Female dogs prefer the competent person when opening a food container, researchers say.

“Dogs are highly sensitive to human behavior, and they evaluate us using both their direct experiences and from a third-party perspective,” researchers at Kyoto University wrote. “Dogs pay attention to various aspects of our actions and make judgments ...Read more

Female dogs prefer the competent person when opening a food container, researchers say.

“Dogs are highly sensitive to human behavior, and they evaluate us using both their direct experiences and from a third-party perspective,” researchers at Kyoto University wrote. “Dogs pay attention to various aspects of our actions and make judgments ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Purple and green tutus, boas and sparkles sprinkled the atrium of the Hart Building on Wednesday for what has become one of the most popular events on Capitol Hill: a bipartisan costume dog “pawrade.”

While this year’s celebrated Mardi Gras, the event is typically Halloween-themed — but last fall’s was canceled due to ...Read more

In many households, furniture follows an unspoken hierarchy. Certain chairs become “yours.” Specific corners of the couch feel familiar. A particular spot at the end of the bed becomes routine. And yet, the moment you step away, your dog often claims that exact location. When you return, it looks perfectly settled, as if it has always ...Read more

Across cultures, climates, and species, young mammals engage in a remarkably similar activity. They chase, wrestle, tumble, stalk, and retreat in patterns that resemble conflict but lack real danger. Puppies pounce on littermates. Kittens ambush imaginary prey. Young primates swing and spar. Even human children invent games built around pursuit ...Read more

In many households, the first sign that something is wrong does not come from a conversation or a visible argument. It comes from a dog that refuses to leave someone’s side. A cat that suddenly sleeps on a pillow it has ignored for years. A normally playful pet that becomes quiet and watchful. Long before humans articulate distress, animals ...Read more

If humans walked through the world the way dogs do, we would be overwhelmed. We navigate primarily by sight. Dogs, by contrast, inhabit a landscape of scent. What looks like a patch of grass to you is a layered archive to them — who passed by, how long ago, whether they were stressed, what they ate, whether they were healthy. A daily walk is ...Read more

To many dog owners, the daily walk is a practical necessity. It is how dogs relieve themselves, burn excess energy, and stretch their legs. Squeezed between work schedules and household obligations, walks are often treated as errands rather than experiences. Yet behavioral science suggests that this routine activity is one of the most important ...Read more

In many neighborhoods, there is at least one dog who seems to believe it has been officially appointed Chief of Security. It watches the street from the window, alerts the household to passing pedestrians, inspects every unfamiliar sound, and positions itself strategically near doors and fences. To owners, this constant vigilance can appear ...Read more

Few sights in the animal world are as universally associated with happiness as a wagging dog’s tail. To many owners, it seems like a simple emotional barometer: wagging means happy, still means sad, tucked means afraid. Yet canine tail language is far more complex than that familiar shorthand suggests. A dog’s tail operates as a ...Read more

For most of feline history, survival depended on sharp senses, territorial awareness, and the ability to hunt small prey efficiently. Modern indoor cats, by contrast, may never stalk anything more threatening than a dust particle drifting through sunlight. Yet beneath the calm surface of domestic life, the ancient architecture of the hunter ...Read more

To a human, a living room is a horizontal experience. There is floor space, furniture, perhaps a table or a couch. To a cat, that same room is a layered ecosystem of perches, escape routes, observation towers and strategic ambush points. What looks like ordinary domestic space to us is, to them, an intricate vertical territory map.

Cats evolved...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — When actress-singer Patti LuPone released her album “Matters of the Heart” in 1999, she wasn’t interested in simple songs about falling in and out of love.

The record, and the run of concerts that followed it in 2000, mixed songs from Broadway musical theater, where LuPone won Tony Awards for “Evita,” “Gypsy,” ...Read more

Vanessa Hudgens is heartbroken after her dog Darla had to be put down.

The 37-year-old actress has posted an emotional tribute to her beloved furry friend - who she described as "the smart little lady" - as she revealed the poor pooch's body had been "failing her".

Alongside a carousel of pictures, Vanessa wrote: "Anyone that knows me knew ...Read more

On any given evening in a quiet home, one cat may sit silently in a corner, blinking slowly and observing the world like a furry philosopher. Another may follow its owner from room to room, narrating every movement with chirps, trills, meows, and insistent commentary. To many pet owners, this difference feels mysterious. Why does one cat seem ...Read more