Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Reveal the 2 Names They’re Considering for Their New Dog - People.com

Skyler: Hey there, and welcome to Frosty the Dog — the show that celebrates everything wonderful, wild, and heartwarming about our best friends. I'm Skyler, your host, and I am so glad you're here. This show is named for a very special boy — Frosty — the goodest, most inspiring dog you could ever imagine, and honestly the whole reason we do this. Every episode, I celebrate dogs in his honor, and today is no exception. Before we dive in, a huge thank you to our sponsors — starting with our primary sponsor and namesake, Frosty — the best boy in the whole world. We're also brought to you by Ada, who helps clients integrate A I into their workflows; Ago Consulting — that's "Ahh-Go" — silicon development consulting from A I to SoC; and Zen Semiconductor, an umbrella company with a portfolio of companies across the silicon industry. Okay. Dogs. We've got so much goodness today — we're talking about a scientific discovery that will genuinely blow your mind, a service dog having the most joyful reunion you've ever seen, and new research into what's actually happening inside a dog's brain when they look at you. Let's go. Skyler: Alright, let's kick things off with Dog Science and Discovery — my personal favorite corner of the show, and I have a feeling Frosty would agree. Today's story comes straight out of the research world, and it stopped me in my tracks when I read it. Scientists have found — and actually seen evidence of it in brain scans — that dogs can tell the difference between fear and sadness. Not just pick up on "something is off," but actually distinguish between two distinct human emotions. That is not a small thing. That is extraordinary. Skyler: So here's what happened. Researchers were looking at how dogs process human emotional signals — things like facial expressions, body language, tone of voice — and they wanted to know: is a dog just reacting to general stress in the air, or are they actually reading specific emotions? And what they found, documented in brain imaging, is that dogs show different neural responses to fear versus sadness. Their brains are doing something different depending on which emotion they're picking up on. Dogs aren't just sensing "uh oh, my person is upset." They're actually decoding what kind of upset. Skyler: Now, I think about Frosty when I hear this, because — and every dog owner knows this feeling — there were always those days when you were sad, and your dog just knew. Not scared-sad. Not anxious-sad. Just... sad. And they'd come and put their head in your lap in this very particular, gentle way. And you always wondered, does he actually know? Is he reading me? And the answer, it turns out, is almost certainly yes. He was reading you. They all are. Skyler: What makes this finding so exciting is that it moves us away from the old idea that dogs are just responding to general emotional "vibes" — like they're picking up on some vague signal of distress. This research suggests their emotional processing is more nuanced, more sophisticated than that. Dogs may have developed this ability over thousands of years of living alongside humans. We shaped them, and in doing so, we gave them this incredible sensitivity to us. They became, in a very real way, emotional specialists. Tuned to us in a way that no other animal quite is. Skyler: And the fact that we can see it in their brains now — that's the part that gets me. This isn't just behavior we're guessing about. Scientists watched it happen, neurologically. The dog's brain lit up differently. That's real. That's science. And honestly? It's also just really beautiful. Frosty, buddy — you always knew, didn't you. You always knew. Skyler: Okay, I need to take a breath because that story genuinely moves me every time. Let's go to our next thread — Dogs and Humans — and this one is pure joy from start to finish. Are you ready? Because this story involves a service dog, a Disney cruise, and what I can only describe as a full emotional short-circuit of happiness. Skyler: So here's the setup. There's a service dog — a working dog, trained and dedicated, doing an incredibly important job for their person every single day. Service dogs live a life of focus and calm and professionalism. They're remarkable in that way. But they're also still dogs. They have favorite things. They have joy. And this particular dog had a favorite — a Disney character. We don't know all the details of how it started, but at some point in this dog's life, they had met this character before, and it clearly made a big impression. Skyler: Fast forward to a Disney cruise. The dog and their person are on board, and then — there's the character. The same one. And this dog, this composed, trained, professional service dog, absolutely loses it with happiness. Not in a bad way — in the best possible way. Pure, unfiltered, tail-wagging, wiggling, can't-contain-it dog joy. The kind of joy that Frosty used to bring when you said the word "walk" — that full-body, ears-back, spinning-in-circles joy. A "reunion," as the story called it, and I think that word is exactly right. Skyler: What I love about this story — beyond the obvious adorableness — is what it tells us about service dogs specifically. We sometimes think of them almost as furry robots. So disciplined, so focused. And they are disciplined. They are focused. But they're not robots. They're dogs. They have inner lives. They have things they love. They have moments that light them up from the inside. And watching a service dog just completely melt with happiness at