy called 'Hot Doll', is priced at 350 pounds, and the makers claim it will make it easier to control and improve a dog's behaviour.

September 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Although dogs are considered intelligent, but when it comes to making logical choices, wolves walk away with the 'smart' crown, say researchers. The new study from University in Hungary showed that dogs followed human cues to perform certain tasks despite evidence they could see suggesting a different strategy would be smarter, while wolves made the more logical choice based on their observations.

September 2nd, 2009 LONDON - Food for thought: What would music made on the moon sound like? Stop scratching your head, for JAXA, Japan's space exploration agency, has come up with the answer. JAXA has created a strange little applet on its Web site called "Moonbell", which is free to use.

August 27th, 2009 Three genes combine for 7 coat types in dogsWASHINGTON — From short to shaggy, nearly all the differences in dogs' coat types result from variations in just three genes, according to researchers studying how genes work together. "What's important for human health is the way we found the genes involved in dog coats and figured out how they work together, rather than the genes themselves," said Dr.

August 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Dogs' mental abilities are close to a human child age 2 to 2.5 years, according to a new research. Psychologist and leading canine researcher Stanley Coren, PhD, of the University of British Columbia has reviewed numerous studies to conclude that dogs have the ability to solve complex problems and are more like humans and other higher primates than previously thought.

July 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Babies are not as naïve as we think they are - at least as far as canines are concerned. A new study has claimed that infants just 6 months old can understand the different tones of dog barks, even if they've limited previous exposure.

July 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Why do dogs bark so much? Well, the answer to the question dates back to 10,000 years ago, when they used to hang around human food refuse dumps, say researchers. Many animals besides dogs bark, according evolutionary biologist Kathryn Lord from University of Massachusetts Amherst, but domestic dogs vocalize in this way much more than birds, deer, monkeys and other wild animals that use barks.

July 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Birds, deer, monkeys and other wild animals all bark -- but why are dogs more vocal than others? The reason is related to dogs' 10,000-year history of hanging around human food refuse dumps, says evolutionary biologist Kathryn Lord, University of Massachusetts (U-M). Lord and co-authors also provide scientific literature with its first consistent, functional and acoustically precise definition of this common animal sound.

July 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Dogs understand human pointing gestures as well as two-year-old children, according to two studies. Also, the studies found that due to domestication, dogs appear to be predisposed to read other human visual signals, including head turning and gazing, reports Discovery News.

July 9th, 2009 LONDON - Kids at a primary school in England are being egged on to read to dogs in the classroom to make better their skills - because the pooches do not laugh or get impatient when they stammer. St. Michael's Primary School in Bournemouth, Dorset, launched the pioneering scheme in April to help the seven- and eight-year-olds to improve their literacy by reading out to dogs like Yorkshire Terriers, Labradors, and Shetland sheepdogs.

July 8th, 2009 LONDON - Dogs can find food by sniffing the snouts of fellow canines, finds a new study. "They're scavengers," New Scientist magazine quoted Clive Wynne, a psychologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville, as saying.

June 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new once-in-the-month pill has been found to be effective in controlling both fleas and ticks in dogs and cats, say researchers. Peter Meinke and colleagues at Merck Research Laboratories obtained the flea and tick fighter from a substance found in a fungus.

April 7th, 2009 LONDON - Dogs and babies, sharing similar social environments, seem to follow human gestures in similar ways, finds a Hungarian study. Gabriella Lakatos from Eotvos University in Budapest, Hungary, who conducted the study, showed that three-year-olds rely on the direction of the index finger to locate a hidden object.

March 18th, 2009 LONDON - Hollywood actress Christina Ricci depends on her faithful dogs for safeguard against nosy fans. The 'Monster' actress, who became fearful about her safety after discovering that directions to her lavish mansion were printed on a tourist map, revealed that she knew that her well-built dogs would keep her safe.

January 2nd, 2009 LONDON - Former 'Friends' star Jennifer Aniston's love for dogs will always win hands down when compared to her affection for men. 'Men come and go but there really is no relationship like the one you have with a dog - and then they don't live as long as they should,' contactmusic.com quoted Aniston as saying.