Dogs are magical beings with dog superpowers. I don’t know why I have to keep telling you this.
Dogs are capable of honing in on particular innate behaviors and natural senses that typically mystify humans. This is what gives them that heightened level of awareness and connectivity warranting this superiority. A dog’s super sonic hearing, near perfect night vision, and internal GPS are among the list of superpowers your dog has that you didn’t know about.
Dogs come from the magical island found at the base of Mount Wannaliftaleg. It’s a glorious place accessible only on the fifth Monday of the thirteenth month following Thor’s hammer storm, immediately before the shooting star from Orion’s belt is released.
You can’t find it. Don’t try.
I bet you didn’t know that making irrational stories up was one of our superpowers too.
It is. Well, it’s one of mine at least. In fairness, the following seven powers are not made up. They’re very real.
Disclaimer: The Can My Dog articles contain information based on the individual research and opinions of the author of the site – who just so happens to be a dog. How you utilize the information given is completely up to you. Proceed at your own risk.
1. Weather Tracker
The first of the dog superpowers I’m diving into today will be our impeccable weather tracking capabilities.
This has to do with slight alterations in barometric pressure that is directly related to extreme and severe storms.
Dogs are sensitive to these types of pressures and can quite literally ‘feel’ when a bad storm is approaching.
There’s no exact scientific explanation that I can provide for you here. There are numerous theories, but the fact of the matter is that dogs are all just full of shi…, I mean, magic.
Also, dogs are able to hear things in the distance that humans can’t – like thunder. Pretty solid indication that the storm is’a brewing.
2. Mind Readers
Okay, I admit, this could be a stretch. A dog may not actually posses the superpowers necessary to read your minds, BUT they do have a type of telepathy that can be classified in the superhero category.
Dogs can tell what you’re feeling. They have one heck of a nose for emotional awareness.
I recently read about a study conducted with dogs in attempts to match a picture of a face with an audio clip depicting emotion.
The dogs were played a tape with someone yelling and obviously furious. The dogs instinctively looked at the picture of the mad face. Perfect match.
The dogs accurately chose the picture of the faces in direct association to the tone and emotions being played on the clip. Every single time.
In short, dogs know what you’re feeling just by seeing your facial expressions. Your dog can also sense your fear and anxiety. So don’t tense up around them.
Just relax.
3. Automated GPS
It’s. Just. What. We. Do.
This is effortless to your dog.
Dogs have maps in their head and use smell to get anywhere or back from any place they need to.
As a matter of fact, a dog’s uncanny sense of smell is the primary factor in their wonderful sense of direction.
Have you ever seen the movie, Homeward Bound?
Same thing I’m talking about here and honestly not that unrealistic. There’s been countless stories of pets being able to find their way back to their humans despite ridiculously long distances in between and seemingly impossible odds.
Truly amazing.
I could read stories like that all day long.
4. Super Sonic Hearing
What’d you say?
Kidding.
I heard you, trust me.
We hear everything. It’s annoying at times.
You humans can hear sounds registering up to 20,000 vibrations per second. Your dog can hear THREE TIMES BETTER, up to 60,000 Hz.
Your dog’s hearing can partly be attributed to the location and size of their ears. Theirs are on the tops of their heads, where yours are on the side. You miss a lot this way.
Goes right over the top of your head. 🙂
Dogs also have roughly 18 different muscles in their ears allowing them to move and control them better than your human ears.
When your dog moves their ears it allows them to amplify the sound, giving them a better audio signal thus showcasing their hearing superpowers.
5. Tail – Communication
You guys have Morse Code, and we have tail code.
Deal with it.
Although, ours is a bit easier to pick up on.
As I detailed in a previous post, wagging our tails is not always a sign of happiness.
If we’re wagging our tails slightly to the left, we’re feeling a bit anxious and want to get out of the current situation we’re in.
But if we’re wagging our tails slightly to the right, it’s a party.
When our tails are sticking straight up, we’re in the mood to fight or we’re feeling threatened.
If our tails are lowered or tucked, we’re feeling a bit embarrassed, scared, or nervous.
Your dog doesn’t have words, but they have wags. Pay attention to this, it’s often their way of letting you know exactly what’s going on and how they’re feeling in a particular moment.
6. Doctor Dog to the Rescue
Who needs x-rays? We know when you’re not feeling good. Most of the time we know this before you do.
When the human body begins to get sick, and I mean really sick, it starts to release volatile organic compounds, or VOCs into the body.
Your dog can smell these. They can even be trained to pick up on these and alert you.
If you don’t train us to alert you though, we’ll just be there to comfort you and nurse you back to health with licks and cuddles.
Side note: Did you know that dogs trained at the In Situ Foundation were able to detect cancer in patients by smelling their breath with up to 88% accuracy?
That’s incredible and more accurate that general biopsies.
Just by smelling breath.
Absolutely remarkable.
7. Night Owls
No, I’m not talking about our amazing ability to pull an all nighter while our humans binge on a Netflix Original.
I’m horrible at this, by the way. I always fall asleep when the TV comes on. I can’t hang.
Anyway, I’m talking about your dog’s ability to see (close to perfect) in the dark.
Our night vision measures at about 20/80.
Perfect vision is 20/20.
Not bad doggies, not bad at all.
But seeing at night is nothing new to your dog. What is new is their ability to see amazing in the day too. It’s an evolutionary trait they’ve had to pick up along the way of domestication and living with humans.
You guys have a tendency to keep the lights on, so we had to adapt. 🙂
The End
I could easily add another seven to the list because we’re just that awesome, but I’ll leave you slightly unsatisfied so you keep coming back.
I think our biggest and best-est superpower is our ability to love with zero judgments or expectations. It bonds us to our humans. What more could you possibly ask for?
I do have one simple request though.
That you continue to, Live, Love, Laugh, and Scratch our bellies often.
Love you guys,
JTB
P.S. If you’re new to this world, you may want to check out my Ultimate Guide for First Time Dog Parents. It’s a great reference to get you started on this journey.
This article has been reviewed by our Editorial Board and has been approved for publication in accordance with our Editorial Policies.
