Dogs
What Are 3 Interesting Dog Hearing Facts?
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Table of Contents
· What Do Dogs Hear When We Talk?
· Can Dogs Hear Better When Their Ears Are Inside Out?
· Why is a Dog’s Hearing So Good?
· How Sensitive is a Dog’s Hearing?
· Why Not Share the Info Around?
Dogs are man’s best friend and just like any best friend we want to know them better and learn as much about them as possible. Not only that, but facts about our dogs can come in handy if they are ever sick or under the weather. So, what are 3 interesting dog hearing facts?
The first fact is that dogs tilt their heads for a reason and while it might seem like they do it to be extra cute, they tilt their heads to better their hearing and catch distinct small sounds.
The second fact is that dogs can hear much better than we do. Some studies say that a dog’s hearing might be up to 4 times more sensitive than ours, allowing them to pick up frequencies that are out of our hearing range. That is why dog whistles are so annoying to dogs, their sound is so high-pitched we can’t hear it, but they can.
The third fact is that puppies are born both blind and deaf, and they don’t start to develop this ability until they are about 2 weeks old.
What Do Dogs Hear When We Talk?
Dogs are quite complex and very different from us in plenty of areas. If you do not know much about them, it is easy to make assumptions such as “Dogs are not able to understand human language” or “Dogs can not understand their names”… But, exactly what do dogs hear when we talk. Turns out dogs might be much smarter than most of us conceive them to be. Studies demonstrate that dogs can understand and differentiate plenty of human words, including their name and verbal commands. They can also comprehend them even when pronounced with a different tone of voice or even with an accent. There are even dogs that have been taught to “Talk” through a special doggy toy where the buttons are associated with a particular word, and they can create short phrases by pressing the buttons in a row. Some dogs have been able to learn over 100 words.
Can Dogs Hear Better When Their Ears Are Inside Out?
Most of the time we love our dogs almost as if they were furry little children, and we want to know as much about them as possible not only to get to know them better but also to be able to tell if they are sick, sad, or uncomfortable. One of the most habitual problems with dogs is with their ears, especially if they are big and flappy. A lot of dog owners tie their dog’s ears up to “Help them hear better”, but… Can dogs hear better when their ears are inside out? Turns out there is no evidence that demonstrates that dogs hear better when their ears are pinned up or turned inside out, and in fact, it might prove harmful to the dogs as little impurities could get inside their ears and cause them discomfort. So, the idea that dogs hear better with their ears inside out is an old wives tale more than reality.
Why is a Dog’s Hearing So Good?
A dogs’ hearing is up to 4 times better than humans. They can hear sounds that are too high-pitched or too low for us to hear. Their hearing is more “Finely tuned” too and they can hear clearly sounds that are too muffled for us to catch on to. That is an incredible skill to have, but why is a dog’s hearing so good? Well, turns out there is a big number of reasons. For starters, while human ears have only 6 muscles, a dog's ears had over twice as many which can give them an incredible range of mobility. Also, the sound is caused by vibrations in the air and while humans can only hear and interpret sounds up to 20hz of vibration, dogs can understand sounds up to 50hz, which allows them to hear many more frequencies than we do. Another fun fact is that a cat’s hearing is even better than that of dogs and their ears have about 30 muscles to control their movements.
How Sensitive is a Dog’s Hearing?
Have you ever considered why dogs react more strongly to different sounds when compared to humans? One can be relaxing, not aware that their friend is at the door, but the dog will notice. These dog hearing facts will help you understand why dogs react quite sensitively to sound. The different species of dogs have different hearing abilities, however, on average most dogs can hear farther sounds up to four times more than humans. Dogs can easily distinguish the location of a high-frequency sound. Air vibrations are what would create sound. The louder the sound, the greater the vibrational frequency. Most humans can only perceive sounds that are high as 20,000hz, while dogs can perceive sounds as high as 65,000 Hz. Also, dogs can notice sounds that humans cannot hear. The intensity of a sound is quantified in decibels (DB). When sounds are between 3,000 and 12,000 Hz in frequency, most humans can barely hear those sounds, at 0 decibels (DB), however, dogs can hear those sounds in ranging intensity, from -5db to -15db. One amazing trait is that dogs can notice small differences between frequencies, allowing them to distinguish musical notes. Like a lot of animals, dogs can lose a lot of their hearing from things like age, ear infection, or physical damage. The ability to hear a lot of sounds, is a major adaptive feature, that dogs have acquired to survive in the wild. That is why they are so good, at protecting others, and themselves from potential danger.
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