Here's how dogs find their way

Our dog has escaped from the car. How could he get home the next day if it was nearly 5 kilometers away?

Why did it take so long? Dogs are well known for their ability to follow their beloved home or their human being. Most animal behavior experts attribute this ability of navigation to their hypersensitive olfactory sense.

In comparison with some of the epic excursions that some dogs have sometimes undertaken to return home, 5 kilometers are not a great distance; In addition, a radius of these dimensions is full of fragrant references.

According to the theory, dogs create odoriferous site maps, such as a grocery store or a fertilized garden, and even perceive only a little the aroma of the ground owner or in the air.

Dogs are particularly able to perceive the smell of humans that are part of their lives. One study used magnetic resonance imaging to study the activity of the caudate canine, an area of ​​the brain badociated with the expectation of a reward.

Dogs of different breeds were exposed to their own smell, as well as that of a known dog, that of a stranger dog, that of an unknown human and that of a dog. a known man. The smell of a known person has caused the strongest activation of all.

Another clue to locate could be the supposed sensitivity they have for detecting differences in magnetic orientation. A study of dozens of dogs showed that they generally preferred defecating with the body oriented from north to south, a preference that disappeared when the magnetic field was changed.

* Copyright: c.2019 New York Times Press Service