Dogs

How dogs react when a human dog impersonator barks at them

Voice actor Rudi Rok can do a pitch-perfect dog impersonation. Watch him interacting with actual dogs in this interesting video experiment. I really really wish science came up with a working human-dog-human translator. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Sploid Jesus Diaz Jun 16

Adventure Tested: Ruffwear Approach Dog Pack

Want to take your little buddy on adventures? Then you’ll need a strong, durable and, most importantly, comfortable dog backpack. This Ruffwear Approach may be the best option available. https://gizmodo.com/how-to-take-your-dog-camping-1575730467 What’s It Supposed To Do? Ruffwear describes the Approach as an “everyday pack” that’s, “ideal for day hikes and overnight adventures.” It’s the second largest…

Reviews Wes Siler Jun 16

How Do You Kill 86 Mammoths? With Dogs.

The new study “How do you kill 86 mammoths? Taphonomic investigations of mammoth megasites” proposes that one possible way for early humans to kill mammoths was with the beginnings of what would become man’s best friend. In the study, anthropologist Pat Shipman investigates makeup of mammoth remain “megasites” — areas with remains number from five…

io9 Katharine Trendacosta Jun 7

How To Keep Your Pets Safe From Coyotes

The cockroach of predators? Coyotes now live in every state but Hawaii and thrive around human civilization, eating our garbage and sometimes, even our pets. Here’s what you can do about the pesky critters. As Gareth highlighted a couple weeks ago, coyote populations have spread down the eastern seaboard where a new, larger species has…

Tech News Wes Siler Jun 5

You Can Watch This Baby French Bulldog Play With A Door Stop Forever

His name is Carlos B. and he is adorable. [Via The Laughing Squid.]

io9 Meredith Woerner Jun 3

Dog uses catapult contraption to play fetch with itself

I don’t know who is smarter. The dog owner (apparently, an engineer) who built this catapult to allow his dog to play fetch with itself or the dog who knows how to use the contraption so perfectly that it can keep itself entertained when its owner is busy. Either way, they’re both genius. Load the…

Sploid Casey Chan Jun 3

Even Security Dogs Need Badges to Get Into Apple’s WWDC Keynote

Every tech nerd in the world wants to be at the Apple WWDC keynote that starts in just about one hour. Sadly, uhhh, we don’t all get to go, and security at the event is so tight that even the guard dogs have badges. We first learned about the WWDC guard dog badges from CNET…

Tech News Mario Aguilar Jun 2

Dogs Are Now At Risk From Super Bacteria, Too

Humans aren’t the only ones at risk from antibiotic-resistant MRSA. The super bacteria has also trained its sights on our collective best friends: Dogs. Commenter and veterinarian elisethestrange told us a bit about some of the species-jumping pathogens that she had seen — including some recent cases of dogs that had picked up MRSA from…

io9 Ria Misra May 30

This shark likes to be pet like a dog

Meet man’s best friend of the ocean, the shark. Wait, what? It sure seems like that in this video. Watch as this adorable (?) Caribbean reef shark waddles its way over to the scuba diver as if it’s asking her to pet it. And when she’s done petting, the shark wants more! Of course, the…

Sploid Casey Chan May 29

Even In The 1900s, Humans Were Obsessed With Photos Of Dogs In Clothes

Dogs have been our best friends for the last 15,000 years. So it shouldn’t be surprising that as soon as we invented the camera, we started taking wacky photos of dogs wearing glasses, hats, suits, ties and other gear. Here are the most adorable (and alarming) vintage photos of dogs wearing human clothing. https://gizmodo.com/brain-scans-show-that-dogs-are-as-conscious-as-human-ch-1442003302 A…

io9 Vincze Miklós May 28

Dogs And Sidecars, A Match Made In Motorcycle Heaven

Problem: If you subscribe to the Ron Swanson school of thought on dogs — anything under 50lbs is actually a cat — yours won’t fit on a motorcycle. Solution: Get a sidecar! The bike you see here is the heavily-revised 2014 Ural Gear-Up, a slightly modernized take on a machine engineered by the Soviet military…

Tech News Wes Siler May 28

Wiley’s First Camping Trip

Here’s and old article about Wiley’s first camping trip to Big Sur. https://jalopnik.com/how-to-have-an-epic-road-trip-with-an-11-week-old-puppy-458369788

Tech News Wes Siler May 27

Watch all these dogs run on their dog treadmills in their dog gym

Sometimes when you have a lot of dogs, they don’t all get the exercise they need. Not these dogs though, they get to use these sweet dog treadmills at their outdoor dog gym. So even though there’s a lot of dogs, they all get to be active. Well, most of them. The dog on the…

Sploid Casey Chan May 23

A Sleeping Bag Designed Just For Man’s Best Friend

If you’d rather bring your faithful companion with you on a camping trip than have them stuck in a kennel for a week, you’re probably going to want them to be as comfortable as you are. And if they’re too big to share your sleeping bag, the Noblecamper gives them their own cozy place to…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski May 22

Medieval Kitchens Used a Specially Bred Dog to Turn Roasting Spits

Before the era of “set it and forget it” countertop rotisserie ovens, kitchen gadgets required a lot more manpower—and if not manpower, then dogpower. The turnspit, a breed of dog dating for medieval Britain, would run around and around on a wheel like a hamster in a cage, ensuring evenly roasted meat for hungry noblemen.…

Tech News Sarah Zhang May 18

How To Take Your Dog Camping

Spending time together outdoors is pretty much the neatest thing you can do with your dog. Here’s how to do it safely. In the 14 months that we’ve been together, Wiley’s been to Big Sur twice, the High Sierras once, chased coyotes around Joshua Tree, been attacked by a mountain lion in the Sespe Wilderness,…

Tech News Wes Siler May 13

Trick or not, a cheeky chihuahua stealing pit bulls’ food is hilarious

Three well-trained dogs wait patiently for the go ahead signal as their owner lays out delicious grilled hot dogs in front of them. Then she gives the signal to go ahead—but the chihuahua steals all of the food before the pit bulls react. Is the chihuahua a jerk or is it all a well-rehearsed trick?…

Sploid Mario Aguilar May 6

How Adopting A Dog Saved My Life

When Wiley first came home last February, I was barely able to walk, desperately single and exploited at work. No more, in large part thanks to him. I didn’t actually have a huge role in Wiley’s adoption. Some friends heard of an adorable family of puppies on death row down in San Diego and rushed…

Tech News Wes Siler May 6

During The Zombie Apocalypse, A Dog Just Wants To Get Back To His Boy

In most zombie apocalypse stories, the protagonist is focused on their own survival. But in the short film Steadfast Stanley, a loyal Corgi just wants to reunite with the boy he loves. Third year CalArts student John Cody Kim made Steadfast Stanley with its wonderfully scribbly zombies. He even got a real Corgi to provide…

io9 Lauren Davis May 3

War Dogs In Afghanistan Are Getting Their Own Air-Conditioned Kennels

The U.S. military’s war dogs are a pretty badass bunch, but that doesn’t mean they like being stuck inside stuffy kennels during 120 degree Fahrenheit summer weather (Who would, really?). That’s why the army’s designing them some swankier digs complete with AC and exercise areas. Boy, do they deserve it. Highly trained war dogs are…

Biology Sarah Zhang Apr 24

How dogs react when a human dog impersonator barks at them