Do dogs make sounds above 20Khz?

September 14, 2023 9:20 PM

It's "well known" that dogs can hear frequencies above the limit of human hearing, 20Khz (20,000 cycles/second), up to somewhere between 45Khz and 50Khz according to various sources. My question is: do dogs _make_ sounds in these higher ranges?
posted by TimHare to Pets & Animals (2 answers total)

Dog whines have been shown to have fundamental frequency of up to 23.26kHz. I don't think this precludes some dogs being able to go higher than that given limited sample size and only studying a subset of dog vocalizations.

Evolution-wise, it may benefit them to hear predators or prey who are capable of generating those higher tones. Wolves are considered to have an even higher hearing range, maybe because domestication has changed the evolutionary fitness target.
posted by JauntyFedora at 10:43 PM on September 14, 2023 [8 favorites]

Similarly, I'm sure I've read that cats' hearing covers a big slice of their preys' vocalization range, greatly extending beyond their own vocalization range ... googling it:

"Cats do not use this ability to hear ultrasound for communication but it is probably important in hunting,[19] since many species of rodents make ultrasonic calls."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearing_range#:~:text=Cats

posted by sebastienbailard at 5:15 AM on September 15, 2023 [5 favorites]