Dogs poop in line with the Earths magnetic field
Most dog owners have countless stories about their pets that convey the high level of intelligence that dogs actually have. Not only can they perform tasks like sniffing out bombs and illegal drugs, but dogs are eminently empathetic, and always seem to know just when we’re feeling down and need a furry friend. New research from the Czech Republic has found that dogs can sense much more than our moods and emotions, but can actually sense variations in the Earth’s magnetic field — and are affected by it when they poop.
The Czech researchers were studying what animals have sensitivity to the Earth’s magnetic field, and decided to test man’s best friend. After observing dogs for a while, the team noticed a pattern the animals would display when preparing to poop — particularly, the stance they would assume. In order to further study the theory, the scientists watched a bunch of dogs poop in a field.
The test consisted of 70 dogs totaling 37 different breeds. When all was said and done, the team witness 1,893 different instances of dogs pooping. When matching up the defecation stance with the times when the Earth’s magnetic field is calm, the researchers noticed that the dogs had an inclination to align their bodies in a north-south stance. When the magnetic field was not calm, the dogs didn’t align anything other than their poop with the ground. Interestingly, a sensitivity for the magnetic field may not be the only — or at least, a very strong — factor. When dogs were on leashes, regardless of the magnetic field, they didn’t have an inclination to align themselves any particular way. When they were free of leashes, though, they went back to their north-south ways. The team also found that the dogs preferred to avoid an east-west orientation.
So, while the test isn’t definitive, it does suggest that dogs are sensitive to the Earth’s magnetic field, and for whatever reason, it appears to affect the direction in which they poop. This research likely won’t unravel the mysteries of man’s best friend, but it will at least let us know that the next time we see a dog squatting over the ground, it’s more mystical than it seems.
http://www.geek.com/science/dogs-poop-re...d-1581264/
