Can dogs know their owners by their voice, smell, or sight? The answer is YES.
Dogs are intellectual animals just like other pet animals such as cats.
They are capable of having a genuine bond with their human caregivers which can make them recognise their owners by their senses.
However, the accuracy of each means of identifying their owner’s voice, smell, and sight differs which we will dive right into.
Can Dogs Know Their Owners By Their Voice:
One of the frequent means most dog owners use to communicate with their dogs is by voice (sound).
Dog owners give commands such as sit down, stand up, run, etc using their voice which makes it easy for them to recognize.
However, you might be wondering if they don’t use other senses to recognize their owners most especially their keen sense of smell.
According to research carried out at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary by some researchers, a total of 28 dogs and their owners were used in the case study to determine if dogs can recognize their owners only by their voice alone.
The 28 dog owners were kept hidden in a lab behind strangers and their voices were played by the dogs.
Their owner’s voice as well as that of the strangers were played from the hiding places in a neutral tone and the dogs were tasked to identify their owners by their voices alone.
The experiment was conducted severally by pairing their owners with 14 other strangers and the success rate was over 82%.
You must be wondering if the dogs were not aided by other senses.
In the last two rounds of the experiment, the dog owner’s voice was played from the stranger’s hideout and the sampled dogs went to the stranger’s hideout signaling the use of only their efficient sense of hearing.
This experiment proves that just as in humans, dogs also make use of voice properties such as timbers and pitch to identify voices.
Can Dogs Know Their Owners By Their Smell:
One of the most developed senses in dogs is their keen sense of smell.
They have 220 million olfactory receptors in their nose compared to the average human which has 5 million receptors, together with their larger olfactory bulbs, and Jacobsen’s organ which is absent in humans, they can detect and remember specific smells, especially that of their owners.
Their keen sense of smell allows them to know their owners when they pick them up from the vet or when parted for a long time.
It has also been reported they have used their keen sense of smell to locate their owners when lost or out of sight.
They do this by following cues such as sniffing the belongings of their owners.
Can Dogs Know Their Owners By Their Sight:
Yes, they can recognize their owners by sight but this is less reliable compared to recognition by their voice and smell.
Their vision is less developed compared to their keen sense of smell or hearing.
However, the body shape, size, and movements of their owners can be used by dogs to differentiate them from others.
How Can You Tell When a Dog Recognizes Its Owner:
Dogs are very affectionate and passionate creatures, especially towards their owners.
They exhibit certain specific tellable signs, cues, and behaviors that show they recognize their owners.
Here are some of the signs that show a dog recognizes its owner.
- Tail Wagging: This is a common welcoming behavior in all dogs. By wagging their tails accompanied by a calm body posture, it signals they are with a familiar face.
- Vocalization: As against popular beliefs that dogs only bark when they feel threatened or in danger or posed with unfamiliar faces, They also bark when over-excited by the presence of their owners.
- Focused Attention: The ears of a dog will be fully erect and their face fully focused on their owners when recognized.
- Affectionate Behavior: They usually welcome their owners by sniffing, licking, nuzzling, cuddling, jumping on them, or running toward them.
Can Dogs Know Their Owners By Only One Cue:
While it might be possible for a dog to recognize their owners using only a cue such as voice, smell, or sight, the accuracy is low and not reliable.
A combination of their sense of smell, hearing, and sight helps them to accurately identify and locate their owners easily.