perfect pitch in animals

[Tom Cole]

Tom,

Since dogs have a better developed sense of hearing than humans, it
wouldn't surprise me if they had perfect pitch. I have a cartoon posted
in my office: a picture of a man pitching an empty can into the trash.
He hits the rim of the trash can but misses, and a dog in the foreground
is thinking, "E-flat".

Tom Cole

Tvak@AOL.COM wrote:
> 
> Today something interesting happened at my first tuning of the day...
> 
> I was in the process of doing a pitch raise on a spinet.  When I got to D#6
> the client's dog started barking wildly.  Non-stop BARKBARKBARKBARKBARKBARK.
> This continued while I raised the pitch on E6 and then stopped abruptly when
> I got to F6.  I didn't really think anything of it, till I went back for the
> second pass.  Sure enough, the first strike of D#6 and the dog goes wild.  So
> I asked the client if she had a doorbell, which she did.  I asked her if I
> could hear it, and she told me she'd be happy to , but it would make the dog
> bark.  Incredibly, the doorbell was a harmonic major 6th, Eb (or D#) and G
> below.
> 
> Anyone ever run across this phenomenon of an animal seemingly having the
> ability to recognize pitch?  (Or do you think this was this just a
> coincidence?)
> 
> Tom S.
> Chicago PTG Associate
> 
> P.S.
> I wish there was a convenient abbreviation for "Associate", you know, like
> there is for the other guild category, RPT?  The only abbreviation that comes
> to mind is...well, one that I wouldn't care to use after my name.  (Opening
> the door...) Any suggestions?