Dog whistle

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For the use of political code words, see Dog-whistle politics.


The range of human hearing is typically considered to be between 20 Hz and 20 kHz.[2] The top end of a dog's hearing range is about 45 kHz, while a cat's is 64 kHz.[3][4] It is thought that the wild ancestors of cats and dogs evolved this higher hearing range in order to hear high frequency sounds made by their preferred prey, small rodents.[3] The frequency of most dog whistles is within the range of 23 to 54 kHz,[5] so they are above the range of human hearing, although some are adjustable down into the audible range.


In addition to lung-powered whistles, the term dog whistle is also used for electronic dog training devices that emit ultrasonic sound via piezoelectric emitters.[3] The electronic variety are sometimes coupled with bark detection circuits in an effort to curb barking behaviour.



  1. ^ Galton, Francis (1883). Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development, p. 26-27
  2. ^ "Frequency Range of Human Hearing". The Physics Factbook. 