Is it animal cruelty to create viral YouTube videos of puppies' confrontations with Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners? What about watching them? A front page piece in today's Wall Street Journal examines that probing ethical dilemma, as well as numerous more practical ones, such as: How do you get a puppy to stop attacking a Roomba? (Answer: scold it, "Bad Roomba!" if it gets too close to the dog's bed.) What if the robot in question is a $3000 Aibo robotic puppy and the assailants are cats? Aibo aficionado Olivette Turbeville of Laramie, Wyoming has the answer:

"I wanted not a single tooth mark on the dog," says Ms. Turbeville, 54. Her solution: a paste of cayenne pepper and Cholula Hot Sauce, which she painted on its tail. The cats still sniff the Aibo's backside. "They just can't help it. But they never, ever bite him anymore."

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