Why do dogs stick their heads out the window?

Have you ever wondered why dogs love poking their heads out of car windows? The answer, according to Adelaide zoologist Chris Daniels, is much more interesting than “because they can”.

“We need to remember that a dog’s head is this incredible sensory apparatus,” said Professor Daniels, from the University of South Australia.

“They smell so much better than we do, in that their sense of smell is much greater than we have, and they have good vision.

“Their head is jam-packed full of sensors, so when they stick their head out the window, they’ve got this great pressure of air moving at great speed over them, and it’s a sensory overload.”

Professor Daniels said every time a dog stuck its head out of a moving car window, it was evidence of its adventurous and opportunistic nature.

“There’s one thing that’s really become apparent over the last 20 years about a great many species, and not just mammals, and that is they like to have fun,” he said.