Directional tracking in the domestic dog, Canis familiaris

Abstract

The ability of dogs to determine the direction of a track has been subject to little study. We conducted two experiments to examine the ability of dogs to identify the direction of human-laid trails and explore the mechanisms by which dogs determine directionality. Experiment 1 investigated the influence of canine sex and age on the ability of 22 police dogs to determine the correct direction of 10 human-laid trails. The direction in which the trail was laid on the dogs' ability to determine directionality was also explored. Eight (36.3%) dogs were consistently able to determine the correct direction of the trails. Male dogs identified the correct direction of the trails more frequently than females. Younger dogs were better at identifying the correct direction of the trails than older animals. Dogs identified the correct direction of those trails laid from left to right more frequently than those laid from right to left. Experiment 2 explored whether dogs use olfactory or visual cues to determine the correct direction of a human-laid trail. Eight dogs that were capable of following human trails in the correct direction were employed to track 10 trails that had been laid by a handler walking backwards, thereby rendering the trails devoid of accurate directional visual information. All of the dogs were consistently able to identify the correct direction of the trails. Overall, findings suggest that relatively few of the dogs in this study were accurately able to track in the correct direction, and that the dogs' ability to determine directionality was related to the animals' age and sex. Findings also suggest that the dogs employed olfactory cues to correctly elucidate direction. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.