seeing a beloved Disney character on a cruise ship — that is the universe reminding you that joy is universal, and dogs have plenty of it to spare. Skyler: I also love that the person sharing this story used the phrase "short-circuits with joy." Because that's exactly what it looks like when a dog is that happy. The system just — overloads. In the best possible way. Frosty had that. That full-system joy overload. And if you've ever seen it in your own dog, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's one of the great privileges of sharing your life with a dog — you get a front-row seat to that kind of pure, uncomplicated happiness. Skyler: And honestly? Watching it happen between a service dog and a Disney character on a cruise? That is the kind of story the internet was invented for. My heart is very full right now. Okay. Let's move into our third thread — Understanding Dogs — because this one connects to some really fascinating science and, yes, a little bit of A I. Skyler: So — how do we understand dogs better? We're learning more every year, through behavioral studies, through brain imaging like we just talked about, through genetics, and increasingly through technology. And one of the most interesting areas right now is dog cognition — specifically, how dogs experience stress and anxiety, and what we can do about it. Skyler: You might have seen that PetMD put together a roundup of vet-recommended calming treats and supplements for dogs. And while that might sound like a simple consumer story, I think it points to something really meaningful: we are taking dog anxiety seriously now in a way we never used to. There's a whole field of research into canine stress — what triggers it, how dogs process it, what's happening in their brains and bodies when they're anxious. And that research is directly informing the products and approaches that vets now recommend. Skyler: Think about what that means. We used to say things like "oh, he's fine, dogs don't really get anxious." And now we know — they absolutely do. Dogs experience stress. They experience fear. They experience something that functions a lot like anxiety. And we know this because researchers have studied it, measured it, looked at it from the inside. The kind of brain research we talked about earlier — showing that dogs distinguish between fear and sadness — that's part of the same broader scientific conversation. We are learning to take dog emotional life seriously. Skyler: And A I is starting to play a role here too. Researchers and developers are working on tools that can analyze dog behavior — vocalizations, movement patterns, facial expressions — and help owners and vets identify when a dog might be stressed or in pain. Because one of the hardest things about loving a dog is that they can't just tell you. Frosty couldn't say "hey Skyler, I'm not feeling great today." You had to learn to read him. And A I tools are being developed to help with exactly that — to spot the subtle signals that even attentive owners might miss. Skyler: It connects to that broader idea that understanding dogs is an ongoing project. Every study, every brain scan, every genetic analysis, every new tool — it's all adding to this picture we're building of who dogs really are. And the more we understand them, the better we can care for them. The better we can meet them where they are. The better we can honor everything they give us. Skyler: Now — I do want to mention something fun from today's stories, because it tickled me. There was a cattle genetics story in the mix today — about Wagyu beef and DNA and marbling — and I thought, okay, that's not quite a dog story. But here's the thing: the same kinds of genomic tools being used to study Wagyu cattle genetics? Those techniques are being applied to dog genetics too. Scientists are using advanced genome mapping to understand dog breeds, inherited health conditions, behavioral traits — all of it. So even the beef science has a little dog science echo in it. Frosty would probably be more interested in the steak than the genome, but we appreciate both. Skyler: Oh, and one more joyful little thing — Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos are getting a new dog, and they're deciding between two names for their new pup. I love this so much. Because naming a dog is one of the great joys of the whole experience. It's this moment where you look at this new little creature in your life and you think — who are you? What name fits you? Frosty got his name, and it was perfect, because he was perfect. And I hope Kelly and Mark find the perfect name for their perfect new pup. Because every dog deserves a name that fits them just right. Skyler: Alright, friends. We have covered a lot of ground today, and my heart is honestly just full. Dogs who read our emotions. A service dog losing their mind with joy over a Disney character. The science of dog anxiety and the technology helping us understand what our dogs are feeling. And somewhere in all of it — always — the reminder of why we do this show. Because dogs are extraordinary. Because they give us everything. Because they love us in ways we are still, honestly, just beginning to understand. Skyler: Frosty, best boy, this one was for you. It's always for you. Frosty the Dog, brought to you by Frosty — the best boy — along with Ada, Ago Consulting, and Zen Semiconductor. If you loved today's episode, please subscribe, share it with a dog lover in your life, and leave us a review — it genuinely helps the show. You can find links to all of today's stories in the show notes. Stay curious, stay kind, and go hug your dog. We'll see you next time.