Why do some dogs have a small “pocket” in their ear?

The sight and touch of soft, silky dog ears are soothing to the soul. You've probably noticed when you're deep into petting this cute body part, that some dogs have a little pocket on their ear at the base.

This little pocket on the dog’s ear is not just a feature of felines, some dogs have it too. To find out more about these ear pockets, what it is, what it does, and which breeds have it, read on.

Here is what the little pocket on the dog’s ear is for

Dogs have 18 muscles in each ear. (Just for interest, cats have 32 per ear.) This allows them to move this body part independently of each other which is very useful for their lifestyle. While people hear sounds between 20 Hz and 20 000 Hz, our four-legged friends hear sounds between 40 Hz and 60 000 Hz. So this means that they can hear sounds in the lower and higher ranges compared to us. Which they need very much to detect both danger and prey.

The sharper hearing is also due to the shape of their ears. The funnel-shaped outer ear helps to collect and direct sound waves directly to the eardrum. This means dogs can detect sounds from further away. And if that wasn’t enough, the ear concha in the inner ear of dogs contains more sensory cells than ours. This is why they can detect and distinguish even softer sounds.

When all this information is applied onto the small pocket, known scientifically as the cutaneous marginal pouch, or Henry’s pocket, it is usually assumed to be used to amplify high-pitched sounds. Precisely by attenuating the lower frequencies. It’s a bit like the pocket is separating the two by delaying the lower notes by trapping them in the pocket. Another theory is that this small pocket also helps to bend and move the ear. but these ideas are only speculations at the moment, experts are not sure.

But who is Henry?

Well, the thing is, nobody knows exactly. Of course, there are a few theories to answer this question. We’ll share one of them so we won’t leave you too curious.

Joseph Henry (1797-1878) was a highly respected American scientist in his day, serving as the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. According to britannica.com his experiments with electricity, magnetism and sound waves have led to many breakthroughs. He measured the propagation of sound, the strength of wind gusts, and the heat of sunspots, and even helped Samuel Morse develop the telegraph. It is perhaps not too surprising, therefore, that “Henry”, this elegant first and last name, eventually became the unit of inductance after Joseph Henry. Since sound travels in waves, and dog ears and their associated small pockets help amplify sound waves, many have speculated that it was named after Joseph Henry.

In which breeds can Henry’s pocket be observed?

In addition to domestic cats and felines, there are also pouches in bats as well as weasels. We can assume that they have this attribute for the same reason, but this is not yet confirmed.

Although not particularly common in dogs, there are some types and breeds in which it occurs. Usually, our upright-eared and/or short-haired friends have their own Henry’s pocket. And breeds like the Chihuahua, the Boston terrier, the corgi, and the pug are the ones we would highlight, but it is not always present.