Incredible navigating cocker

[Vicki]

This weekend we drove from Norfolk to the South Coast.

Sally is a very good traveller, so she settled down in the back seat (safely strapped into her travel harness) and went to sleep.

Two hours into our journey we were on the M25 and approaching the turn off that we would take if we were visiting my Dad (who she loves dearly and who she stays with when the OH and I go away without her).

At junction 18 she sat up in the back seat and started crying excitedly. This continued until we were about a minute or so past junction 17, where we would normally turn off. She then let out a big sigh, settled down and went back to sleep for the rest of the journey.

I can't think of any explanation other than she knew exactly where she was - but once she realised we weren't going to visit her 'granddad' after all she stopped being excited and settled back down for more snoozing.

Anyone else with an amazing cocker navigator? Who needs a sat-nav! 

[elaine.e]

William's the same. When we go for beach walks he always knows a couple of minutes before we reach our destination and sits up and whines very softly. Until then he'll have been laying down. He was the same when I used to do agility training. If he whines in the car any other time I know he's desperate for a pee

Louis has no idea where we're going and just lays down until I open the back of the car then looks surprised. He's not the brightest

[zenon_bass]

Isn't it the smells in the air? Millie knows exactly where she is as soon as the boot is open, and it's her nose working overtime... 
She also whines if she's desperate...

[Walshies]

When we are out on the fells our GPS and the Map & Compass are redundant - Fudge has a built in GPS!!  It's amazing how he knows the way, even when we come to a cross section of paths he always picks the right one!

[chrisp]

Louis has no idea where we're going and just lays down until I open the back of the car then looks surprised. He's not the brightest

That did make me laugh...

[Patp]

Jinley is the same, whether we are driving to the woods, my moms or my brothers, she sits up and starts crying a couple of minutes away.  Strange thing is though that we can go the same way but on a longer journey and she doesn't sit up!  Even if we havent been there before, she knows when we are nearly there!

[Vicki]

Isn't it the smells in the air?

Yes, that's what I always thought - and it certainly makes sense when we are going to places like the beach and the forest.

But being able to smell the difference between junction 19 and junction 18 of the M25?! That's some darn impressive sniff-power!

[Vicki]

Louis has no idea where we're going and just lays down until I open the back of the car then looks surprised. He's not the brightest

Aw, poor Louis. 

[Sirius Mum]

Louis has no idea where we're going and just lays down until I open the back of the car then looks surprised. He's not the brightest

Aw, poor Louis. 

You just have to love them 

[Cornish Pixie]

My old Cocker "Hollie" was a very good navigator, on visits to my Dad in Cornwall after a long journey down the M5 Hollie would always wake up from her snoring just as we started to cross the Tamar Bridge she would then start to whoo whoo very excitedly getting louder and louder. Unfortunately there was another hour and a half journey having crossed the Tamar  most times Hollie would go back to sleep but occasionally she would continue with the whoo whooing until we reached our destination!, It caused many a strange look from other motorists at traffic lights etc and there were occasions when ear defenders would have been very useful

[Ben's mum]

Ben has amazing navigation skills too. It always amazes me when we come back from Devon a five hour journey, he will be fast asleep until we reach about 5 minutes from home,  then without fail he wakes up and get excited to be back.

Harry often doesn't seem to have a clue where he is, if Ben gets excited he follows suit, but has been known to jump out the car and head in the wrong direction, before doing an about turn and finding the front door 

[Mudmagnets]

Smudge used to be like this on the way to Devon, we used to stop off at Swanage, like Ben, he would happily snooze the journey away till we got to the b/b and then all hell would break loose in his excitement - how do they know?

Next week I am making the same journey with Minstrel - be interesting to see his reaction 

[ruby n millies mum]

i travel up and down the M6 on a regular basis, i only get a reaction around junction 9 where my mom lives and junction 11 where we leave the motorway and head for home, the noise is ear piercing at times ,
 ive also tried to trick them and going down the M54 and getting off at first junction ....they still know where we are
Sat Nav or "homing pigeons" Not sure which!!!

[tillydog]

Last week we had to go back to the city for the day after living out rural for nearly 3 months. We were driving down the M4 and Lady knew where we were when we had to turn off. We also went and had a look at our old house, she remembered!!