The dog is a popular pet. But is this animal understood? To what extent is still really looked at what the animal needs, and to what extent are they trying to humanize the dog?
Language
Dogs have their own way of communicating. Usually the behavior of the dog can be linked to the behavior of their ancestor, the wolf. For example, they have sounds and body language to tell each other what they mean. But a distinction can also be made in these behaviors. A cheerful, playful bark, for example, sounds very different from a bark that should warn against strangers. Growling can also be done in several ways. You hear this sound when dogs play with each other, but growling can also indicate fear, pain or aggression.
Fragrances
As most people know, every dog has a certain terrain and smell. A male has the ability to spread his scent by raising his paw and urinating. Before a male pees, he usually first smells extensively in that place, to decompose all the odors, and then pee over them. For example, a dog marks a site with its scent. Even 25% of the females slightly lift their paw to urinate, so that the scent is spread more. After marking the area, the dog will sometimes scratch the ground, trying not to touch its own scent marks. He has two reasons for this: he tries to make the area look striking so that it attracts other dogs and they smell its scent. Secondly, the sweat glands under the soles of the feet leave their scent behind when scratching over the ground, so that it is an extra smell for another dog. Another thing some dogs love is rolling in something nasty, like garbage, poo, dead animals, or mud. With this the dog tries not to leave its own scent, but to mask its scent. This is ideal camouflage for hunting. Moreover, such a strong smelling dog is very attractive to other dogs.
Senses
It used to be said that the dog does not see colors, but studies have shown that dogs can see colors. Not in the way humans do, but a colorful image. Since dogs have few cones in their pupils and many rods, dogs can see well in the dark. A reflective layer on the retina ensures that weak light is better utilized. The dog is also naturally nearsighted, so it can see moving things better than stationary objects. Depth perception is poorly developed in a dog, because dogs have a small area of overlap, which of course gives the advantage of having a wider field of view.
Dogs can hear very well, especially the high tones. As for the bass, they hear about the same as humans. The nose is also highly developed, thousands of times better than that of humans. Dogs also have a kind of ” 6th sense ”. For example, dogs can sense thunder or earthquakes, because they are very sensitive to changes in barometric pressure and static electricity. Not yet proven, but investigated is the existence of heat detectors in a dog’s nose. The reason to investigate this is that trained Saint Bernard can track people under meters of snow.