UKC

Nice story about dog going home

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-mid-wales-36130437

He looks very happy

In reply to robert-hutton:

Dog

In reply to robert-hutton:

Nice one.

In reply to robert-hutton:

That amazing/crazy!

In reply to robert-hutton:

A fascinating mystery, because the dog appears to have been well fed en route. And if it really did do it by some kind of homing instinct we're left with the problem that the route is very far from straightforward.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

I think I've solved the mystery....

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dogs-might-fly-britains-smar...

In reply to robert-hutton:

I am a bit suspicious. Dog arrives fresh, well fed and watered after 240 mile walk.

Perhaps the dog was no good and returned by vehicle to the previous owners land and released there?

A real shaggy dog story

In reply to 3leggeddog:

Sounds entirely plausible to me. When I was a child, our neighbours´German Shepherd ran away when they were visiting family some 150 km away. Our neighbours then had to return home before the dog came back. Instead of showing up at their relatives place, the dog reappeared three days later at their home, looking completely fine.

CB

In reply to cb294:

I am not questioning the ability of a collie to make its way home. It id the condition of the dog that makes me suspicious

In reply to robert-hutton:

240 miles in 14 days is only a stroll for a proper collie. I suppose there are enough dead rabbits, half eaten chip packets, cat food bowls etc on the journey for an enterprising dog to survive a fortnight? When we found a stray dog on a walk we gave him a pasty, maybe he mugged some walkers for sandwiches on the way?

In reply to 3leggeddog:


3leggeddog? I think you are just jealous.

In reply to 3leggeddog:

I think we simply have to accept that it was a very clever dog, in being able both to navigate its way home and obtain food.

In reply to Gordon Stainforth:

I'm fascinated by how the dog knew where to go. A human would have pretty much no chance of doing this without relying on signs and/or a general knowledge of the geography of the UK. Did it use the position of the sun for orientation? If so it must have been observing this on the way out as well, which suggests a (at least subconsciously) premeditated escape. Surely from the car it couldn't have seen or smelled enough for it to recognise the route using sensory cues.

In reply to Oujmik:

My Dad's dog loves coming down to Cornwall when he visits me as she'll get long walks on the beach and coastpath etc. Apparently she'll go beserk in the car on the way down and somehow seems to know that's where she's going, even though it's just another motorway journey which could be to anywhere...

In reply to robert-hutton:

It sounds like an Incredible Journey.

In reply to robert-hutton:

I like his expression, it's a very happy dog.

In reply to Oujmik:

I'm fascinated by how the dog knew where to go. A human would have pretty much no chance of doing this without relying on signs and/or a general knowledge of the geography of the UK. Did it use the position of the sun for orientation? If so it must have been observing this on the way out as well, which suggests a (at least subconsciously) premeditated escape. Surely from the car it couldn't have seen or smelled enough for it to recognise the route using sensory cues.

He probably used his Global Pawsitioning System...

In reply to jimbo85:

My dog knows when we are going to my parents. About 5 miles away he recognizes where we are and gets all excited.

That dog is quite cute, I bet people would give him food.

In reply to robert-hutton:

My dog knows - because it recognises landmarks (I assume) when it goes to places it knows are fun, such as sand dunes with rabbits! When we went to see our daughter (and their dog) our dog used to get so excited we'd letter run the last mile or so even though we may not have been for several months.

Out walking my dog can recognise individual gates, gaps in hedges, rocks and particular footpath junctions and will change directions, following the route last used over a year previously.

Some years ago I took her to my mother's house for the first time. We only used the front entrance which was a part of a long stretch of terraced houses. My dog loved my mum as mum thought our dog was starving and fed her treats accordingly.. The following day I took our dog out of the front door and went for a run. Several hundred yards later my dog vanished from my side. She'd never been this way, nor walked the footpaths before, yet I found her patiently sitting at the back door of mum's house. She'd managed to navigate her way across new features and directly to the rear entrance to the house which she'd never used before.

I don't think the previous owner of the sheep dog in question would bother return it anonymously - Why?

In reply to Dave Perry:

Mine decided to visit a house where a random lady gave him a treat several years ago. Took me a while to work it out.