• Question: Why can dogs hear so well?

    Asked by lucario13 to Alexis, Dr D, Helen, Jasmine, Mario on 18 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Alexis Barr

      Alexis Barr answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      I like this question (mainly because I love dogs!). Dogs can hear sounds at higher frequencies than humans which means that dogs could hear a noise that we have no idea is even there. Also, dogs’ ears are well designed to hear well – they can move their ears to respond to sounds and also some dogs have “cup-shaped” ears (think of a German Shepherd) and this helps to channel sound into the ear.

    • Photo: Jasmine Penny

      Jasmine Penny answered on 18 Jun 2013:

      This is a great question! Like Alexis says, dogs can hear sounds at different frequencies and pitches to us. So they hear the world very differently! Different breeds have better hearing than others, particularly those with ears that stand up. Dogs also have the amazing ability to move their ears towards the sound – they can even move their ears in different directions. This means they can catch sounds from a great distance.

    • Photo: Andrew Devitt

      Andrew Devitt answered on 21 Jun 2013:

      @lucario13
      Dogs have an amazing ability to hear high frequencies. Humans have a really limited hearing range and the frequency is low. Bats though, now they are in a different class!

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