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submitted 8 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] aFaustianBargain@lemmy.world 184 points 8 months ago

The article itself is over a decade old and based on questionable data gathering and a faulty analysis processes. If you read the article they published they essentially didn't find anything, determined without providing evidence that other factors couldn't be a determining factor, and then data-dredging when they could find anything statistically significant to match their hypothesis.

SkeptVet article explaining the findings in detail.

Basically it was just shitty science.

[-] Johanno@feddit.de 7 points 8 months ago

I mean my dog could be an exception but she shits always in the direction we walk. No exceptions.

[-] Ultraviolet@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

I guess you could say the study was dogshit.

[-] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 88 points 8 months ago

Studies like this have me confused.

How do we know they use the magnetic field, and don't just like... Look at the sun, or the shadows it casts.

[-] AnyOldName3@lemmy.world 45 points 8 months ago

You can put magnets near dogs.

[-] Tier1BuildABear@lemmy.world 28 points 8 months ago

There's also this thing called "indoors"

[-] GregorGizeh@lemmy.zip 20 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I dont think there are many scenarios where a dog frequently shits inside a human dwelling. It is a valid point though, perhaps they tested that too (dogshit smells in an enclosed space, gotta envy those researchers)

[-] BassTurd@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago

The text in the picture literally explains it's in a free roaming environment not influenced by walls or doors.

[-] Tier1BuildABear@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

Walls and doors don't stop existing when you walk outside lol, big buildings exist

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[-] mobius_slip@beehaw.org 6 points 8 months ago

Presumably, they'd do the same thing at night.

But in that case, we'd need to be sure that they aren't using the North Star.

[-] gmtom@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago

Dogs still poop when they're inside

[-] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

Dogs can poop at night...

[-] ignotum@lemmy.world 62 points 8 months ago

"what do you do for work?"
"I watch dogs poop"

[-] KISSmyOSFeddit@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago

Still more useful than most office jobs.

[-] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 13 points 8 months ago

And less shit to deal with.

[-] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 54 points 8 months ago

So when you're lost, just find a pooping dog to know where the North is. Or the south.

Wait this is useless.

[-] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 12 points 8 months ago

If you're not in a hurry (and you know which hemisphere you're in) you can make a sun compass to figure out whether the dog pooped north or south. Come to think of it, you can make a sun compass observing a pooping dog first.

[-] anothercatgirl@lemmy.blahaj.zone 44 points 8 months ago

I blame the sun. Dogs poop in the morning and evening when owners are not at work. The sun shines from the east and from the west during these hours. And I think they don't like facing the sun.

[-] tabarnaski@sh.itjust.works 14 points 8 months ago

My favorite explanation. Occam's razor, ladies and gentlemen.

[-] partiallycyber@ttrpg.network 11 points 8 months ago

Time of day is addressed in the study and

was not a reliable predictor of expression of alignment

They also mention that the presence of the sun is possibly likely to affect dogs less than humans - meaning that dogs might have less aversion to facing the sun.

Study is here: https://frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1742-9994-10-80

[-] LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net 8 points 8 months ago

This doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t they orient west in the morning and east in the evening?

[-] Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com 32 points 8 months ago

If the study was re-attempted in-Doors with a mechanism to control the magnetic field, we could be able to verify that dogs are orienting by the magnetic field instead of, say, the position of the sun.

[-] WeeSheep@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago

Or, like, have night mode exist on earth. One of these ideas should work.

[-] Sconrad122@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago

New study suggests dogs capable of celestial navigation: "Columbus was a sucker for using an astrolabe when he could have just brought along a good boi and watched him shit"

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[-] kokesh@lemmy.world 30 points 8 months ago

Don't know about that... I've got 54 dogs and they shit in all directions.

[-] Hugh_Jeggs@lemm.ee 34 points 8 months ago

Your house must fuckin stink mate

[-] Frozengyro@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago

I think it's a farm at that point, and yea farms stink.

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[-] the_post_of_tom_joad@sh.itjust.works 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Dooddio 54

[-] ParabolicMotion@lemmy.world 25 points 8 months ago

I’m amazed. I am also amazed that someone was paid to observe dogs defecating in the wild.

[-] unreasonabro@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago

Congratulations! You have now subscribed to #DogPoopPics!

[-] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 8 months ago

Someone asked to be paid to observe dogs defecating.

[-] sicarius@lemmy.world 24 points 8 months ago

I just got a new puppy and when she poops she starts facing one directing the turns 180 while pooping then scoots over to the side a bit to finish.
Is she broken? Should I do an RMA?

[-] nem@sopuli.xyz 34 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Might just need to be calibrated, try turning her in a figure eight in front of you a few times before the next poop and see if she aligns.

[-] Ragnarok314159@sopuli.xyz 9 points 8 months ago

“Before” is the key word here. Trying to align a puppy during the poop is not recommended.

[-] Gerudo@lemm.ee 4 points 8 months ago

Have you tried just restarting it?

[-] pastermil@sh.itjust.works 21 points 8 months ago

Top shitpost

[-] unreasonabro@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

gdi

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 15 points 8 months ago

Gonna start bringing a compass with me when walking my dogs now...

[-] Buck@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago

Apparently we no longer need compasses. Just bring the dog out to the deck to figure out where we're going.

[-] Stupidmanager@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago

My 5 year old dog spins when she poos. Picking up her poo requires me to check the area she was in, as there are usually 3-4 spots it landed. But unleashed, she’s fine.The vet tells me this might be harness related. Something about the restraining leash and harness makes her spin.

But now I have a morbid curiosity to see if she starts north or south.

[-] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 9 points 8 months ago

My dog would walk around while pooping, with a weird gait that involved putting his back paws ahead of his front paws. I once saw another dog do a handstand to poop.

[-] ickplant@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago

I used to have a dog that would do a handstand to poop. He would find a tree and essentially walk up the tree with his hind legs then poop. People would literally stop in the street to watch him do it. Poop would roll down his back sometimes. It was so weird. Tried to get him to change, but no.

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[-] pH3ra@lemmy.ml 12 points 8 months ago

Literally the shittiest compass ever

[-] Emmie@lemm.ee 12 points 8 months ago

This is some real shit

[-] Stalinwolf@lemmy.ca 11 points 8 months ago

My pug used to shit right on top of rocks.

[-] BakerBagel@midwest.social 11 points 8 months ago

Foxes are pretty notorious about that. You'll be hiking and have a gorgeous view and look down and a rock had a fox turd right on it

[-] Shareni@programming.dev 7 points 8 months ago

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[-] Shareni@programming.dev 5 points 8 months ago

My lagotto has an exquisite sense for art, he loves to place his work on the best possible pedestal. Sometimes it's a rock or something man-made that's sufficiently elevated and stands out, but he also sometimes plants his ass on top of a bush or a small tree.