I live in a walking neighborhood with sidewalks & take my dog out twice a day. It seems that 90% of the time when meeting other dogs they tangle leashes by rotating counterclockwise for sniff & greet. Just wondering if in Australia & South America dogs rotate clockwise?

Wait, the coriolis effect applies to dogs?

I had a dog once that would turn around clockwise three times before laying down. It was explained to me that they would do that in the wild to mat down grasses to sleep in. Go figure.

Maybe there is some relation to this.

Can't help you with the clockwise/counterclockwise thing, though.

H&K-Guy

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:
Wait, the coriolis effect applies to dogs?

That seems to be the issue at paw.

Now this is a question I have never thought about...my dogs ALWAYS rotated clockwise 2-3 times before settling down...HOW ABOUT below the equator, is it reversed like toilet swirling...I'm serious in this question, I would really like to know

Sooo....everyone has right handed dogs?

This might require a road trip to the South Pacific for research purposes.

quote:

Originally posted by Anush:
I live in a walking neighborhood with sidewalks & take my dog out twice a day. It seems that 90% of the time when meeting other dogs they tangle leashes by rotating counterclockwise for sniff & greet. Just wondering if in Australia & South America dogs rotate clockwise?

Interesting idea, very nice.
That earns you a CUT, name it.
Heck, looking at your join date, you could have had one when the new 10 year policy was instituted.

quote:

Originally posted by Bisleyblackhawk:
Now this is a question I have never thought about...my dogs ALWAYS rotated clockwise 2-3 times before settling down...HOW ABOUT below the equator, is it reversed like toilet swirling...I'm serious in this question, I would really like to know

My GSP goes counter clockwise before laying down, neither of us have been down under.

If you had asked this two weeks ago, I could have attempted to answer it, on my first trip below the equator.
So instead I sent your query off to our friends in Tasmania.
Might want to alert 0-0 in Buenos Aires, as there might be a difference. In Australia they also drive on the wrong side.

quote:

Originally posted by lbj:

quote:

Originally posted by Anush:
I live in a walking neighborhood with sidewalks & take my dog out twice a day. It seems that 90% of the time when meeting other dogs they tangle leashes by rotating counterclockwise for sniff & greet. Just wondering if in Australia & South America dogs rotate clockwise?

Interesting idea, very nice.
That earns you a CUT, name it.
Heck, looking at your join date, you could have had one when the new 10 year policy was instituted.

CUT, CUT, CUT...we are totally waiting for the choice...CUT, CUT, CUT!

We're just plowing ahead you know, come what what may.

It’s not a N. vs. S. hemisphere thing – it’s a left-handed vs. right-handed thing. Right-handed ice skaters nearly always prefer to spin CCW, and left-handed ice skaters nearly always prefer to spin CW. ~90% of people are right-handed, and I suspect that dogs have a similar asymmetric bias.

I’ve done a lot of ice skating, and right-handed skaters, including me, also generally prefer to skate in a CCW traffic flow around the rink.

Now... halibut (fish) are symmetrical when they hatch. But as they mature, one eye move to the other side, such that both eyes are on the same side of the head, and they begin swimming on their sides, such that their eyes look up. Most, but not all, halibuts have the same “handedness”. I’ve always wondered if right-handed boy halibuts have any interest in left handed girl halibuts. Hm.. time for another glass of Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Tawny Port…

quote:

Now... halibut (fish) are symmetrical when they hatch. But as they mature, one eye move to the other side, such that both eyes are on the same side of the head, and they begin swimming on their sides, such that their eyes look up. Most, but not all, halibuts have the same “handedness”. I’ve always wondered if right-handed boy halibuts have any interest in left handed girl halibuts. Hm.. time for another glass of Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Tawny Port…

Yes sounds good. Flounder have similar eyes. I remember in college, various things inscribed in the old wooden desks in the Main building. Such questions as Whether frogs have watertight assholes and such. It is good to ponder such things.

quote:

Originally posted by lbj:
We're just plowing ahead you know, come what what may.

My theory is that it has to do with the fact that here in th U.S. we drive and walk on the right side of the path. So when two dogs meet on a walk each dog is to the other's left and each is looking to sniff the other's bunghole, thus it stands to reason as they try to get their nose in there for a good stuff, their ass ends are going to be in constant retreat, creating a counter-clockwise spin.

So we await our British and Japanese colleagues commentary. However the manners of these societies may preclude butt sniffing, even amongst dogs.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
In Australia they also drive on the wrong side.

No, they drive on the left side of the road, which I think explains a lot.

To drive on the wrong side of the road requires going underneath it. That's what E.Musk is working on.

My dog circles a bunch of times before he drops a deuce, now I'm gonna have to start paying attention to which direction he circles

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
90% of people are right-handed

Well, that's certainly true in the northern hemisphere.