Dogs + Humping: Match made in heaven

Leave it to two of my science-blogging faves, DogSpies and BuzzHootRoar to bring us the top reasons that dogs hump, complete with animated GIFs. We can all just go home now, science journalism is done.

Oh okay, we'll keep going: Cyber-pets

As we humans start collecting more data on ourselves, turns out we want to track our pets' activities too. This article explores the growing trend of wearable technology, spy cams, and how technology will drive the direction of the human-animal relationship.

Petting calms down cows

Adding to some recent work in goats, it's nice to see the field of animal emotions looking at positive states! Petting cows in preferred places reduces their nasal temperature. In case you are wondering, in the past, research has shown that "peripheral temperatures" drop under stress, but now research shows positive experiences have similar effects. One key difference - stroking also lowers the heart rate, unlike stressors. Very neat!