Why don’t dogs look up when a low-flying plane passes overhead? part 5

Wayne Lewis Lubbock, Texas, US While this is unusual, there are some dogs that will look at moving objects in the sky. Advertisement We had a male collie that regularly did this. People would comment about it, since it is rare for dogs. Helicopters are usually clearly heard first and then located, at least by humans. My collie would sometimes detect them before I did. He would raise his head and follow with his eyes. I don’t clearly remember any motion of his ears. This was before the local air force base was closed. Planes included military jets, passenger jets and private planes. My collie would recognise and follow each type. He would do this more frequently if they were close enough to have a significant profile or be clearly audible, but would sometimes follow them when neither condition was met. On rare occasions, there would be hot air balloons, clearly visible but silent. The collie seemed to watch them more closely and act puzzled. Living in a wintering area for Canadian geese, all of my collies would watch them and want to chase them when flocks were taking off. The geese would frequently be honking a lot. Only one of my collies would pay any attention to them when a flock was passing overhead or coming in to land. My collie didn’t make any sounds when observing such, except for especially low hot air balloons. But he was definitely following them with his raised head and eyes. Keith Wright Manchester, UK Further to Ian Tindall’s answer (12 September), I agree that dogs do look up within buildings, even if they don’t at planes outside. On a hot day, I drove around 290 kilometres with my dog in the back of my hatchback car. On arrival at my brother’s flat, which she had never visited before, she went straight to the kitchen (presumably by smell) and did the classic begging pose next to the sink. She clearly knew exactly which part of the worktops would deliver water, despite being too small to see the taps from the ground. Yes, this was by smell, but I think it was also by the appearance of the sink edge, and her familiarity with ours at home. Perhaps many dogs don’t look at aeroplanes because we don’t, and that if we do, it results in nothing they want As I walked towards the sink with her water bowl in hand, she was very definitely looking at me and the edge of the sink alternately, as well as enthusiastically wagging her tail. She not only knew where the water was in a strange flat, but knew I would understand her directional looks. Perhaps many dogs (including that one) don’t look at aeroplanes because we don’t, and that if we do, it results in nothing that meets their needs. Alan Harding London, UK Further to the answers already published, I wonder if there is another explanation. Dogs have a very strong sense of smell, and many breeds don’t have particularly good eyesight, so live in an olfactory world rather than a visual one. Passing planes and helicopters wouldn’t register with dogs living in a world of smells. This might also explain Dyane Silvester’s Alsatian’s ability to locate her in an upstairs room (8 August) – no visual or geometrical ability was required, just following a scent trail. As a child, my sister and I used to play hide and seek in the local woods with our pet corgi. She never had the slightest difficulty finding our hiding places, and clearly regarded the entire game as rather silly. To answer this question – or ask a new one – email [email protected]. Questions should be scientific enquiries about everyday phenomena, and both questions and answers should be concise. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style. Please include a postal address, daytime telephone number and email address. The use of AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude) to write either questions or answers is forbidden, and any submissions found to have been written using AI tools will be withdrawn.