AKC is a participant in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to akc.org. If you purchase a product through this article, we may receive a portion of the sale.
Every dog lover has heard a variation of the miraculous lost dog story. The puppy who slipped her leash and beat her owners home. The dog who ran all the way home across town from the sitter鈥檚 place. The rascal who disappeared into thin air, then showed up two weeks later.
But how exactly do lost dogs find their way home from so far afield? might hold the answer.
Dogs Navigate Using Magnetic Fields
Researchers equipped 27 dogs from 10 breeds with cameras and , then monitored a combined total of 622 trials in forests in the Czech Republic. For the experiment, dogs walked through the forest with their owners, off-leash, until they scented their prey. When they departed to catch the prey, the owner remained in place. The team then studied the dogs鈥� return journeys to their owners. It might be no surprise to learn that many dogs used their powerful noses to navigate, with almost 60% of them following their outbound route by tracing their own scent.
But in a full one-third of cases, dogs did something else. At the beginning of their homebound journey, they ran for about 20 meters (65 feet) along the north-south axis, whether or not their owner was located north or south of them. They then ran back on an entirely new route.
Given the unifying north-south orientation of these runs, researchers extrapolate that these initial 鈥渃ompass runs鈥� helped dogs orient themselves. Even more fascinating: the dogs that did compass runs completed the trial significantly faster than dogs who returned home on the outbound route using scent tracking.
In short: dogs鈥� incredible ability to find their way home seems to spring from an ability to detect magnetic fields.
Can We Learn From Dogs鈥� Magnetic Homing Superpowers?
The researchers stress that more research is necessary to understand exactly how dogs use their ability to perceive magnetic cues. But they also point out that dogs aren鈥檛 alone in this ability. 鈥淚t has been well established that a broad array of organisms have a 鈥榤agnetic sense,鈥� ie. magnetoreception, which is used for spatial orientation and navigation,鈥� researcher Kate艡ina Benediktov谩 says. 鈥淧igeons and migratory birds [are especially well studied] 鈥� as well as sea turtles, amphibians, and insects.鈥� Benediktov谩 adds that while magnetic-based navigation has been studied in some wild mammals鈥攕uch as whales, bison, caribou, and zebras鈥攐n the whole, dogs remain underrepresented in the field.
It鈥檚 worth asking why humans might have been slow to appreciate this aspect of dogs鈥� behavior. Could it be that we struggle to recognize that our beloved dogs have capacities dating back to their lives before domestication? That in some ways, they鈥檙e still built for lives in the wild, very different to their typical lives today?
Benediktov谩 speculates that all dog breeds likely have the power to receive magnetic information. But the sense may simply be dormant in pet dogs. She urges dog lovers to recognize this and other facets of dogs鈥� unique dogness. 鈥淚 would like to say something about dogs in general,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey are really extraordinary animals, and we should care about them, protect them, and love them. But the dog must be still the dog, with its own character, behavior, and appearance. We should not try to change dogs to human.鈥�
Homeward Bound: Remarkable Stories of Dogs鈥� Homing Abilities
The research might be new, but dogs鈥� homing abilities have been celebrated throughout the ages. Here are some of our favorite stories of dogs navigating their way through thick and thin.
During World War I, Airedale Terriers, Border Collies, Old English Sheepdogs, and Retrievers were among the dogs used as messengers, relaying messages between battle headquarters and the trenches on the Western Front. Their service was irreplaceable, since they could navigate large areas of terrain. They could also cover ground where muddy conditions are dangerous for vehicles and enemy troops may attack human soldiers. One particularly valiant messenger dog was an Airedale Terrier named 鈥淛ack,鈥� who ran through enemy fire for half a mile, carrying a message to headquarters that the troops on the front line needed reinforcements. His bravery saved many lives that day.
Then there鈥檚 the story of 鈥淏ucky,鈥� a 3-year-old Labrador who, in 2012, , Mark Wessells. Wessells had delivered Bucky to live with his father in Virginia, because his accommodation banned dogs. Eight months later, Bucky showed up, wandering a forest in South Carolina. A local man took him in, fed him, and took him to the vet, who read his microchip and discovered that he belonged to Wessells. The reunion between man and Labrador was joyful鈥攂ut only Bucky will ever know the full story of his 500-mile journey.
And finally, a tale of the strength of puppy love. In Terre Haute, Indiana, a shelter took in a pair of stray dogs named 鈥淏en鈥� and 鈥淛ade鈥� when Jade became pregnant with a litter. The dogs remained together in the shelter for several months, until Ben was rescued. Just three weeks later, he bolted from his new home. He crossed 10 miles of streets, railroad tracks, and other obstacles to find Jade at the shelter. Seeing the strength of the reunited pair鈥檚 bond, Ben鈥檚 new family decided to rescue Jade, too.
It just goes to show that dogs鈥� magnetic charm is way more than skin deep.