A 2015 study in the Czech Republic and Germany reported that dogs tend to poo along the north-south axis of the Earth’s magnetic field. This presents the intriguing possibility that the circling behaviour is their way of gauging the orientation of the magnetic field before they get down to business. But this research is controversial, and other researchers have been unable to reproduce the findings. It’s more likely that dogs are acting out an ancestral behaviour to flatten the grass and drive away insects before they squat.
Read more:
- Why do many dogs appear to have an innate fear of bangs?
- Why do dogs chase their tails?
- Why do dogs eat grass?
- Why do dogs roll in fox poo?
