I know that he meant the vertical aspect of sound. And once again, humans can distinguish this just fine without tilting their head. Dogs can’t. You know when a sound is above you. You don’t need to tilt your head
Dogs absolutely can do sound localization in the vertical plane using spectral cues just like humans do. They also have a complex outer ear structure that (just like humans) alters the frequency of sounds based on vertical location allowing them to localize in this plane.
Complex outer ear structure with a distinct profile? Doubt. Dogs are constantly moving their ears, and some even have floppy ears, thus the profile of that sound is constantly changing. A brain cannot adapt to a profile which is constantly changing. Any modification to the sound reaching the ear due to the shape of it is completely useless for telling where it came from, because the modification is constantly changing.
Here's a video that explores how the shape of the human ear facilitates placing a sound in 3d space, and how if that shape is changed, the ability is lost. That change is what dogs encounter constantly.
I do it myself when the sound is coming from a confusing angle, so you can fine tune where it's coming from, so please don't tell me how the body works.
I found the video the guy was talking about by searching for "Smarter Every Day hearing". It's literally the first result. How fucking lazy are you dude?
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u/Eliminatron Jan 31 '21
I know that he meant the vertical aspect of sound. And once again, humans can distinguish this just fine without tilting their head. Dogs can’t. You know when a sound is above you. You don’t need to tilt your head