Want to Know Which Way Is North? Just Watch Your Dog Poop

27 September 2014

 - A team of German and Czech researchers spent two years evaluating the positions in which dogs relieve themselves, and have discovered that our canine companions seem to possess an inner compass. And it could be this inner compass that guides lost dogs home from great distances.  

The researchers studied 70 canines from 37 different breeds and learned that regardless of breed, size, or gender, dogs tend to orient themselves north-to-south when they poop or pee. This only occurred consistently, however, when the Earth’s magnetic field was stable.

These study results provide additional evidence that animals detect electromagnetic waves humans cannot, and that in addition to their keen sense of smell and hearing, dogs also have a magnetic sense.