Essen Dog Study: MagnOr

A recent and on-going study ( http://www.frontiersinzoology.com/content/pdf/1742-9994-10-80.pdf ) notes that dogs tend to align their bodies along a north-south axis when defecating or urinating.

Preliminary research suggests that dogs may have an internal compass to sense the direction of Magnetic North. You may have observed your own dog twirling to and fro for no apparent reason prior to 'going about their business'.

This app provides a convenient tool to measure and record your own dog's 'crapping alignment' and assist in this research project.

USING THE APP
Note: If not already on, the Location setting should be enabled on your phone. Depending on the version of Android go to Settings and select Location>Use GPS Satellites or in newer versions SETTINGS>LOCATION>MODE and choose High Accuracy. In urban settings, the Use Wi-Fi or Battery Saving Mode may be sufficient. If the GPS was not previously turned on, it takes up to 3 minutes to establish a signal and requires a clear view of the sky to find the satellites.

First step after you install the app is to tap the Setup button near the bottom left of the landing page screen. This will redirect to a second screen,


SET-UP INFO

1) SET EMAIL
First after you install the app is to tap the Setup button near the bottom left of the landing page screen. This will redirect to a second screen, Set-Up Info.

Enter your chosen email into the upper Edit Box. Then tap the yellow Enter Email Above button to save your email to the phone memory. Tap the third box down Review Email Setting to confirm it. You only set your email the first time using the app.

2) SET DOG PROFILES
On the Set-up page, there are three menus, BREED, AGE and SEX. Select the option which describes your dog. Then type the dog's name. When all four items are complete tap the yellow button Enter Dog Info Above to save. Tap Review Dog Settings to check it. For more than one dog, repeat.
This only needs to be done when you first install the app, or to add a new dog,.

3) PREPARE TO TAKE A READING
Return to the Main Page and the dog names appear at the top of the drop-down menu on the right. To the left is an optional Comment.

Below are three menus Circle, Act and Leash. These are mandatory but can be selected either before or after you set the Compass reading.

The first is the direction the dog circles, either CLW for clockwise or CCL for counter-clockwise. Next is the menu Ac to choose between DEF for defecation or URI for urination.The rightmost menu Leash has ON for on-leash or OFF.

4)TAKE THE COMPASS READING
Next align the phone with the long axis of your dog when it starts to go. Hold the phone horizontally with the top of the phone pointing toward the dog's head and parallel to the dog's spine. Best if the dog is off-leash and free to spin around.

There are two ways to record the alignment, and both do the same thing. Either tap the dog picture in the center, or the green button RECORD.

The text on the green button changes to SET, and a red button appears at the bottom titled SEND.

Select the circling direction, the action and the leash status, and the dog name from the four menus before you proceed.

5) TAP THE SEND BUTTON
Finally, tap the red button titled SEND. If all the info is entered, a popup box will say Recorded and the red button will disappear.

If any info was not entered properly, warnings will popup and no recording will be sent. But if all is OK, tapping the SEND button will send an email to your account and a reading be automatically posted to the research database.

The email will include the alignment in degrees, the dog's name and the location and time.

Clicking the link in the email takes you to a map showing the site on Google Maps.

We thank you for your participation in this interesting study.