I'm not sure where sight ranks. I read somewhere (and don't quote me on this) that *in general* a dog's vision is something like 20/75 but they have good motion vision.The stronger the smell, the greater distance it will carry. That, along with the ability to discriminate and remember smells might equate to being able to sense things no matter how transient. I live in a semi-rural area and have noticed Kodiak picks up cues from other animals if he does not detect something on his own. However as others have mentioned with their dogs, Kodiak is usually the first dog to ever pick up on anything.
As far as friendly critters I have never been closer to a deer until I started hiking with Kodiak. It intrigues me how deer do not detect a threat and immediately scatter. If, Heaven forbid, Kodiak ever gets out of the gate my husband and I are certain we might be able to track him if we can determine the freshest deer trail.
I think our Newf developed the ability to detect almost as well as one of our Pyrs. The difference is that he did have a prey drive and occasionally would kill an armadillo or raccoon.
Christine/Kodiak
Hello,
I would like some feedback from those of you with working LGD's... specifically, do you think your dog's know a predator (coyotes and wolves) is in the vicinity before it is seen? If so, how are they alerting to this? Do you think it is scent? Or are they alerting to howls and vocalizations?
Keith and Soo Weber
http://www.sdk-weber.com