Ready, world?(Selling it: goofs / glitches / gotchas)(Bow-Lingual translates dog barks)

Ever wonder what Fido is thinking when baying at the moon or whimpering at the weimaraner next door? Now there's Bow-Lingual. A Japanese product sold in the U.S. since mid-August. it's a battery-operated device designed to translate dog barks. You program its handheld unit with your dog's name, gender, and breed or body and snout type. You then decide whether to have barks interpreted or to receive information on what a dog's body language means or on dog health or training. Wrap Bow-Lingual's microphone around the dog's collar and you're ready.

The family canine was ready, too, so we took off our lab coat and did an informal check of what it's like to use Bow-Lingual. First, we logged in the dog's name (Sage), gender (female), and the closest breed (though she's an English setter, we hoped there'd be no repercussions for calling her Irish).

We set Bow-Lingual for Bark Translation. Sage was speechless. We then tried Body Language, which asks you to choose a position such as Baring Teeth. Sage was sitting, mouth closed, and no option applied. We picked Pulsing Tongue and found that had she been panting, a favorite activity, she would have been anxious. We should soothe her with a ...