A look at how dogs, like horses, are sensitive to noise.
As dog owners we take our dogs to many different places. And, possibly, we assume that they enjoy it as much as we do. But do they?
Over the weekend someone commented in a post that they were at a festival where there seemed to be a lot of unhappy looking dogs. It wasn’t hot, so that’s one reason ruled out. Could it be noise?
Dogs are more like horses when it comes to hearing. Compared with humans, in general, a dog’s hearing is 4x more sensitive than ours! In simple terms, if you are at a music event, for example, and it sounds loud to you, it will probably be 2-4x louder for your dog.
Conversely, when it’s quiet and you can’t hear anything but your dog starts barking, they may well have heard something that you can’t!
Sound frequencies
Added to that, dogs can hear sounds of a higher frequency than humans. We can hear sounds ranging from 15Hz to 20,000Hz. This, of course, does depend on age and the volume of the sound, amongst other factors. Dogs, on the other hand, can hear between 60Hz and 45,000Hz.
This means that humans are better at hearing low frequencies but dogs can hear very high frequencies. For example, a dog is likely to be able to hear the noise made by mice and bats in the ultrasonic range (sounds above 20,000Hz). Dogs may also be able to hear high frequencies produced by electrical equipment, such as loudspeakers at events, that are not audible to us.
Head size also plays a role in the highest frequencies that a dog can hear. The smallest dogs are able to hear the highest frequencies, while larger dogs with a head size (measured between the ears) of 25cm have an upper frequency limit that is similar to humans (approximately 20,000Hz). And, of course, just like us, dogs suffer hearing loss with increasing age.
So, whether your dog is likely to be happy at events with loud noise, such as music concerts, sports events, motor-racing, etc., is likely to be dependent, to some extent, on temperament, age and breed (head-size). But if it’s loud, and they don’t seem that happy, there’s probably a good reason – to you it’s loud; but to them it’s VERY LOUD.
Of course, one option is to provide your dog with ear defenders! Yes, this is the same concept as used by people working in loud environments, such as airports or construction!
References:
Alberti, P. W. (2001). The anatomy and physiology of the ear and hearing. In B. Goelzer, C. H. Hansen, & G. A. Sehrndt (Eds.), Occupational exposure to noise: Evaluation, prevention and control (pp. 53–62). Bremerhaven, Germany: World Health Organization.
Heffner, H. E. (1998). Auditory awareness. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 57, 259–268.
McMahon, D. H. (2015). Investigating the relationship between the frequency ranges a dog can hear compared to its head size. Unpublished BSc (Hons) thesis, College of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK.
Strain, G. M. (2011). Deafness in dogs and cats. Boston, MA: Cabi. doi:10.1079/9781845937645.0000
West, C. D. (1985). The relationship of the spiral turns of the cochlea and the length of the basilar membrane to the range of audible frequencies in ground dwelling mammals. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 77(3), 1091–1101. doi:10.1121/1.392227
