Somewhere 11,000 years ago, something weird happened to a dog. It got cancer—and the really damn freaky part is that the cancer could survive even outside of its canine host. That unknown dog is long dead now, but its tumor cells have improbably lived on, continuing to sprout on the genitalia of dogs all over the world.
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I’ve mentioned my daughter’s little pup Buttercup before. I’ve long suspected that Buttercup is an asshole for various reasons, not the least of which is the fact that she will only poop when someone is outside with her. I’ve often wondered why exactly the dog has to sniff every inch of the yard, twirl in a circle 57 times, hunch over to drop her deuce and then suddenly give up and go sniffing for just the right spot all over again. It turns out it may be solar flares causing the confusion.
Yes, a group of actual scientists have been studying dogs and the direction they poop in. I can only imagine the piles of data they had to go through. Anyway, the researchers have determined that dogs prefer to take care of their poop in alignment with the Earth’s magnetic field. The researchers determined this by watching a group of 70 dogs during 1,893 defecations and 5,582 urinations. Talk about a crappy job.
The researchers watched the animals over two years and found that they prefer to drop the bomb in a North-South axis. The researchers also found that during times when the magnetic field was in flux, the dogs would become confused. I wonder if that explains the constant searching for just the right spot? The researchers have no idea why dogs prefer the North-South orientation. They also have no idea why they conducted the study in the first place.
[via Design&Trend]
I’ve often wanted to know what my daughters dog was thinking when she spends an hour outside, comes inside and immediately drops a deuce on the rug. I’m convinced the dog is simply an asshole. Now, a company has a product that it is working on, that is apparently a serious product for them, called No More Woof.
The goal of the product is to translate animal thoughts to human language. If this product comes to be, maybe then I could figure out why the dog craps in the house, not the yard. The device looks like one of those thought-control gaming headsets that have been around for a while and uses EEG technology. The company stresses that product is not available to purchase and is only in working prototype stage now.
The project is on Indiegogo seeking to raise funds to bring No More Woof to market. A pledge of $65(USD) will get you a micro version of the device that can detect two to three thought patterns. The full size rig will be able to translate four or more thought patterns for $300. Delivery is expected in April 2014. Squirrel.
It’s winter and cold in most parts of the country. If your dog is like the one that lives in my house, they may not like to take care of their business outside when it’s too cold out. My daughter’s little Chihuahua, Buttercup, won’t poop outside if something cold touches her. Once that chill hits her, you can bet on picking up a little gift inside the house later.
I’ve decided she needs a jacket of some sort to keep her warm so maybe she will poop outside. ThinkGeek has the perfect jacket for any dog.
It’s the Star Trek Spock Dog Hoodie. The body of the hoodie appears made from sweatshirt material and it has the same blue design Spock wore.
The hood of the hat has pointy ears and black hair just like Spock. Sizes range from Small up to 2X for jumbo dogs with a chest up to 39 inches. Buying your dog a hoodie is enough, but buying your dog a Star Trek Spock hoodie puts you on a whole ‘nuther level.
So do the logical thing and transport yourself over to ThinkGeek, where you can get the Spock Dog Hoodie for $39.99(USD) While you’re shopping, be sure to grab the Star Trek communicator poop bag dispenser, and a Star Trek transporter dog bed.
Interaction designer Chris Woebken has taken Halloween to its logical conclusion: helping one species pass for another.
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I feel immense guilt every morning when I say goodbye to Burrito, my hyper-energetic Pomeranian. There’s just something about his puppy dog eyes that make me want to stay home and play with him all day instead… which I unfortunately can’t do if I want to keep my job.
That’s where PetChatz comes in.
PetChatz is a pet communication system that lets you interact remotely with your pet. It features two-way video, so you and your pet can see each other when it’s on. The device connects to your WiFi network, which allows remote activation via the PetChatz website or through an app that is compatible on most tablets and smartphones.
PetChatz can play a tone to attract your pet’s attention. Once it’s in front of the screen, you can it dispense a treat or release a scent for your pet to sniff on. A “calming” scent is available, but you can also choose to mix up your own customized scent.
PetChatz is also equipped with sound and motion detectors, and you can program it to send you an alert whenever it detects the presence of your pet. PetChatz is available for pre-order for $349(USD) and will ship out next year.
[via C|NET]
Do you treat your dog as your best friend? After all, don’t you think that man’s best friend deserves your very best, too? Leaving Fido chained to the fence is definitely no fun, and you’re better placing him in a home that loves him if that is the case. For those of us who treat our dogs as furkids, we would know that giving them adequate exercise is extremely important for them to burn up their mental energy, and this is where having a good quality leash comes in handy – so that your dog would not get hurt, and neither will your hand should Fido suddenly dash forward. The $18.99 Leash Plus might be something worth looking into, as it is not only stylish and practical, but has been deemed to be “puppy-approved” to boot.
Thanks to a revolutionary design that has been applied to the Leash Plus, it will include a pop-up water bowl, a storage bin for food or treats, a baggie receptacle with waste bags thrown into the mix to get you started right away, a LED safety flashlight that is powered by a trio of AAA batteries, an LCD clock with date and time so that you know it is time to head back home, and a locking button for the 16 foot retractable leash. Choose from Midnight, Yellow/Green, Plum and Blue colors, although you would do well to pack an extra bottle of water as well as treats separately as you can never quite tell just when these will come in handy.
[ Leash Plus brings an update to the good ol’ leash copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Dogs. They poop. Like all the time. They are basically poop machines on four legs. You can either be rude and never pick it up, or you can be prepared and carry bags with you when you walk the dog. This Star Trek communicator dog bag dispenser is the geekiest way to carry poop bags with you.
It measures 4 1/2-inches long and has a bone-shaped plastic clip for leash attachment and a rubberized molded zipper pull with the phrase, “To boldly go…,” a pad printed Star Trek logo on the back, and raised plastic buttons.
Carry it with you everywhere and clean up after your pet. Kirk to Enterprise. Poop to Beam up!
It’s just $19.99(USD) from Entertainment Earth, and will be available in November. Goes perfect with the transporter dog bed.
It’s not always easy having pets. You have to go out of your way for them. When you travel, do you leave your pet at an expensive kennel or do you leave it home with the air conditioner running and somebody coming over to take them out for walks? Either way, it is expensive. MRT Corp’s personally cooled dog kennel(JP) could help with the cooling part at least.
This small kennel has very own cooling unit and measures 43 × 43 × 47 cm. Yes, that seems pretty confining, but at least your pet will be cool. If you have a great dane, you’ll have to get one for each of its paws and another for its head. And just like our favorite gadgets, the new kennel is available in a variety of colors: wood grain, pastel pink, and pastel blue.
This mini dog fridge can be set from 10 to 40 degrees. I’m guessing that is Celsius, unless you want a dogsicle. It also costs approximately $515(USD) – so maybe you should just leave the air conditioning on.
[via New Launches]
Get ready for a five year canine mission that mostly involves your dog’s lazy butt sleeping on this Star Trek dog transporter bed. Because to dogs, sleep is the final frontier and they love to explore it.
How cool would it be to indoctrinate your pet into a love of Star Trek by buying them this transporter pad dog bed? Of course, you would have a constant fear of them just beaming elsewhere, and violating the Prime Directive, but you could always sabotage the transporter like in many episodes. At least it’s less work than dressing Fido like this…
This sweet dog bed will cost you $69.99(USD). Beam on over to Entertainment Earth and pre-order yours now. Fido will thank you for it.
[via Geekalerts]
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