Despite anecdotal reports of the astonishing homing abilities in dogs, their homing strategies are not fully understood. We equipped 27 hunting dogs with GPS collars and action cams, let them freely roam in forested areas, and analyzed components of homing in over 600 trials. When returning to the owner (homewards), dogs either followed their outbound track ('tracking') or used a novel route ('scouting'). The inbound track during scouting started mostly with a short (about 20 m) run along the north-south geomagnetic axis, irrespective of the actual direction homewards. Performing such a 'compass run' significantly increased homing efficiency. We propose that this run is instrumental for bringing the mental map into register with the magnetic compass and to establish the heading of the animal.

Biology Department Barry University Miami United States

Department of Biological Sciences Virginia Tech Blacksburg United States

Department of Ethology and Companion Animal Science Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Czech University of Life Sciences Praha Czech Republic

Department of Ethology Institute of Animal Science Praha Czech Republic

Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Praha Czech Republic

Department of Zoology and Fisheries Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Czech University of Life Sciences Praha Czech Republic

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