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Zoology Science Fair Project

Dog Hearing, Breed, and Age

Hard
Dog Hearing, Breed, and Age | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
How does aging affect a dog's ability to hear high-pitched sounds? Human ears stop detecting sounds above about 20 kHz. Dogs can hear far higher frequencies, but that range may shrink with age. You test six breeds using a high-frequency sound generator. Each breed has one young dog (about 3 years old) and one older dog (about 8 years old). You increase the frequency from 5 kHz up to 50 kHz and watch for reactions like ear twitches or barking. Older dogs showed a clear drop in their upper hearing range. The decline was especially sharp in German Shepherds and Poodles.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that dogs become more deaf as they grow older.

Method & Materials

You will use a high frequency sound generator to test the hearing of different breeds of dogs, both young and old.
You will need a young and an older German Shepherd, a young and an older Labrador, a young and an older Terrier, a young and an older Golden Retriever, a young and an older Beagle Shepherd, a young and an older Poodle, a dog trainer, a box of dog biscuits, and a high frequency sound generator.

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Results

The results showed that the older dogs had poorer hearing abilities compared to the younger dogs, especially for the German shepherd and the Poodle. The hypothesis that dogs grow more deaf as they grow older was proven to be true.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it shows how age and breed can affect a dog's hearing ability. It also shows how dogs can hear sounds that are of a higher frequency range than humans are able to detect.

Also Consider

To improve the reliability of the results, you could use a larger number of breeds or test dogs of a wider age gap. You could also consider repeating this science project by comparing the difference in hearing deterioration between small breed dogs and larger breeds.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.

Related videos

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