The human ear is severely limited in the sounds that it can hear in contrast to dogs ears, which are capable of hearing much higher frequencies, and much quieter sounds than humans.
The video above shows 8 different frequencies of sound. If you play this video in front of your dog, you may notice the difference between human and dog listening capabilities. Humans cannot hear sounds above 20,000 Hz, while dogs can hear frequencies as high as 65,000 Hz. This displays the limits of human hearing as well as the tremendous ceiling of sounds that dogs can hear.
Not only can dogs hear higher frequencies than humans, but they also can hear much quieter sounds than humans. Specifically, they can hear sounds so quiet that human ears can’t even detect the sound. Dogs can thank their ancestry for this extraordinary hearing, specifically being a predator in the animal kingdom. It explains ordinary things such as dogs seeming to be afraid of vacuum cleaners, as they are louder to dogs than humans. Or, their ability to predict when someone is coming to the door, as they probably heard them approaching before you did.
I believe this is significant because it displays the limitations of human hearing. Some individuals may claim they have exceptional hearing; however, our hearing is nothing compared to several other animals, such as dogs. For me personally, I couldn’t hear #2 and #3 in the video, and my dog immediately recognized that sound was being played. Instruments such as dog whistles use these high frequencies to get the attention of dogs, and truly show the limitations of our hearing. What numbers in the video could you not hear? How did your dog(s) react to the sounds?