Common Household Sounds May Be Stressing Your Dog

It’s pretty obvious dogs have a powerful sense of smell, but how well can they hear? Most people are aware dogs have the ability to hear better than humans, but it’s not quite that simple. In his book “How Dogs Think,” Dr. Stanley Core, Ph.D, says “The truth of the matter is that, for some sounds, a dog’s hearing is really hundreds of times better than ours, whereas for other sounds, dogs and humans have sound sensitivities very much the same.”

Sudden, loud sounds, such as thunderstorms, fireworks and gunshots, are the most common triggers for fearful behavior in dogs. However, many common household noises may also be causing fear and anxiety in companion dogs. If your dog is frequently agitated, it could be due to common household noises like a vacuum or microwave oven.

Have you ever noticed your dog looking outside like he or she is hearing something you can’t hear? Dogs are able to hear a much larger range of sounds than humans. Interestingly, dogs respond with fear and anxiety to sounds characterized as “intermittent high frequency” rather than to “continuous low frequency”. (Veterinary Science, 2021) Furthermore, dog guardians tend to underestimate how fearful a dog is to household noises, and respond inappropriately to dogs’ expressions of fear and anxiety.

Dogs are far more sensitive to high-pitched sounds than humans; they can hear sounds not loud enough for our ears. This is due to their predatory heritage where they needed to be able to hear tiny animals’ squeaks (thing of a mouse squeaking) in order to find food. Humans, who needed to cooperate with other humans to survive, have ears tuned to the pitch of the human voice.

This sensitivity to high-pitched sounds explains several phenomena in dogs. For example, dogs can predict earthquakes using their highly sensitive ability to hear. When your dog seems to have ESP and predict someone is arriving on your doorstep, it is likely their ability to detect the sound of a car or footsteps before we can hear it.

For this reason, dogs can be stressed due to everyday high-pitched noises, like a vacuum cleaner, power drill, or the bearings wearing out in your furnace motor. Even if we can’t detect the noise, our dogs can often hear them. Furthermore, dogs have an amazing ability to detect tiny differences in sound frequencies but can’t locate sounds as easily as humans.

Just like humans, dogs can lose their hearing with age or other factors, such as an ear infection. There is a hearing test called the BAER test to determine the level of hearing loss in a dog. Most dogs are able to adapt to hearing loss and there are things dog parents can do to communicate with their hearing-impaired dogs. Since dogs tend to retain their ability to hear high-pitched sounds the longest, using a high-frequency whistle often works when your dog can no longer hear your voice. Read more: How to Care for a Dog with Hearing Loss

Since dogs can experience anxiety due to sounds we can’t hear, learn to recognize the signs your dog is stressed. Common signs include:

• Cringing
• Trembling
• Running away
• Panting
• Licking their lips
• Turning their head away from the noise
• Stiffening their body
• Turning their ears back
• Dropping their head below their shoulders

Too often, pet parents miss this signs or underestimate their dog’s level of fear to certain sounds. If it seems like your dog is stressed by something but you can’t identify it, consider they may be hearing something you can’t. Be sure to change out batteries in items like smoke detectors often and turn electronics like your television off if you’re not watching it. Humans may not notice background noises, but they can be a source of stress for dogs. We love and care for our dogs; protecting them from unnecessary stressful noise can make a big difference to them.

Is your dog sensitive to sound? What have you done to help ease your dog’s noise sensitivity? Please leave a comment below…