Can Dogs Hear a Mile Away?

Dogs are truly amazing animals with keen intuitions. Some say they have a sixth sense because of their amazing ability to detect things that humans cannot. They use their strong senses to pick up on new information. Dogs can sense countless amazing things and they often use their senses for good. But how do they use their hearing? 

You can be certain whether your dog is hearing something or not depending on the position of his ears. Though dogs may have many different reactions to different sounds, their ears always have some sort of reaction. Dogs use their ears to help pick up on new stimulus. They can adjust the position of their ears or perk them up. You'll know your dog is hearing something when their ears are perked. 

You can also tell if your dog is hearing something from far away by observing their body language. Depending on the sound, your dog will have different reactions. Some breeds may jump up or bark to try to get your attention in order to alert you of a suspected intruder. Many puppies react to sounds from far away in fear by running to their owners for protection. 

Some dogs are not so reactive to sounds. They may notice a sound and decide that it is not significant. In these cases, you may notice their ears perk up momentarily before returning to their relaxed state. 

Over time, wolves began looking more like dogs. The relationship between wolf and man grew stronger. Over thousands of years of evolution, countless breeds of dogs have made up an entirely new species. 

Though wolves and dogs are entirely different creatures, they share many traits. The qualities that helped wolves progress remained as they grew into loving and helpful dogs. 

Wolves have a very keen sense of hearing, this is something that dogs have retained over time. Though wolves today have a better sense of hearing than dogs, dogs can hear up to four times the distance of humans. Their ability to hear helps them in their socialization. They are able to pick up on new sounds and develop their hearing based on the stimulus around them. 

Dogs that have perked ears naturally, usually have better hearing than dogs with floppy ears. Dogs use the 18 muscles in their ears to move them around in the direction of sounds. 

For the first 21 days of their life, dogs cannot hear. They are developing their hearing based on the sounds they hear around them. Once a dog's hearing is fully developed, he can hear much better than humans can. 

High pitched noises that humans cannot pick up on are clear to dogs. Some dog owners and trainers take advantage of this by using a dog whistle that only dogs can hear. 

Dogs can also discriminate between sounds very well. When your dog hears the sound of his treats rattling, he will immediately perk up and come to you. When he hears a sound outside that he doesn't care about, he will have a small (if any) reaction. 

You can train your dog to hear specific things and react accordingly. Your dog gets so excited when they hear you get the food out because they immediately associates that sound with something delicious. 

The best way to train your dog to learn new things is by praising them. Punishment is not as effective as you might think. It can actually have the opposite results because your dog will be nervous instead of excited to follow your commands. 

So, when you are training your dog to respond to different sounds, be sure to give them positive praise in a happy tone. This lets your dog know that there is a good outcome when they have the correct reaction, which will make them want to continue listening to you. Inadvertently, you are training your dog by taking advantage of his ability to hear. Your positive tone is a nice sound, which tells him that you like the behavior. 

You also can use sound to train your dog. For example, you can shake a bottle of marbles when your dog barks. This sounds will be unpleasant, which will cause him to stop barking. This will show him that barking leads to a terrible sound. This is one way to reinforce behavior without having to directly punish your dog. 

You can train your dog to react to many different sounds that can help you be aware of what might be coming. For example, some dogs can be specially trained to hear specific types of cars. That way, when a specific type of car approaches (such as a delivery truck), your dog will alert you and you'll know you're about to get some mail.