What do you think would motivate a dog to travel great distances to return to a place he once visited?

Question

What ever your answer is, back it up.

Answer 1

Loyalty, This being as if you have a loyal dog he/she will do anything for you and this includes traveling GREAT LONG distances to return home.

Answer 2

Your question isn't very well defined. You didn't indicate as to whether this was a an altered or unaltered male, had he traveled by car, rail, boat, or air.

I have bred dogs for a number of years and have always taken my female to the male. The reasoning behind this is that once a male has been taken to a female it is thought that he would remember the way and attempt to return there. So this may be one reason.

I had a German Shepherd that attempted to get to me when I went to hospital to have my daughter. He was in fact following the scents of our trucks (used to travel to visit me). I was in for a week the first time he was found 5 miles from our house (going in the direction of the Hospital), the second time he was seen on the 6 lane highway and followed to the proper off ramp(picked up), the third time he was 3 blocks from the hospital. My husband had him in the truck the first time he came to see me and every other time he left him at home. I had to tell him (my dog)over the phone to stay home.

I came home two days later and the only time he had left the porch was to go down on the lawn to do his business and then return to the porch. In all he tried to get to me three times and three different drivers picked him up. He was my best friend till he died 2 years later.

Answer 3

Dogs are amazing with what they will sometimes do. We use Beagles for hunting rabbits and from time to time a dog will get on a deer trail and disappear (trash running, and they will chase a deer for miles). You would think the dog is gone forever because you are hunting in a place that the dog has never been before, but all we do is put the dogs crate on the ground and go home. Without fail in the morning the dog will be sleeping peacefully in it's crate.

Answer 4

He might have buried a bone or met a hot poodle there.