Accessibility links
dogs dogs
Stories About

dogs

Thursday

Petting other people's dogs, even briefly, can boost your health

When humans interact with dogs, the feel-good hormone oxytocin increases — in the person and the dog. Sally Anscombe/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Sally Anscombe/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Petting other people's dogs, even briefly, can boost your health

You don't even have to own one. Research shows just 5 to 20 minutes interacting with other people's pooches can reduce stress hormones and increase well-being.

Petting other people's dogs, even briefly, can boost your health

Listen · 4:08
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1190728554/1191938777" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Saturday

Thursday

A lost dog treks 150 miles across Alaskan sea ice before he's reunited with his family

One-year-old Australian shepherd Nanuq, in the middle with Brooklyn Faith, was returned to Gambell, Alaska, on April 6 after he disappeared for a month and walked on the Bering Sea ice 150 miles to Wales, Alaska. On the left are Brooklyn Faith's sister Zoey with Starlight and on the right is brother Ty with Kujo. Mandy Iworrigan via AP hide caption

toggle caption
Mandy Iworrigan via AP

Animals

A lost dog treks 150 miles across Alaskan sea ice before he's reunited with his family

Nanuq, a 1-year-old Australian shepherd, went missing last month while his family was visiting relatives. Except for a swollen leg, with bite marks from a seal or polar bear, Nanuq was in good health.

Wednesday

Tuesday

Monday

You asked: Can we catch a new virus from a pet? A cat-loving researcher has an answer

Can cuddling or kissing a pet put you at risk of contracting an unknown virus? Can people pass a virus to pets? Those are questions that pet owners ponder. And if Centu (left) and Ruby (right) could talk, they'd probably ask as well. Ben de la Cruz/NPR; Lauren Migaki/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Ben de la Cruz/NPR; Lauren Migaki/NPR

Goats and Soda

You asked: Can we catch a new virus from a pet? A cat-loving researcher has an answer

What's the risk of contracting a surprising virus from Fido or Kitty? It's not a frivolous question, as one virologist explains. And there's another question: Can you give a virus to your pet?

Thursday

Can dogs smell time? Just ask Donut the dog
Laura Gao for NPR

Goats and Soda

Can dogs smell time? Just ask Donut the dog

After decades of wondering, an NPR reporter finally figures out how her husband's family dog knew when the school bus would arrive every day. She did some digging — and now it all makes scents.

Can dogs smell time? Just ask Donut the dog

Listen · 4:29
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1139781319/1144942214" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Bomb-sniffing dogs are in short supply across the U.S.

University of Pennsylvania Police Officer and K9 Uman, a black Labrador retriever trained in explosives detection, conducting a package search during a routine training exercise. Wise K9 Photography hide caption

toggle caption
Wise K9 Photography

Animals

Bomb-sniffing dogs are in short supply across the U.S.

The pandemic led to global supply snarls — including a shortage of dogs that detect explosives. One big reason is that the U.S. gets the vast majority of its dogs from other countries.

Bomb-sniffing dogs are in short supply across the U.S.

Listen · 1:51
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1139388835/1139388836" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Monday

A canine psychologist with a new puppy explores 'how dogs become themselves'
Penguin Random House

Review

Book Reviews

A canine psychologist with a new puppy explores 'how dogs become themselves'

Fresh Air

Alexandra Horowitz is an authority on how dogs perceive the world, but her new book is not a training manual. In The Year of the Puppy, she says there's plenty she doesn't know about canine cognition.

A canine psychologist with a new puppy explores 'how dogs become themselves'

Listen · 7:03
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1130473634/1131084146" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Hurricane Ian's havoc is forcing some Florida families to give up the family pet

Humane Society Naples CEO Sarah Baeckler (center holding crate) helps load cats aboard a plane in Naples, Fla., on Monday. The group is getting ready for "an influx of surrendered animals" from Hurricane Ian, she says. Scott Neuman/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Scott Neuman/NPR

Animals

Hurricane Ian's havoc is forcing some Florida families to give up the family pet

A shelter run by the Humane Society Naples is flying cats and dogs out of state to make room for a wave of new arrivals from families whose homes were destroyed and are now unable to care for a pet.

Hurricane Ian's havoc is forcing some Florida families to give up the family pet

Listen · 2:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1126624711/1126709172" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Wednesday

Eebbers, TSA's oldest and cutest bomb-sniffing dog, retires after a decade of service

Eebbers, an 11-year-old explosive detection canine, has retired after nearly a decade of service. Transportation Security Administration hide caption

toggle caption
Transportation Security Administration

Animals

Eebbers, TSA's oldest and cutest bomb-sniffing dog, retires after a decade of service

The 11-year-old vizsla-Labrador mix screened passengers at a Minnesota airport and helped with security at major sporting events. He celebrated his last day at work with toys, cake and pets.

Friday

How many animal species have caught COVID? First global tracker has (partial) answers

A screenshot of a map showing case counts of COVID-19 reported in different animal species, part of an interactive COVID data tracking dashboard rendered by Complexity Science Hub Vienna. The drawings represent the type of animal, including both domestic and wild; the size of the bubbles reflects the number of cases in each locale. Complexity Science Hub Vienna/Screenshot by NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Complexity Science Hub Vienna/Screenshot by NPR

Goats and Soda

How many animal species have caught COVID? First global tracker has (partial) answers

Just as human counts are incomplete, so are animal counts. But the first worldwide compilation of animal cases is a start at understanding the extent of human-to-animal transmission, scientists say.

Thursday

Animal rescue groups across the U.S. band together to rescue 4,000 beagles

These canines are some of the nearly 500 beagles that Homeward Trails Animal Rescue collected earlier this year from an Envigo research facility in Virginia. Now Homeward Trails is taking in additional beagles from Envigo, which bred the dogs for pharmaceutical research, after a federal judge ordered thousands of remaining dogs to be released. Homeward Trails Animal Rescue hide caption

toggle caption
Homeward Trails Animal Rescue

Animals

Animal rescue groups across the U.S. band together to rescue 4,000 beagles

A federal judge ordered thousands of dogs to be rehomed from a Virginia research facility after several inspections revealed poor conditions. Animal rescue groups are working to do just that.

Friday

A blind golden retriever missing for weeks is found after its family gave up hope

Ted Kubacki gets a lick from the family golden retriever, Lulu, outside their house after being reunited in Sitka, Alaska, on Thursday. The elderly, blind dog who had been missing three weeks, was found on Tuesday by a construction crew. Behind Kubacki is his wife, Rebecca, and their children Ella, Viola, Star, Lazaria and Olive. James Poulson/The Daily Sitka Sentinel via AP hide caption

toggle caption
James Poulson/The Daily Sitka Sentinel via AP

Animals

A blind golden retriever missing for weeks is found after its family gave up hope

A construction crew in Alaska found the dog named Lulu in salmonberry bushes after first confusing her for a bear. The pet, which had lost more than 20 pounds, is being nursed back to health at home.