Hearing differences between dogs and humans

by Hearing Differences Between Humans & Dogs

Have a dog that startles at “nothing”?

Does your dog run and hide from things and you’re not sure why?

Suffering from thunderstorm or fireworks fear?

Afraid of loud beeps, bangs or whistles?

Noise sensitivity?

Do you want to learn about your dog’s hearing?

we don’t hear

Never Punish Communication

Ever wonder how a “silent” whistle works?

The whistles aren’t silent. They are just silent to us. Make you wonder what else a dog can hear that we cannot?

like our dogs Humans hear sounds of different pitches (measured by frequency in Hz) than dogs do. Humans, with some exceptions, generally hear sounds from about 2050 to 12000 Hz. Dogs hear from about 125 Hz to 45000 Hz. Dogs hear ultrasonic sounds that we cannot.

How does our hearing

differ?

• My hearing is more sensitive • I hear quieter sounds – sound so soft you can’t hear them • I hear loud things at a much louder rate than humans - a sound you think is loud can be painful for me • I hear a much wider range of frequencies (I can hear different sounds that you can’t hear regardless of volume) • I can pinpoint where sounds come from

This isn’t an all-inclusive list!

Affects of Sound for Humans

Imagine how loud these sounds are to us!

Our hearing is so sensitive that some of these sounds are painful, especially in the human red zone to the left.

What can hurt my ears?

High-Decibel Noises (85+ dB) A jet engine or a jack hammer hurts human ears because it is loud (130+ dB). With dog hearing being more sensitive, it makes sense that quieter noises (85+ dB) hurt canine ears.

If you’ve ever visited an animal shelter, you know how brainrattlingly noisy they can be. The sound of all those barking dogs comes in at around 85–110 dB and can have real welfare implications for the animals.2 Indeed, noise stress in shelter dogs is something that’s now recognized. Fortunately, good animal shelters are trying hard to make kennels a quieter place and alleviate the sound discomfort of barking.

From: https://www.petful.com/pet-health/how-do-dogs-hear-so-well/

Side Effects of Painful, Loud & Aversive Sounds  Chronic stress  Fear & anxiety  Increase in unwanted behaviors including aggressive looking behaviors

 Decrease in a dog’s threshold  Sound sensitivity  Hiding, pacing, trembling, drooling and…. More!

My ears hurt so much… they make me grouchy and I am over it!

-Gretchen

Let’s take a closer look at some solutions to help your dog feel better

 See your veterinarian - they can help!  Reduce stressful sounds in your dog’s environment  Let us help you desensitize your dog to ‘scary’ sounds  Decrease other stressors in your dog’s life  Use a white noise machine and other calming music  Consider a thunder shirt or calming pheromones like Adaptil  Use a dB meter or another app that can measure sounds that your

dog hears but you cannot – there are many apps you can download for your phone. Be a sound detective – notice when you walk around your home the sound profile changes!

How Do Dogs Hear HighPitched Sounds?

Compared to humans, dogs have a larger part of the brain dedicated to hearing.

This allows dogs the eerie ability to hear thunderstorms many miles away and register sound too high for us to hear.

Those low-pitched sounds are processed in the anterior ectosylvian gyrus, while higher pitches activate the intermediate and posterior areas. Each ear triggers its own area in the left- and right-hand side of the brain.

And that’s the other thing about dogs …

Our canine companions have an amazing ability to localize and pinpoint a sound. This comes down to those wonderful earflaps controlled by muscles that allow each ear to move independently.

Just like 2 satellite dishes, they can focus the sound signal, providing 2 reference points so the brain can pinpoint where it came from. So all that adorable head tilting isn’t just about being cute — the dog is actually sussing out exactly which of your pockets the rustling treat bag is in.

Indeed, scientists believe a dog can pinpoint the source of a sound to within 4 degrees. The accuracy of that echolocation varies depending on how far apart the dog’s ears are.

From: https://www.petful.com/pet-health/how-do-dogs-hear-so-well/

Fun Facts

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/what-we-do/blog/10-amazing-factsabout-dogs

Dog hearing is affected by ear shape, placement and distance between ears on the head https://www.k9ofmine.com/types-of-dog-ears/

More Resources https://eileenanddogs.com/blog/2019/03/21/dogs-hearing-vshuman-hearing/ https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/is-technology-drivingyour-pet-insane/ https://www.wagthedoguk.com/2016/01/25/animal-hearing-vshuman-info-graph/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/caninecorner/201511/are-silent-dog-whistles-useful https://www.starkey.com/blog/articles/2017/11/Can-my-dogunderstandme#:~:text=Dogs%20hear%20nearly%20twice%20as,understand% 20what%20they're%20hearing%3F https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/sounds-only-dogscan-hear/

Credits References to content are made on the page.

Other original content, including cartoon dogs, was created by and is the property of Nicole Kohanski, CTC, CDBC, CSAT, CBCC-KA and Wiggle Butt Academy

Want to learn more? Reach out! wiggles@wigglebuttacademy.com general inquires 214-210-2695 (scheduling) 469-333-1304 (board & train) www.wigglebuttacademy.com