# Dogs align themselves with earth's magnetic field to poop.



## Gerald Guay (Jun 15, 2010)

Seems it true.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/01/04/study-dogs-relieve-themselves-in-line-with-earths-magnetic-field/

GG


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## Eric Read (Aug 14, 2006)

I think it's crap


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## Gerald Guay (Jun 15, 2010)

For sure I'll be checking it out.

Forget your compass or GPS, don't worry, Fido to the rescue.

GG


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## Gus Pineda (Jul 2, 2013)

Cats are also a good indicator, they will select magnetic field intersections to rest, all things being equal.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

I read that on another board last week and started watching my dogs.

I guess they didn't read it. Or maybe they differ on the axial orientation.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

the Czechs got WAY too much time on their hands :roll:
(but so do i right now, so i actually read the whole study)

not much detail on how they conducted the peeing and pooping.
all in all, way over my head and i couldn't make any sense out of the poop/pee graphs.

- it would seem to me any housebroken or trained dog would not be a viable test subject, so when they do it for a subject population of wolves or wild dogs i might consider buying into it. 
- and since that would seem like an impossible study, i'll pass for now


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

Guess I will never know. Any time I would go out to check the alignment of my dog's poop I would probably find it with my foot first. That said, they sure don't seem lined up in any specific direction.


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## Faisal Khan (Apr 16, 2009)

It is true in my yard as they poop along one side of the fence which is N/S. Come to think of it the last 2 times Gnash pooped before tracking was also on the N/S vector! Does piss count or is it poop only?


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## Jim Delbridge (Jan 27, 2010)

oh good grief. I took one of my dogs for an off-lead walk in a local park. He pooped twice. He pooped north-south next to the north-south sidewalk. He pooped east-west along the east-west sidewalk. Most likely the data has been loosely grouped to justify their grant money.

Jim Delbridge


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

I guess my American dogs didn't talk to the Czech dogs. If I used my dog's pooping to determine my direction of travel, I would be lost for sure. 

I'm not saying that animals can't use or sense the magnetic fields, I just haven't seen it in this case. I remember about 30-40 years ago it was all the rage to breed cows facing a certain direction to get more heifers or bulls because the sperm was influenced by the fields. Never found that to be true. Knew some humans who tried the same thing. Can't say it worked for them either.


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## David Baker (Aug 31, 2013)

yup. Im with most people here. My property must be a big earth magnet b/c every dog in the county seems to drop serious heat all over the place in my yard. No rhyme or reason.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

what about dogs that poop on top of bushes?


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

pretty bizarre study imo

but if this forum is really composed of thousands of serious working dog people from around the world, we could do a collective study that would eclipse what the Czechs started and maybe even confirm or deny the hypothesis and gain some int'l recognition as being more than just a dog chat group 

i would participate if the mods would lay out the ground rules and get it organized. i have no problem recording my dog's pee/poop patterns over a few months. but if the dog has to be free to poop without handler influence or barrier restrictions i couldn't do it on a daily basis 

i just hope this doesn't require buying a self calibrating compass that must be strapped on the back fitted with a sensor that would register whenever it poops or pees and simultaneously measure the magnetic orientation of its spine as it releases

fwiw....i never did quite understand how this data was being observed and collected in the first place


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## Jay Quinn (Apr 1, 2012)

LOL

my guys go all over the paddock facing every which direction... one of them prefers the grass along the fence around the edges but sometimes he will back straight into it at 90*, other times he will be parked parallel, other times sticking out on some weird angle... so yeah, i call bollocks


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## Faisal Khan (Apr 16, 2009)

Joby Becker said:


> what about dogs that poop on top of bushes?


Joby, it does'nt matter where the poop lands. It is all about which direction the nose is pointing.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Joby Becker said:


> what about dogs that poop on top of bushes?


Butt's to far away from the magnets. :wink:

My brother had a dog that would back up to the fence and crap into the neighbors yard every single time. That would have to put him in an east to west position but his magnets could have been crooked. 
One of my own dogs is a shit spinner and will spin and stomp all over the yard while he goes.
The other dog stays within 2' of where he goes every day but I've never seen him in any particular direction.


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## Faisal Khan (Apr 16, 2009)

Maybe this could be used as a puppy selection technique! First picks are the N/S indicators, E/W go to SAR, NE/SW are real PP dogs and the spinners....


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Faisal Khan said:


> Maybe this could be used as a puppy selection technique! First picks are the N/S indicators, E/W go to SAR, NE/SW are real PP dogs and the spinners....



Then you have to divide them into copper retrievers and non copper retrievers since copper is non conductive to magnets. 

:-k I think there's a new training book in here somewhere. :wink:


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## Matt Vandart (Nov 28, 2012)

Connie Sutherland said:


> I read that on another board last week and started watching my dogs.
> 
> I guess they didn't read it. Or maybe they differ on the axial orientation.


what led you to that conclusion?


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## Howard Knauf (May 10, 2008)

Joby Becker said:


> what about dogs that poop on top of bushes?


N/S Silly!!](*,)


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## Howard Knauf (May 10, 2008)

Faisal Khan said:


> Joby, it does'nt matter where the poop lands. It is all about which direction the nose is pointing.


North is up...South is down


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Howard Knauf said:


> North is up...South is down



Especially when my wife reads a map. She believes we're always going North because the big N is always at the top of the mamp and that's the direction we're facing when holding the maps. 
Honest! She really is a very intelligent lady......as long as she's not reading a map.](*,)


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

i could care less what compass heading my dog or any dog is facing when they take a crap.
but i do have "some" interest in how magnetic fields might affect animal behaviors, and curiosity has always been a part of my nature.

so last night i took my dog to an area he has been to many times but has never pooped or peed there. since this is an "off limits" area for dogs and fenced off, i would say it is pretty sterile that way. basically just an open grassy area. i knew he needed to take a dump. when i got there, instead of doing anything, i just took off the lead and turned him loose to wander and i just shut up, sat and watched. took him about ten minutes b4 he squatted. i went over to the spot and laid my Iphone along the axis i thought he had been facing when he dumped. it was about 30 yds away, so it was only a guestimate, but when i checked the compass it looked like he was within 10 degrees of facing north.

just to add to the trivia aspect, often, when i tell my dog to dump, he will face me and give eye contact when he dumps. this time he was not facing me and did not turn around when he was squatting 

i could not understand all the techy writing in the Czech study, nor could i see any clear proof in the circle graph data, even though they said it was conclusive proof. nor was i aware of any changes or fluctuations in the earth's magnetism; i've never gotten into that stuff. 

- but i will say that historically speaking, some experiments go wrong but eventually important stuff gets learned from the outcome. maybe that also might apply to trivial stupid experiments ?

- i won't be repeating this since there is no WDF interest, and what my dog did once has little bearing on dogs in general, but it was still interesting to me, so feel free to read and post whatever jokes might apply


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