The dog days are over ... almost
Sirius heads to the doghouse and we get ready for fall with a research roundup
Editor's note: Aug. 11 marks the end of "the dog days of summer," the most sweltering days of the year. (For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway.) Over the past several weeks, ASU Now talked to experts from around the university about everything dog, from stars to language to man's best friend.
We made it!
The dog days of summer are coming to a close — astronomically speaking, that is. You probably can still bake cookies on your dashboard in Arizona.
With fall semester just around the corner and and temperatures (hopefully) about to start dropping, ASU Now is celebrating the end of the dog days with a look at all the best pup-related stories of the past year.
ASU prof pinpoints optimal age of puppy cuteness
All dogs are cute (at least we think so), but is there a point where they're most adorable? Clive Wynne, director of ASU’s Canine Science Collaboratory, says yes — and his findings provide insight into the depth and origin of the relationship between humans and dogs, the oldest and most enduring of any human-animal relationship.
Robotic guide dog leads ASU team to 1st prize at Intel Cup
According to Guide Dogs of America, a 16- to 18-month-old puppy will go through four to six months of training before it can become a guide dog. And that doesn’t consider the financial costs of training. A team of students and faculty from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, along with visiting scholars, have developed a high-tech alternative that won a first-prize award at the 2018 Intel Cup in Shanghai.
More than a label: Shelter dog genotyping reveals inaccuracy of breed assignments
Dog breed assignments at animal shelters are often used to infer how the dogs might behave and can impact the length of time a dog waits to be adopted. The first step to understanding how breed labels might affect shelter dogs is to identify who shelter dogs actually are, and researchers in the Arizona State University Department of Psychology have done just that.
Sleepovers reduce stress in shelter dogs
Foster care provides valuable information about dog behavior that can help homeless dogs living in shelters find forever homes. The Arizona State University Canine Science Collaboratory found short-term fostering benefitted shelter dogs in Arizona, Utah, Texas, Montana and Georgia. Stress hormone levels were reduced during one- and two-night sleepovers, and dogs also rested more during and immediately following a sleepover.
World’s largest canine cancer vaccine trial begins
Meet Trilly: The black-and-tan, floppy-eared, 9-year-old Gordon setter may have made medical history by receiving a shot that may also contain the very first vaccine intended to prevent cancer. Trilly is one of 800 dogs participating in ASU Professor Stephen Johnston's Vaccination Against Canine Cancer study.
Thought Huddle podcast: A love like no other
It doesn’t take special insight to recognize dog owners love their dogs. A lot. But the latest episode of ASU Now’s Thought Huddle podcast series digs deeper in an effort to unearth the origin of dogs, explore the purpose of dogs and assess what makes dogs special.
MORE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER STORIES
- Let's get Sirius: Dog days of summer begin with star alignment
- What we really get from loving dogs, a psychologist explains
- Linguistics experts know what's up, dog
- And they called it puppy love: Benefits of human-dog interaction
- Scooby Doo! How old are you? 50 fun facts about Scooby
- Tips to brave the dog days of summer heat with Dutch
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