# Wow, how far away can they hear??



## cassadee7

Saber has started getting all excited, jumping up from a sleep or from chewing a bully stick and woofing, running from the window to the door and back whenever my son is coming home from work. The thing is, she starts this a good minute and a half before he pulls in the driveway! He has to be 6 or 8 blocks away even if he is sitting at a light. The first time she did it I thought "oh he must be home" and went to look out the window... no car. Then like 2 minutes later he pulled in! And he works odd hours... not coming home the same time every night.

I guess they can hear THAT far away? Even through walls with the windows shut??


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## DCluver33

Dodger knows the sounds of my can and my moms car from down the street a good half a block away. he gets all excited then 2 minutes later or so my mom comes home. and we have double pained windows and they've been shut recently too.

ETA: maybe they feel the vibrations from the certain cars?


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## SunCzarina

Luther and Morgan used to BOLT to the far side of the yard and sit there waiting a few minutes for my husband to come home. Where we are there's 3 lights that go a mile up the main road before our street and where he'd get off the highway. The freaky part about it was he was a car nut, had a different car what seemed like every other month. They learned quick and HEY let's bolt over there and watch him roll up the street.


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## Mrs.K

I believe that it is similar to conditioning. If somebody comes home the same time, each and every day, they simply learn that at this time of the day, their buddy comes home and takes them out for a walk or plays with them. Meaning, something good happens. 

So they learn quickly that "hey, it's almost 1600, that means, daddy comes home..." and get all excited before they can even hear the car. 

However, they are good in differing the sounds. Horses can do it too. Whenever my mom pulled into the road, the horses would whinny. 

Same when we moved onto the farm. Every morning my sister would open the window and every morning her horse would "say" Good morning. It's like a ritual.


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## cassadee7

Mrs.K said:


> I believe that it is similar to conditioning. If somebody comes home the same time, each and every day, they simply learn that at this time of the day, their buddy comes home and takes them out for a walk or plays with them. Meaning, something good happens.
> 
> So they learn quickly that "hey, it's almost 1600, that means, daddy comes home..." and get all excited before they can even hear the car.
> 
> .


Yeah, I agree, but in this case as I said, my son works weird hours. He might work 3 days a week or 7 days, might come home at 4pm or 9PM or 11PM and sometimes he stops and gets food on the way. So it's never the same time.


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## Lilie

Mrs.K said:


> I believe that it is similar to conditioning. If somebody comes home the same time, each and every day, they simply learn that at this time of the day, their buddy comes home and takes them out for a walk or plays with them. Meaning, something good happens.
> 
> So they learn quickly that "hey, it's almost 1600, that means, daddy comes home..." and get all excited before they can even hear the car.
> 
> However, they are good in differing the sounds. Horses can do it too. Whenever my mom pulled into the road, the horses would whinny.
> 
> Same when we moved onto the farm. Every morning my sister would open the window and every morning her horse would "say" Good morning. It's like a ritual.


 
Since Hondo doesn't react till we actually drive down the drive way, maybe this Christmas I'll get him a watch. 

Our horses watch the house in the morning. As soon as the bedroom light goes on they'll start hollering for breakfast. With this good weather, our windows are open. Hubby will turn the light on.....then turn it off.....then turn it on, because he thinks it's funny. I guess the neighbor's think we Disco at 4:30 in the morning.


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## cshepherd9

I saw some special on Nat Geo (I think) called Dog Genius where they set up camera's in the house and at the bus stop where the mom of the house would get off the bus. There was a little dog laying on the couch in almost a dead sleep and when the bus pulled up to the stop the dog jumped up off the couch and ran to the door, the dad and kids continued doing what they were doing -not aware. I think the mom then had a walk a block or so (stop was not right outside the house) and the whole time the dog stood at the door with tail wagging. 
I believe the show's explanation was that dogs have the ability to distinguish the different sounds of car engines and such and knew when a certain car/bus was driving down the street.


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## Courtney

cshepherd9 said:


> I saw some special on Nat Geo (I think) called Dog Genius where they set up camera's in the house and at the bus stop where the mom of the house would get off the bus. There was a little dog laying on the couch in almost a dead sleep and when the bus pulled up to the stop the dog jumped up off the couch and ran to the door, the dad and kids continued doing what they were doing -not aware. I think the mom then had a walk a block or so (stop was not right outside the house) and the whole time the dog stood at the door with tail wagging.
> I believe the show's explanation was that dogs have the ability to distinguish the different sounds of car engines and such and knew when a certain car/bus was driving down the street.


Dr. Temple Grandin talks about this in her book Animals In Translation. Where dogs will at the same time everyday seem to know when the owner is coming home. She believes their mighty ears learn how to disinguish engine sounds.


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## Dogaroo

Hearing?? In her earlier days, I swear Kaija could hear a bread crumb hit the carpet from three rooms away.  At almost nine years old, her hearing isn't as keen as it used to be, but it's still as good as any human's.


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## onyx'girl

Karlo can be in a deep sleep. I quietly, sneakily click my laptop closed and he hears it. He barks every single time I shut it, because he knows it is playtime, or bedtime, or mealtime, or whatever. It never fails, though as quiet as I try to do it.


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## Sigurd's Mom

onyx'girl said:


> Karlo can be in a deep sleep. I quietly, sneakily click my laptop closed and he hears it. He barks every single time I shut it, because he knows it is playtime, or bedtime, or mealtime, or whatever. It never fails, though as quiet as I try to do it.



That's hilarious. Every time I close my laptop Sigurd springs right up, he can be in a deep sleep or across the house!


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## Davey Benson

we used to have a dog who could hear someone in the middle of the night quietly eating a marshmellow.

I know animals have good hearing. I've been out in my yard and have heard the neighbors throwing a fit, then five minutes later she would come down the road in her truck and trailer. I figure that the animals can here that particular rig from at least three to four miles away.


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