Dogs rely on the scent map in their minds to find their way home

The reason why dogs who are able to go home by themselves rely not only on the scent, but also on the scent map in their minds. map drawn in. The dog will collect the smell of the owner, the smell of other things on the road, and various visual landmarks (of course, the dog will decide which things to use as landmarks) to build a map in his mind. Once he gets lost at a certain moment, he will have a way to locate himself. Then use the scent or road signs to locate the map back in the mind, and the dog is likely to go home smoothly. Of course, this also requires the dog to have a concept of "home". Some dogs will think that a certain "geographical location" is their home. This can explain why dogs easily get lost (find their original home) when they move. ); Some dogs think that their “owner” is their home, which explains why many homeless dogs never get lost.

Cities are full of various smells every day that affect dogs’ sense of smell

So it sounds like dogs not only have great noses, but also have very flexible brains, why can’t they still do it? How about finding your own home? First of all, smell is indeed one of the key factors in guiding your dog home, but smell obviously does not stand still and is always there. Under ideal conditions (cool, moist, green, tree-lined and windless), the smell can last up to 3 to 4 weeks, and in a typical city, the smell can last up to 3 days. In places with many cars and people, it will be shorter.

The modern urban environment changes rapidly and it is difficult to remember routes

Secondly, most dogs do not have the conditions to form a clear map in their minds. The terrain in the city is complex and the environment changes very quickly. Every time you go out to walk your dog, it is difficult for the dog to encounter the same information as the last time. The route is not fixed, and the people and other dogs you encounter are also different. In many places, dogs Unable to explore, the superposition of these complex factors makes it an impossible task for dogs to remember the way home.

A lost dog will be dominated by fear and have a harder time finding its way home

More importantly, when a dog is lost, it is not just the owner who is worried , dogs will also realize that the person they have been following is missing, and suddenly the familiar environment is missing, panic and anxiety will follow. The sudden anxiety will not make them stop and think about how to find their way home. Instead, it caused them to run at a loss. This time they ran, and it became more difficult to find their way home.