{"id":2449,"date":"2017-11-29T15:31:59","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T20:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/?p=2449"},"modified":"2017-11-29T15:31:59","modified_gmt":"2017-11-29T20:31:59","slug":"homing-sense-in-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/homing-sense-in-dogs\/","title":{"rendered":"Homeward Bound: Is the Homing Sense in Dogs Fact or Fiction?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-large wp-image-2448\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-696511006-2000x1334.jpg\" alt=\"homing sense in dogs\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-696511006.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-696511006-1500x1001.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/OVRS_iStock-696511006-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/>We\u2019ve all heard stories or seen movies where man\u2019s best friend makes a far-fetched trek across miles and miles to be reunited with their family. But is that a real thing? Do you think your dog would be able to find you if you were seperated? Read on to learn what\u2019s real and what\u2019s fantasy about homing sense in dogs.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>Fact or Fiction?<\/h3>\n<p>Skeptical or not, there\u2019s no denying that stories about animals making their way home over great distances abound. For example, the popular film \u201cHomeward Bound: The Incredible Journey\u201d is actually based on a true story.<\/p>\n<p>Other accounts involve similarly unfathomable distances and obstacles that most humans would not be able to overcome. This includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bucky the Labrador who travelled 500 miles after he was relocated.<\/li>\n<li>Hank the German Shepherd who made it 11 miles back to his foster mom.<\/li>\n<li>Georgia May, the dog who journeyed home 35 miles away after becoming lost on a hike.<\/li>\n<li>Prince the Irish Terrier who mysteriously made it across the English Channel to find his British owner in northern France.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Homing Sense in Dogs as Part of the Senses<\/h3>\n<p>It does seem like our animal friends have an uncanny knack for finding their way home, so how do they do it?<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the biggest advantage dogs have when it comes to finding home is their keen sense of smell. A dog\u2019s nose is more than 10,000 times more sensitive than our own, allowing them to pick up scents of which we\u2019re simply unaware. They can trace their own scent, the scent of a human they know, or even familiar smells of home. Pets utilize their other four main senses to their advantage, as well.<\/p>\n<p>The homing sense in dogs is also gained from environmental clues that we remain oblivious to. The canine species seems to <a href=\"https:\/\/frontiersinzoology.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/1742-9994-10-80\">use the magnetic field<\/a> to orient themselves in the world, a sense known as magnetoreception. This allows our pets to orient to direction, altitude, and overall location with great accuracy. It is, however, still unknown whether this homing sense in dogs can be purposefully utilized.<\/p>\n<p>Besides the five main senses and this still relatively unexplored sixth sense, another factor known as PSI trailing may come into play. This is a type of psychic sense that seems to guide animals back to their loved ones in the absence of clues that the other senses may pick up.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no doubt that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/human-animal-bond-pets-enhances-lives\/\">human-animal bond<\/a> is strong, and while largely unproven, PSI trailing is not that ridiculously far fetched when it comes to pets and their owners.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/\">Oakland Veterinary Referral Services<\/a> is a firm believer in the amazing abilities of pets. No matter where it\u2019s derived from, the homing sense in dogs appears to be a very real thing. It\u2019s clear that pets are incredible, and we\u2019re proud to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/contact-us\/\">help them every day<\/a> in many different ways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019ve all heard stories or seen movies where man\u2019s best friend makes a far-fetched trek across miles and miles to be reunited with their family. But is that a real thing? Do you think your dog would be able to find you if you were seperated? Read on to learn what\u2019s real and what\u2019s fantasy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,16,17],"tags":[806,805,807,367,456,568],"class_list":["post-2449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-for-dogs","category-pet-rescue-adoption","category-pet-safety","tag-dogs-and-their-sense-of-direction","tag-homing-sense-in-dogs","tag-lost-dog","tag-lost-pet","tag-pet-care","tag-pet-safety-2"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Homeward Bound: Is the Homing Sense in Dogs Fact or Fiction?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Read on to learn what\u2019s real and what\u2019s fantasy about homing sense in dogs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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