The role of dog’s pointed ears and big ears

Large pointed ears, ears that evolved specifically for living in hot and arid climates. The ear's extremely large surface area means that all of the many tiny capillaries and blood vessels in the ear are close to the surface of the skin, providing an efficient heat exchange surface to help keep your dog cool! The hair on the ears is also very fine and short, even compared to the short, thin fur these breeds have on the rest of the body! Ultimately, this provides sun protection without making the dog warm! Additionally, the shape and structure of the ears form a kind of amplified speaker for the ear canal, giving this breed a very fine sense of hearing.

The role of hairy and large floppy ears in dogs

Fluffy and hairy ears. Most spaniel breeds have large, floppy ears. Cocker Spaniels have long, fluffy ears. Like tangled curls. This type of ear structure reflects a lot about the Cocker Spaniel's history as a working dog breed in the UK, including climate, geography and the type of activity the breed was involved in! Historically working Cocker Spaniels were used for hunting and retrieving in the British countryside, often traveling through thick bush and rough terrain while hunting! The fact that the ears droop rather than stand up helps protect the ear canal from debris such as seeds and burrs that might otherwise get lodged inside the ear, while the thick, long hair on the outside of the ear helps protect Ear canal! Injuries due to scratches, and rain in the passage! Additionally when dogs run, the ears flip behind them, providing a cooling effect to the wide surface area of ​​the outer ear.

Dog ears are the only organ that receives sound

Dog ears are divided into outer ear, middle ear and inner ear. The external ear consists of the auricle, external auditory canal and tympanic membrane. The shape of a dog's auricle can vary depending on the breed, type and individual dog. Generally, the auricles can be divided into upright ears, button ears, semi-upright ears, lop ears, rose ears and bat ears according to the size, shape and erect state of the pinna (Figure 2-3). This is an important basis for identifying different breeds of dogs. The middle ear includes the tympanum, ossicles, and Eustachian tube; the inner ear can be divided into two parts: the bony labyrinth and the membranous labyrinth. The outer ear and middle ear are the parts that collect and conduct sound waves; the inner ear is the part that hears and senses position.
The transmission path of canine hearing is that sound waves are collected by the auricle, vibrate the tympanic membrane, pass through the ossicles to the vestibular window, then vibrate the perilymph and endolymph, stimulate the receptors, and finally transmit the impulse to the brain through the nerves to produce hearing. Dogs' ears are easy to collect sounds, have good hearing, and their ears can move in the direction of the sound source. Its hearing is 300 to 500 times that of a human, and its vocal activity range is also very wide. It can hear tiny sounds up to 1,000 meters away, especially high-wavelength sounds that humans cannot hear. Therefore, dogs can use this ability to show the location of sound sources to people with poor hearing, and can be used as hearing guide dogs.