In the final part of the series we now know our dogs love doing lots of different things than us. Understanding the differences in which their world differs from ours is what makes them happy and contented canine members of our family. This understanding of how they love to smell, hear better than us in certain contexts and the way their fur is designed to a do a job adds to the wonder of being around dogs!  We should never assume that the stimuli we enjoy that our dogs will  enjoy the same as us.  Often we make the error of not be aware of what matters most to them and that has what I hope the blogs have shared this week. 

A great example of this is when we walk through a park. this is a very different experience for canine and human at the other end of the lead. Dogs will be using their noses to determine who has left them a 'wee mail' , when they left the message and the array of many different scents in the park. They for sure will be checking if anything is edible they can scavenge!!  Where as humans will see things from a much more visual perspective such as the pretty flowers, say hello to someone whereas our dogs will be sniffing another dog's bottom to say hello! Hopefully not a human approach!
Sounds too generate different responses from humans . The bell ringing of an ice cream van elicits your dog to think the gates of hell have opened!! 
But with every dog it is YOU that they love and want to spend more time with . They are primarily social animals who enjoy and need human company 

A FACT , DOGS ARE PART OF OUR WORLD BUT TO OUR DOGS WE ARE THEIR TOTAL WORLD...........................................

Most Dogs are covered in fur and some more than others.  Protecting their skin from harsh conditions and keeping it in tip top condition is one of the things that can make our dog's happy. The skin is the largest organ on a dogs body and most of it is covered in fur. The fur offers protection against the cold, rough vegetation and terrain and regulates temperature .Most importantly it gives them a sense of touch and for some dogs (including my own Labrador) they love it when we groom them or cuddle or stroke them! It brings our dogs an immense  sense of pleasure and lots of lovely dopamine swishing around their body!!

But keeping their skin in tip top condition can be difficult as many dogs suffer from food allergies or environmental allergies or for a medical reason.  Regular grooming at home or professionally allows us to note when we see changes in their skin colour, perhaps see that they are itching more or the coat is dull and not as shiny as it was.  Talking regularly with our vet is crucial if we see any changes  in keeping our dog's skin in the way it should be and is part of making them happy dogs to be with. 

Wild canid species such as Wolves or Coyotes they have a short to medium double coat with a soft undercoat for insulation close to the skin and an outer coat of guard hairs.  Many working dog breeds have a similar coat make up . Most dogs, although not all dog breeds, have a coat built for function and performance  or for survival . Thinking about survival we see breeds developed in colder climates with denser longer coats than breeds developed in warmer climates. Dogs living in warmer climates have often shorter ,single based coats but there are always exceptions. What i think is fascinating that dogs as a species can adapt to their local climate making them happier as a result!

Dog's feet and noses lack a protective thick covering of fur but appear to be less sensitive than our human hands. They are thick skinned and tough to provide protection against the canine activities they love to do. They use them to fight with, play roughly and of course dig! Digging is one of dog's most desired canine enrichment activities , some breeds more than others. Their ability to dig massive holes through rough earth and vegetation with no apparent pain or discomfort never fails to amaze me.  We can safely assume is that dogs paws benefit from a lack of great sensitivity and are in fact quite tough!  

Dogs can hear much better than us although it is not as superior as their sense of smell.  Whilst their hearing is not too far behind their amazing noses it is still four times better than our hearing! They are many reasons why they can hear better than us. One thought that us humans have ears which are positioned flat to our head and many dog breeds have large ears that are top of their head and often erect.  It is often thought that dogs with erect ears with little hair can actually hear better than dogs with floppy ears and lots of hair!!

What all the scientists agree is that dogs can hear higher frequency sounds (35-65+KHz) than humans which can hear only around 20KHz.  There are lots of high frequency sounds in the world that dogs live in and many of the prey they enjoy hunting for emit these type of sounds such as small animals like rodents and bats. 

Dogs have more than a dozen ear muscles ( actually thought to be around 18 in many textbooks) that help us not only understand how they are feeling but they have a function too. They use them like antennae and they can tilt their ears, go up or down and can hear sounds at four times the distance as us humans. It is like having radar on their head and our canine family members love to use them! 

What is even more amazing about dogs is that they can hear with each ear independently. If you have ever thought 'I am teaching my dog a new trick and suddenly they run off after something' !!. They have either smelt it or more likely heard it! They can be listening to you with one ear and hear that small animal sound with the other ear. Smart dogs!!  Dogs are flooded all the time with smells and sounds and these skills equip them perfectly for the search and rescue roles many perform and love doing. It all comes naturally to our dogs!

