Dog hates un-amplified bass sound

[Dharma_bass]

If I'm plugged in and playing, my dog (a 10-year old male Rat Terrier) will just curl up on a nearby cushion and either nap or half-interestedly watch.

But, if I plink around on the strings without amplification, he will start acting nervous - shaking like a leaf, whining, etc.

Has anyone else had this experience with a canine buddy? And what exactly is going on here?

[morf]

lol, that sounds awfully weird, but funny at the same time

[rjny36]

He's probably just confused, and questioning himself. He's thinking, "Hey, I can see Dharma_bass is playing, but I can't hear it... I must have gone deaf!! Oh holy crap! I'm a deaf dog! My doggie HMO won't cover this, and I can't afford hearing aids!"

[Jim Carr]

Dogs have terrific high frequency hearing. When you use the amp, he can no longer hear the high frequencies bouncing off the frets and strings. It's called masking, and it and affects us, too. Can YOU still hear the clackity clack when the amp is on?

PS. My cats love bass, even unplugged....

[BenderR]

My cat likes the bass much more than the guitar. If I play the bass plugged in he sticks around but if I play a guitar through an amp he is outta there.