It’s the axis of beagle!
Dogs are so attuned to the Earth’s magnetic field that they line up with it to relieve themselves, a new study found.
Dogs of all breeds overwhelmingly prefer to do their business facing north-south, not east-west, according to research detailed in the journal Frontiers of Zoology.
Why pooches point toward the poles when they pee and poop is still a mystery. But researchers confirmed they do by studying 70 dogs representing 37 breeds and diligently observing more than 7,000 canine bathroom breaks over two years.
They also tracked shifts and wobbles in Earth’s magnetic field during the same time frame to see if they matched up with the dogs’ bodily alignment.
Dogs are so sensitive to the Earth’s magnetic field, the researchers found, that even little changes in magnetic conditions can throw them off. It requires a calm magnetic environment for dogs to consistently assume the polar position when nature calls, the study found.