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OversharedSecret t1_j7ujl3g wrote

Reply to comment by Thagyr in Lost Dog Finds Her Way to Former Shelter and Rings Doorbell for Help by epsilona01

My mom always tells a story of how when she was a kid, my grandparents and her moved to a new home and after a few hours at the new house they realized the dog had escaped. They got a call a while later from their ex-neighbor to tell them the dog was right outside the old house. It had somehow memorized the way back while being taken by car to the new place.

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toxicatedscientist t1_j7vbdvn wrote

Dogs can smell direction. No really, they smell in stereo with enough fidelity to determine age of scent. So just like our ears can hear which side is louder to get direction, they can tell which way is the newer/older smell and get direction of travel

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1palmier t1_j7vf3ah wrote

This is the best ELI5 about dogs ability to smell, I’ve been wondering how it works lately. My dog will pick up a scent and I can see the direction based on the prints in the snow but there’s no way he’s reading that but he’s always right…

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misconfigbackspace t1_j7vkm1c wrote

That long snout is a time capsule in constant use, capturing places and scents frame by frame whiff by whiff.

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