eLife

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. European Social FundEuropean Social Fund (ESF) [EVA 4.0, CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000803]; Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech RepublicMinistry of Agriculture, Czech Republic [MZE-RO0718]; Czech University of Life Sciences Prague CIGA CZU [20174319]; Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague IGA [B07/16]; Grant Agency of the Czech RepublicGrant Agency of the Czech Republic [15-21840S]; European Regional Development FundEuropean Union (EU) [EVA 4.0, CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000803] European Social Fund Operational Programme Research, Development and Education, EVA 4.0 Hynek Burda; European Social Fund Operational Programme Research, Development and Education, CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000803 Hynek Burda; Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic MZE-RO0718 Ludek Bartos; Czech University of Life Sciences Prague CIGA CZU (Project No. 20174319) Hynek Burda; Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague IGA (Project No. B07/16) Hynek Burda; Grant Agency of the Czech Republic No. 15-21840S Hynek Burda; European Regional Development Fund Operational Programme Research, Development and Education, EVA 4.0 Hynek Burda; European Regional Development Fund Operational Programme Research, Development and Education, CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000803 Hynek Burda; The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.