HYPER-SENSITIVE DOGS

 

Just like humans, dogs learn through smell, taste, touch, sight and hearing, but a dog’s senses are far more acute than our own and selective breeding has heightened particular sensitivities of some breeds even further.

Sight Sensitive Dogs:
Collies, German Shepherds, Salukis and Greyhounds are all good examples of sight sensitive dogs. Bred specifically to watch over and protect livestock, or to chase down small prey, these dogs have exceptional eyesight and notice the smallest movement, even some distance away.
Sight sensitive dogs need to have the groundwork of their training carried out as far as possible in a quiet and sheltered environment – an enclosed yard or garden is ideal – as they will be unable to give you their full attention if surrounded by lots of movement.

Sound sensitive dogs:

Dogs can hear up to 45,000 hertz, while humans can only hear up to 20,000 Hertz. Dogs have 18 or more additional muscles in their ears to control what is known as the pinna (or ear flap). These muscles assist dogs in fine-tuning their ears’ position to localize sounds and hear more clearly, even from a great distance.
Some dogs have better hearing than others - poodles, collies, Labradors, golden retrievers and German Shepherds often have exceptional hearing. Although terriers can often be accused of selective hearing it is true that they can also be very sensitive to sounds.
All dogs can become anxious about sound and this can stem from when the dog is only a few weeks old. At only a few weeks old a puppy's senses are alerting him to his surroundings for the first time and this is where sudden noises can do a lot of harm.

Mentally/Emotionally Sensitive Dogs:
Mental sensitivity often has more to do with training and a dog's management than breed. Most dogs are somewhat influenced by the body language, behaviour and mood of the people around them.
I think that dogs do read human body language very well and the old saying that dogs can smell stress and fear seems to be correct. With about 220 million scent receptors compared to our 5 million, it is no surprise that dogs can detect the chemical changes in a person that occur with stress.
As a dog trainer, I have always noticed that a handler's mood have an immediate effect on a dog's behaviour. This is true of all dogs, however, some dogs are extra sensitive to mood. Emotionally sensitive dogs include collies, poodles, American Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Whippets, chihuahuas, German Shepherds and spaniels to name a few.

How to Help A Super Sensitive Dog

Very often dogs with heightened sensitivity can be seen as difficult dogs and it is often these types who are somewhat over-reactive to various stimuli. This can result in high levels of stress, anxiety and make a dog more likely to develop behavioural problems. Training a sensitive dog has its challenges and a fairly individual approach will be needed to ensure such a dog is confident and at ease in a variety of situations.
These types of dogs will learn better in low-distraction environments and owners might need to take a steady approach to getting such dogs used to noisy or busy places.

Sensitive dogs do need calm owners - they will mirror your behaviour and feelings. Quiet voices, steady movements and consistency in communication are really important when working with these dogs. Dogs notice your movements and sensitive dogs can easily respond to all of the signals that you did not mean to give.

Super sensitive dogs are in most cases working type dogs and for this reason, need lots to do in terms of physical and mental exercise.
It is equally important to make sure that dogs who are so easily stimulated by their surroundings do get time and opportunity to truly relax.
Take the example of a border collie. A collie has been selectively bred to have very acute hearing and extremely good eyesight. Traditionally most collies would have lived in remote areas so their senses would be engaged through their herding work. After work they would relax and rest - I know that shepherds tend to make sure they do.
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If instead, a collie lives in a more urban area it is easy to understand that they are receiving constant stimulus in terms of a multitude of sounds and the sight of all kinds of things moving - all things that as humans we don't really notice.
Although sensory and mental stimulation is good for dogs a constant overload is not good and for some dogs, it can result in a lot of constant stress. Ensuring that a dog has plenty of opportunities to truly relax and spend time in a quiet and calm environment is crucial to their well-being.