'Two dogs even managed to destroy the box and get their toy.' Addiction to toys can mirror human addictive behavior in some dogs. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. If it seems like your dog is as attached to its favorite toy as your kids are to their blankie or stuffed animal, it might not be all in your head. It could even be something akin to addiction . Some dogs show behaviors towards their toys that actually resemble behavioral addictions in humans, including gambling, video games, and our beloved smartphones .

An analysis of nearly $70 billion in donations showed feline lovers contributed slightly more. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Or at least as old as about 26 to 35 million years ago when felines and canines first evolved . Cats and dogs duking it out for who is the best human companion . That debate has spilled over to humans, with research showing that dog owners are more often considered more social and community-oriented, while cat owners are believed to be more introverted and open-minded .

Petco Love Lost is a free platform that uses AI-powered photo matching to reunite lost pets with their families. If your job has you feeling tense, your dog might be feeling it too. A new study published in Scientific Reports finds that stress from work can affect your dog at home. The research, led by Tanya Mitropoulos and Allison Andrukonis, shows that when dog owners dwell on work problems after hours, a habit known as "work-related rumination," their pets show more signs of stress. Researchers surveyed 85 working dog owners.

With their fluffy coats and teddy bear-like faces, crossbreeds like Cockapoos and Goldendoodles have become a favourite with dog lovers and celebrities. But while these breeds are now some of the most popular in the UK, vets have warned that poor breeding to meet the'current craze' could lead to a surge in unexpected health and behavioural issues. Lack of regard for health during the breeding process could result in an increase in debilitating conditions such as hip dysplasia, genetic eye disease and Addison's disease in Labradoodles in the future, the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) warns. Behavioural issues could also increase, including aggression and biting. 'Sadly, designer dogs often do not come from "designer" breeding programmes but are farmed indiscriminately to meet the current craze for breed-crosses with catchy names such as Frug and Jackalier,' said Dr Dan O'Neill, Associate Professor in Companion Animal Epidemiology at the RVC.

A man in Cyprus had to walk his dog during the country's COVID-19 shutdown and decided to see if a drone could handle the job. Vakis Demetriou shared his experiment on his Instagram, showing his dog Oliver walking up a residential street with a small drone following close behind holding the leash. '5th day quarantine,' he wrote. 'Stay home safe but don't forget your dog's happiness.' While the video is charming, it's unlikely a drone would be able to walk most dogs, even those as small and lightweight as Oliver.

Cleaning up after your dog is about to get a lot easier and not so smelly. A Texas-based product design company claims to have created the world's'first fully automated dog toilet.' Called the Inubox, it's a self-contained toilet system that'captures, processes and contains' your dog's waste. Inubox is designed to look modern and minimalist, so that it blends in with the furniture in your bathroom or laundry room. However, it'll cost users a whopping $1,200 if they want to get their hands on it.

Video: Like owners and pets, are you to blame if your robot hurts you? Who is accountable for an artificial intelligence or robot which performs an action that brings harm to people? That action might be accidental but it's one of many questions society might need to ask itself about the autonomy and accountability of AI when more advanced forms of it such as driverless vehicles -- likely to be the first robots we learn to trust -- drones, and even military weapons become more widely deployed. AI and legal experts are attempting to figure it out, but there's no simple answer. Google's next big step for AI: Getting robots to teach each other new skills Robots haven't reached human intelligence yet, but Google's researchers are showing how they're closing the gap using downloadable intelligence.

You're responsible if your dog does something wrong, why not for your AI? Who is accountable for an artificial intelligence or robot which performs an action that brings harm to people? That action might be accidental but it's one of many questions society might need to ask itself about the autonomy and accountability of AI when more advanced forms of it such as driverless vehicles -- likely to be the first robots we learn to trust -- drones, and even military weapons become more widely deployed. AI and legal experts are attempting to figure it out, but there's no simple answer. Google's next big step for AI: Getting robots to teach each other new skills Robots haven't reached human intelligence yet, but Google's researchers are showing how they're closing the gap using downloadable intelligence. Speaking on a British Academy panel about robots and the law at The Royal Society, one expert suggested that the answer could be right under our noses.

An'Airbnb of dog sitting and walking', Rover.com is available in the US and offers a more affordable and flexible option than traditional services like kennels. But matching local pet owners with appropriate sitters is a surprisingly complex big data challenge, which is where the developers and data scientists that create and test Rover.com's Founded in 2011 by Greg Gottesman (Founder and Board Member) and Philip Kimmey (Co-Founder and Director of Software Development), "Rover.com is a dog lover's other best friend -- second only, of course, to your dog," says the website. When his nine-year-old daughter said she would have actually paid to take care of someone else's dog, Gottesman saw a business. He and his team, including Phillip Kimmey, pitched the idea for Rover.com at the 2011 Startup Weekend in Seattle and won top prize.

Ask any dog owner and they'll tell you – when it comes to playtime, certain phrases are guaranteed to get a reaction. Researchers from Barnard College combed through almost 200 videos of dog-human play sessions to find out more about this unique type of interaction. The team was able to determine the 35 words that people use most frequently when playing with their dogs, and also discovered that women were more likely than men to play hands-on. Ask any dog owner and they'll tell you – when it comes to playtime, certain phrases are guaranteed to get a reaction. This resulted in more than 30 common play routines, including tug, fetch, roughhousing, and even teasing.