03/07/2025
Everybody with a dog should read this â¤ď¸
The Parallel Universe of Dogs
Our dogs live in a sensory world entirely different from ours.
We think we experience reality, but the truth is, we only perceive our version of it.
How often have you debated the colour of an object? Or disagreed on how something smells or tastes? Human perception is fluid, subjective, and shaped by experienceânow imagine how vastly different the world must be for dogs.
They might as well exist in a parallel universe.
That treat on the floor they canât see.
That red ball in the green grassâso clear to us, yet invisible to them.
That cat in the bushes they seem to ignoreâuntil the tiniest movement changes everything.
Dogs donât see better or worse than usâthey see differently. Their vision is adapted for dim light, making quick changes in brightness potentially disorienting. A dog struggling to transition between environments? Light conditions might be the cause.
Their acuity is estimated at 20/75âmeaning that what a human sees at 75 feet, a dog sees at 20 feet. Yet their motion detection is extraordinary. While humans register movement at just 5%, dogs pick it up at 42%.
This could explain why they walk past a squirrel one moment, then suddenly lunge at something we havenât even noticed.
Their depth perception surpasses ours, some studies suggest ultraviolet sensitivity, and remarkably, research even hints that dogs may align their bodies with the Earthâs magnetic field when they pooâwhich might explain their lengthy search for the perfect spot.
And then thereâs sound.
Dogs hear nearly double the frequencies we do. They detect sounds four times farther than humans. That bark at "nothing"? That sudden startled reaction? Itâs not nothingâthey hear things we simply canât.
Then, of course, thereâs scentâperhaps the most misunderstood of all.
Smell is a world-builder for dogs. Itâs how they navigate, communicate, and understand their surroundings. To restrict sniffing on walks is like blindfolding a human in front of a breathtaking landscapeâa cruel disservice to their most powerful sense.
When we get frustrated with behaviors we donât understandâscavenging, barking, hesitancyâwe label them as bad, naughty, weird, or stupid.
But the reality is they donât live in our worldâthey adapt to it.
Imagine how overwhelming human spaces must feel. Busy streets, unnatural chemical scents, chaotic sounds, restricted movement, expectations they never agreed to.
They see, hear, and smell things we will never experience, yet we often punish them for reacting to it.
So, when frustration risesâtake a step back.
Instead of questioning their behaviour, question your own understanding.
Instead of restricting their instincts, respect the way they process the world.
Because if we truly listened, weâd realiseâthey have adapted for us far more than we have ever adapted for them.
