Bark & Bite
The research behind dogs and the bond we share: their senses, their minds, their genes, and what new studies really found.
The live-longer headline rests on mixed evidence. See what large mortality studies and smaller walking studies actually found, and make a shared activity plan that suits you both.
Read the storyA Labrador shakes about four and a half times a second, and there is physics behind it. What high-speed cameras show about the wet-dog shake and the splashy lap, how to dry your dog, and when thirst needs a vet.
Read the storyAncient DNA shows dogs are cousins of today's wolves and confirms a dog in Somerset 14,300 years ago. Here is what genomes reveal about when and where dogs began, and what is still unknown.
Read the storyA famous 2015 study linked long gazes between dogs and owners to a rise in oxytocin in both. Here is what later research found, why the hormone is hard to measure and what it means for you.
Read the storyResearchers have played classical, soft rock, reggae and slow piano to dogs in rescue kennels. What they found, why the calm can fade within days, and how to try music sensibly at home.
Read the storyIf you talk to your dog in a sing-song voice, you are in good company. Here is what the research found about who it works on, why tone and words belong together, and how to talk so your dog listens.
Read the storyOlder dogs learn more slowly and lose focus sooner, but memory can hold up and they stay trainable. What studies of ageing dogs found, what goes with a sharper mind, and when a change needs your vet.
Read the storyIn a lab, AI told two experimentally induced feelings apart in 89% of clips, yet general-purpose AI shown dog faces alone did about as well as guessing. What the research shows, and how to weigh any app's read.
Read the storyDogs have a small muscle for lifting their inner eyebrows that wolves mostly lack. What the dissections and shelter studies found, why coyotes complicate the story, and what the look does and doesn't tell you.
Read the storyTrained dogs have picked out Covid-19 and Parkinson's from samples with impressive accuracy, and failed other tests outright. What the numbers mean, and why your dog's nose is no substitute for a GP.
Read the storySome Labradors really are hungrier than others. What Cambridge scientists found in their genes, why a food-mad dog is no sign of bad ownership, and how to keep a hungry Labrador slim and content.
Read the storyPoodles and Labradoodles are often sold as allergy-friendly, but when scientists measured the allergen, the label did not hold up. Where dog allergen comes from, and what helps if someone at home is allergic.
Read the storyIn lab tests, most dogs told familiar people apart by the outline of the head and the hair, and few managed with the face alone. What that means for Halloween masks, and how to help your dog see past yours.
Read the storyDogs pick up faint, high sounds we miss, but sharp ears are only part of why bangs frighten them. What the research says about canine hearing, how firework fear starts, and how to get your dog ready.
Read the storyOn one DNA study's formula, a one-year-old dog lines up with a person of about 31. Here is how that curve works, why size and breed change the sums, and how to read UK lifespan figures for your own dog.
Read the storyIn a study of 18,385 dogs, breed explained only about 9% of the differences in behaviour between individual dogs. What breed can and cannot tell you about a dog's character, and what to weigh instead.
Read the storyDogs can learn to tell a happy face from an angry one, and in one study most went to a person pretending to cry. But a study of real sadness found something quieter. What the research shows, and how to look after you both on hard days.
Read the storyMany people choose a Cockapoo or Labradoodle believing crosses are healthier. What the big studies found on hybrid vigour, lifespan and inherited disease, and what tells you more about a puppy's health.
Read the storyTrained dogs picked out the smell of human stress in nearly 94% of trials, and a stranger's stress odour seemed to make pet dogs more cautious. What the studies found, and what they cannot tell us yet.
Read the storyDogs see colour, just not the way we do: red and green can look alike to them. What your dog probably sees, why the red ball vanishes in the grass, and how to choose toys they can find.
Read the storyTwitching paws invite a lovely story, but sleep studies cannot reveal a dog's dream content. See what researchers measured in dogs and rats, and how to let a comfortable sleeper rest.
Read the storyBrain studies suggest dogs tell words that matter to them from meaningless ones, even in a flat voice, and link names to objects. What has been tested, what hasn't (walk among them), and how to make your cues easier to follow.
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