For years, scientists have known that several species spontaneously align their bodies with the earth’s magnetic field when engaging in certain behaviours.

Now, a team of 12 scientists from universities in Germany and the Czech Republic have come together in a unique study that observed 37 breeds of dog over a two-year period.

Exactly 1,893 defecations and 5,582 urinations later, the team reach one incredible finding: “dogs preferred to excrete with the body being aligned along the north–south axis”.