Finally, I am often asked about silent whistles and do they work. High-frequency sounds are more susceptible to degradation over distance , so these types of whistles might not be a good choice for recalling a dog at a distance. They also do not work well in highly populated wooded areas. But I think there is a more important consideration here when using products of a high frequency in that some dogs are frightened by very loud noises such as gunshots, fireworks and thunder. Carefully consideration if you are going to use this type of whistle as to the fact that they are emitting a very powerful sound that humans can't hear but dogs can . 

What can dogs see and why it is important to know in order for them to live happy fulfilled lives with us? A dog's vison is not the same as ours as it is tailored for different uses than ours!
That is because their vision is not nearly as good as ours. Puppies vision improves rapidly through 20 days of age. Contary to popular belief our furry friends can see colour, it’s just that the colour range they perceive is limited compared to humans.. In terms of colour , the canine color field consists mostly of yellows, blues, and violets. “Human” reds, greens, and oranges are not distinguishable to dogs and appear somewhere on their yellow to blue spectrum. Worth remembering if you think they can see your lovely new red jumper! Probably not and they are attempting to chew it because it smells nice is much more likely!! However, they are better at detecting different shades of grey than are humans and they can see more detail at night as they need less light than we do. Again, think about the time of day you walk your dog and if more at night then extra training to help them cope with how they reprieve the world may be a good idea.

They also have better lateral vision that us too and research suggests that this may affect how they learn to understand the behaviours of other dogs. Dogs are super good at detecting movement and may be able to see a human waving up to a mile away. which is though to be linked to their excellent lateral vision skills. Try this next time you are out with your dog and remember to do it in an area of minimal distraction!  They are super good at detecting sudden or unusual movements and this sensitivity enables them to detect potential prey. That rabbit who you didn't see but hear a sudden rustling of the bushes and your dog is off now you know why!Humans have taken advantage of this unique skill of dogs and harnessed it through Guide Dogs, retrieving and herding skills too.

Excellent research has indicated that dogs can recognise an object that is moving almost as twice as well as when the same object is still. A fascinating fact but as owners with dogs who show reactive behaviours to humans or other dogs we then must consider how we modify their environment to help them. That is why when we are training and modifying these types of behaviours we set the environment up for dogs in what we call 'out of threshold' to drive early success. 

Dogs can see a little further than humans but in a horizontal plane around them.  Figures support this finding from research too but what is a fascinating fact is that this varies in dogs depending on the shape of their head!  Known as binocular vision broad skulled breeds such as Pekinese or bull terriers have slightly more binocular vision than narrow-skulled breeds than Greyhounds. If scientists are right then some of the behaviours we see in long-nosed versus short-nosed dogs may be the result of how they precive their world........................ whoa!

Dogs are not humans even though sometimes we treat them that way! A dog's world is very different to ours and they value very different activities and senses than we do. Understanding their world means we first have to understand that if asked your dog would never use the word 'look'. We as a race as preoccupied with 'seeing' as that is our most developed sense but a dog is focused on what he smells. Using his nose gives them the most information and for good reason too .

The power of a dog's nose and their ability to discriminate between various odours is astonishing. Dogs are used in a wide variety of roles such as medical detection, detection of human remains under 7 metres of water and mud, raised cortisol levels in humans and in a wide variety of roles within our armed forces. A dog's smell can be 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than ours depending on the breed. The odour-centric nature of our dogs affects how they interact with each other. They detect chemicals signals from each other  using scent. This scent can be deposited in urine and their poo and by just having a good sniff at the back end of their canine friend! I often refer to a urine soaked post as a 'wee mail' left by the other dog!! This tells them everything they need to know about the other dog. The sex, the age and the health and breeding ability are pieces of information gained through your dog having a good sniff. If you look carefully you will see your dog nose targeting the areas of a dog's body where pheromones (social odours) are released such as ears, muzzle, paws and of course the back end. These activities by our dogs are highly valued and in fact are essential ways of them navigating life and developing their social etiquette. So this is why it is so important to allow your dog to meet and politely greet other dogs, but you don't have to allow them to meet all dogs. I suggest 1 dog in every 3 is a good measure and on the other times just keep walking. Letting dogs sniff each other  helps prevent barking and lunging on lead behaviours which are a result of the frustration your dog feels at not been able to do this totally natural behaviour. 

Dogs just like us are collecting information about who is around, and on many occasions deciding whether they should  play with them or not!