We gain knowledge and understanding of the world through our senses. Dogs have different senses of hearing and smell from humans, so they perceive the world differently.
Georgina, 8, from Warrawee, New South Wales, wonders how far away dogs can smell and hear. Dr. Susan Hazel, a specialist in animal behavior from the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, has the solution.
Humans don’t have nearly as many smell receptors as dogs do; a receptor is the part of the nose that detects each distinct smell particle.
Dogs are also much better at moving air through their noses than humans because they have much more surface area in their noses. Watch a dog sniffing, and you’ll be able to verify this. They have a greater chance of detecting smells if more air passes through their nose.
The wind and the type of scent are two factors that affect how far dogs can detect scent. They have been reported to be able to detect objects or people up to 20 kilometers away when the conditions are ideal.
It might interest you to know that great smellers are not just found in dogs. The scientific family dogs belong to is Carnivora. This includes cats, bears and skunks.
These animals have incredible senses of smell as well. One of the best senses of smell in the family belongs to bears. Polar bears can detect the scent of the seals they hunt more than 30 kilometers away.
Wouldn’t you love to know where your parents had hidden your favorite chocolate biscuits in the pantry, just by sniffing them out? How would it feel if you could tell by smell when your best friend was in the next room, even if you couldn’t see them?
Dogs have some of the most fascinating jobs of any animal thanks to their incredible sense of smell, including detection dogs.
Search and rescue organizations use detection dogs to find missing people, track down illegal immigrants at airports, find wild animals, and search for hazardous materials like bombs and drugs.
Dogs are some of the best sniffers in the world because they do it all with their noses.
You might still be perplexed as to why dogs, who have such keen senses of smell, enjoy smelling things that we find repulsive, such as other dogs’ bottoms. That’s a story for another day.
Now that we know that dogs can smell a variety of things from a distance, what can they hear, and how far can they hear it? To answer these questions, let’s first discuss what animals, including us, can hear: sound frequencies.
Sounds have waves. How closely spaced apart the sound waves are determines the frequency of sound. The frequency or pitch increases as the waves get closer together. This can be compared to a beach during a storm when waves are more frequent.
Low frequency sounds (around 20Hz) are heard similarly by people and dogs. This differs at higher sound frequencies, where dogs can hear up to 100 kHz much better than humans can at only 20 kHz. Compared to people, dogs can hear sounds at least three times higher in frequency.
You might be curious as to how those special silent dog whistles function; they emit high-frequency noises that only dogs can hear. There are many more sounds for dogs to hear because they have higher frequency hearing than humans do.
They are also capable of hearing sounds that are quieter or further away—up to one kilometer away. That means dogs can be more sensitive to loud sounds. This explains why some dogs are terrified of thunderstorms or fireworks. It also explains why a dog might bark in response to an audible sound.
Dogs’ ear muscles play a role in how well they can hear. Dogs have more than a dozen muscles that enable them to independently tilt, lift, and rotate each ear.
This helps dogs locate where sounds come from. Additionally, it explains why some noises may cause dogs to tilt their heads. When their ears move around to focus on a location, according to police who use dogs, a dog has first located a suspect.
Another fascinating job for dogs is as an assistance dog, which benefits from their excellent hearing. Assistance dogs assist people who require assistance in their daily lives, such as the blind and the deaf.
Due to their keen hearing, dogs can recognize visitors to a house or approaching traffic at a crosswalk. Dogs’ excellent hearing makes it possible for them to assist people in need in navigating their surroundings.
Learning about various senses is a fantastic way to understand all animals. How do their senses differ from ours, and how does that influence how they perceive the world?
Georgina, you posed an excellent question, and we sincerely hope you liked the responses as much as we did.
Is it normal for a dog to smell different when sleeping?
Your dog smelling bad while sleeping is completely normal considering that odors can come from multiple areas of a dog’s body.
On a hot day, your dog’s paw glands release sweat, which gives off a smell. Wet paws are the ideal environment for bacteria and fungus to flourish, producing foul odors. It can even cause an increased risk of infection.
Your dog could have a smelly coat. A dog’s coat may become soiled and only require bathing, or she may even have a skin condition. Dogs who have seborrhea experience dandruff and accumulated oils on their skin and coat. This oiliness accumulates and emits an unpleasant odor in the ears, stomach, armpits, elbows, and ankles. In some canine breeds, seborrhea is inherited, but it can also be brought on by dietary deficiencies, allergies, parasites, autoimmune or endocrine conditions, as well as other things.
Your dog’s bad smell may be emanating from her ears. The smell of an infected dog’s ears is unpleasant, and floppy-eared dogs are frequently affected by them.
Of course, your dog’s nose can emit offensive odors as well. Consuming foods high in dietary fiber, lactose intolerance, eating a diet high in fat, or even taking certain medications can make dogs experience flatulence (passing gas). Because the muscles are relaxed while sleeping, flatulence occurs more frequently.
Why Do Dogs Smell Good When They Sleep? Or Do They?
Dogs’ natural body odor is produced by their glands. The gland areas on a dog are near its paw pads, anal region, nose, and ears. So the smell is slightly stronger than usual when dogs sleep soundly.
You are not experiencing a pleasant smell, but rather something completely different. But let me explain why you only notice this smell when they’re sleeping.
Dogs use their smell to send messages through peeing
I adore Coren’s description of canine correspondence: “Dogs read about the world with their noses, and they write their messages in urine, at least to other dogs.” When your dog is sniffing everything painfully slowly, it can be tempting to drag him along for a walk, but instead, give him the chance to read the local gossip column and let him write a little while he’s at it.
FAQ
Can dogs smell if you are in the room?
In contrast to humans, who perceive the world through their eyes, dogs perceive changes to their environment through their superb sense of smell, including who has been there and for how long.
How far away can dogs smell their owners?
The wind and the type of scent are two factors that affect how far dogs can detect scent. They have been reported to be able to detect objects or people up to 20 kilometers away when the conditions are ideal.
Do dogs know if you are sleeping?
Their keener sense of smell detects the shift in chemical composition that occurs in a person’s body as they fall asleep. They can also perceive, sense, or hear minute changes brought on by sleep.