The phenomenon, they say, explains why dogs sometimes hesitate, look very worried and circle around bizarrely before finally just squatting down and doing their business..................Well that explains it.
Posted on 01/04/2014 7:08:06 AM PST by mandaladon
A team of European scientists with way too much time on its hands has discovered that dogs tend to position themselves in alignment with the earth’s magnetic field before they take every big, steamy dump.
The Czech and German researchers committed two years of their professional lives to the longitudinal study of canine crap, reports The Christian Science Monitor. The point was to determine magnetic sensitivity in dogs—at least when they poop.
The proud scientists say the findings “open new horizons for biomagnetic research.”
There were 37 dog owners in Germany and the Czech Republic involved in the study. There were 70 dogs. The owners doggedly (har, har) measured the direction of their canines’ spines when they ate, rested, urinated and defecated.
There were 7,475 discrete pooping and peeing events. All of them happened outside. The exact breakdown, if you must know, was 1,893 defecations and 5,582 urinations.
Based on the observations, the insightful scientists concluded that the dogs prefer to pinch their canine loaves “aligned along the North-south axis” when magnetic field conditions are calm, according to National Public Radio.
The scientists say the wealth of data suggests that dogs actively try to avoid pooping on the dreaded east-west axis, or when the magnetic field is not calm.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
The phenomenon, they say, explains why dogs sometimes hesitate, look very worried and circle around bizarrely before finally just squatting down and doing their business..................Well that explains it.
This is pure DS!
I was wondering if they also align along the north south magnetic axis when they roll in poop.
I am going to extrapolate this to my cat and turn the litter box 90 degrees. Maybe she’ll stop peeing out the front window.
I guess the north-south magnetic axis spins in my backyard. Or maybe my dogs have broken compasses. Or maybe they are just free spirits, who like to poop aligned with all four corners of the world.
Someone needs to pay me a lot of money to record their poop-position a few thousand times, and to see if there is any correlation to the wind, sun angle, or - since they are sheep dogs - the nearest sheep herd. I think about $50K a year should do it...
Having watched my dog poop at least twice a day for 7 years, I can tell you he has faced every point on the compass.
Is this kind of like “Stage Fright” for dogs?
An article from a couple days ago with 100+ comments if anyone is interested.
Dogs align themselves with Earth’s magnetic field when it comes time to poop
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3107660/posts?
After years of research and thousands of dollars in government grants, I have proved without a doubt that dogs poop faster when it is -15° outside.
This is a big leap in canine arctic research and should prove to be helpful in many areas of science.
Next study: Which direction do dog owners face when using the pooper scooper?
But what about the bears? We already know where, but the nation’s survival depends on us spending a billion dollars to find out in which direction.
My dog just went while looking east. Towards Mecca perhaps?
And small ones go even faster when you just hold them out the window and squeeze. At -15 that would include Labradors.
The proud scientists say the findings “open new horizons for biomagnetic research.”
************
Translation: they see opportunities for even more grant money to allow them to continue living on the public’s dime.
I couldn’t groan at this all alone. OMGosh. What waste.
Wouldn’t it be funny if we discovered they were really facing their mutt butts to Mecca?
Something about this story stinks. Sounds like a bunch of crap to me.
I poop in the same direction every day. Unless I use the other bathroom.
I do try to turn my bum to Mecca when breaking wind.
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