Canine hearing: understanding the superpower of your dog's ears

Is your dog scared by loud noises? Could thunder or fireworks send you running for cover, whether under the bed, between blankets or behind furniture? Even the vacuum cleaner can seem like a monster to him! This happens because your dog's ears are much more sensitive to sound than yours.

Understanding dogs' hearing

Have you noticed that your dog is always the first to notice when someone arrives? They hear four times better than we do. What we hear at 8 meters, they hear at 30 meters! Additionally, they have a much larger frequency range, 40 to 60,000 Hz, while we hear 20 to 20,000 Hz. That's why dog ​​whistles work!

Hearing by race

Some breeds hear better than others.

Dogs with erect ears, like Chihuahuas and German Shepherds, hear better than those with floppy ears, like Poodles and Shih Tzus.

Ear movements

Dogs have 18 muscles in their ears, allowing them to move them in the direction of sound.

They can hear independently in each ear, which helps locate the source of the sound.

Ears and body language

The position of your dog's ears can say a lot about what he is feeling:

• Neutral ears = Relaxed

• Ears up = On alert

• Ears back = Scared or submissive

• Ears up and forward = Aggressive

Quick facts

• Puppies are born deaf and begin to hear after 3 weeks.

• Dogs can lose hearing as they age.

• Cats have 32 muscles in their ears and hear better than dogs.

Even at night, while we sleep, your dog can hear everything, from the clock to cars passing by. So if he wakes you up barking, he probably heard something important!