Interesting Facts About Your Dog's Ears
Dog's Expressive Ears
There are three parts to the dog ear: the external ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The external ear is the part that you see. The middle ear is usually filled with air. One wall of the middle ear is known as the eardrum, which vibrates in response to sound. The eardrum has two parts, the pars flaccida and the pars tensa. The pars flaccida stretches and bulges out with air or fluid. When your dog has an ear infection, the vet sees the bulging area. The inner ear is filled with fluid and has nerves that help in hearing and in maintaining balance. The 8th Cranial Nerve, which is located in the inner ear, carries sound and important balance data to the brain.
Dogs can hear as low as 16 Hz and they can hear as high as 105,000. The average range for people is between 63 and 23,000 and the average range for dogs is 67 and 45,000.
They can also hear faster, as they can pick up a sound in as little as 1/16th hundredth of a second. The ability to hear sound does vary among breeds and does change according to age.
Dogs have 15 different muscles in their ears that enable them to move in all directions and detect sounds from wherever they come. They respond to higher pitched sounds. If you speak to your pet in a higher pitch, you are sure to get their attention. Your dog will listen carefully to what you are saying. They can also distinguish between sounds that humans may think are identical. Dogs can tell the difference between a family member's footsteps and a stranger.
It is important to check your dog's ears. Some recommend you check the ears weekly. If your dog shakes and tilts his head a lot this may be a sign of ear infection. Shine a flashlight in his ear, and if you see redness, a discharge or smell an unpleasant odor, he most likely has an infection. Floppy eared dogs tend to get more ear infections than other breeds. Ears should be cleaned with cotton balls and swabs only on the outer flaps. Remember never to put anything in the ear canal.
Sources:
http://www.pgaa.com/canine/general/ohmyallears.html
http://dogpsychology.dog-articles.net/articles/How-Your-Dogs-Hearing-Works.html
Published by Ana Blanco
36 year old Mom who works full time. Born in Portugal and has lived in the US for almost 30 years. Married with 1 daughter. We also have 3 dogs and 3 cats. View profile
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- Dogs have 15 different muscles in their ears that enable them to move in all directions.
- Remember never to put anything in the ear canal.