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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Your dog can almost see behind him
Q: Can a dog see behind him? Our collie seems to almost have eyes in the back of his head. If he is looking at my wife in the kitchen and I start to reach for the doorknob behind him, he right away turns around and expects me to let him out.
A: Dogs that have a long nose -- like your collie -- are called dolichocephalic, and they have a field of vision of about 270 degrees. Dogs with a flat face like a Boston terrier or a pug are called brachycephalic, and they have a field of vision of about 200 degrees. So even though your collie cannot see directly behind him, he does have an extremely wide field of vision. However, there is more to a dog's world than vision. Its other senses are so acute that humans would have no idea of how to relate to them -- sort of like trying to describe the color red to a visually challenged person. The dog may hear your clothing rustle as you reach for the door or even just know how different your footsteps sound when you are on the floor near the door. Plus, collies are a working breed that were selectively bred for generations to be aware of everything that is going on, so the dog is most likely using all his senses.
-- Newsday
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 18, 2012 D5
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