Your Dog Puts Way More Into Pooping Than You Think

Scientists in Germany have finally gone where no other scientist dared to go before: they studied dogs' pooping habits. In the process, they found that pups prefer to do their business on a north-south axis, which implies that they are sensitive to Earth's magnetic field. Yes, your peeing dog is more at one with the universe than your hippie aunt ever was.

The study adds to previous research showing that cows, deer, and foxes can sense the field, but it's the first to demonstrate an actual behavioral response to what researchers call magnetoreception. Said the study in Frontiers In Zoology:

It is still enigmatic why the dogs do align at all, whether they do it "consciously" (i.e., whether the magnetic field is sensorial perceived (the dogs "see", "hear" or "smell" the compass direction or perceive it as a haptic stimulus) or whether its reception is controlled on the vegetative level (they "feel better/more comfortable or worse/less comfortable" in a certain direction).

But there's a catch: dogs only relieve themselves in a northern or southern direction when the magnetic field is calm, showing that your pooch is not only receptive to the planet's directionality, but also know when those directions are off.

We're still not sure why so many animals have this ability, or why dogs choose to demonstrate their awesome sense of direction by their choice of where to pee. But the next time your dog has trouble deciding where to go, now you know why: it's just a disturbance in the Force.