Dogs are always aware of their environment

Dogs aren’t just good at hearing the words ‘walkies’ and ‘treats’- they have an incredible hearing range of 60 to 45,000 hertz compared to our 20 to 20,000 hertz. This is why dog whistles produce an ultrasonic sound that’s not detectable to humans as it’s too high, exceeding our maximum of 20,000 hertz. It’s not just the range of sounds that sets dogs’ hearing apart; they can hear things from a maximum distance that beats ours by four times. This is why Fido is already at the door when you get home while your partner is still oblivious of your return – he could hear your car coming a block away.

In addition, dogs can move their ears to better localise a sound, thanks to the fact that they have 18 muscles in the part of their ears called the pinna, or ear flap. You may have seen Fido flex these muscles when he’s trying to decide whether he’s going to listen to your command, or keep rolling around in the mud.

“Dogs can move their ears to better localise a sound, thanks to 18 muscles in each ear flap”.