Do your dogs howl? Lately, Magical-Dawg has begun howling more often. For northern breeds, dog howling comes very naturally, but for my aging German Shepherd, his howls are more unusual. Oh, he’s always howled when I sing certain notes (everyone’s a critic!), and the coyotes sing a chorus when the tornado sirens sound. This was different.
WHY DOGS HOWL
WHY DOGS HOWLMagic began a low “ar-ooooo-woo-woo” and slowly cranked it up. This happened early in the morning, before we’d got up. My husband and I figured he needed out–he did–and didn’t pay that much attention to it. But then Magic also howled outside the bathroom door when my husband showered. He came into the room and howled during my shower, too.
This went on for three or four days, just prior to his yearly veterinary exam. We’d been a bit worried about some of Magic’s aging issues anyway (read about his check up in this post). And I now realize I never mentioned the howling to the vet.
But…once Magic was given medication for his achy 10-year-old arthritic issues, the howling stopped. Lesson learned–howling may be MORE than the “usual suspects,” which I cover in the short Ask Amy video, below. Enjoy!
Dogs bark and howl to communicate–so what’s he saying?
Do You Speak Dog?
Dogs know how to communicate. You gotta go “low tech” to really connect with doggy wags, growls, whines and more. Do your dogs howl? When do they howl–and why? Have you howled today? Try it–for a terrific stress relief (and you might get your canine’s singing along). Lately the tornado sirens have stirred up the canine chorus at my house.
Learn about barking communication here, and what tail wags mean in this post.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE!
Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!
Great video! Love your vest! We live in Kansas in the country and get tons of wildlife around here. We had a cougar (mountain lion) last night making strange sounds. Fox often create ghostly screams. I go outside with our Lyla to make sure she is safe. Lyla barks her head off but does not howl.
I’ve heard cougars scream (like a woman in distress, spooky!). I didn’t know fox did that. Thanks for the kudos, I need to start doing more video again. Fun stuff!
This was super interesting because Dakota does howl occasionally (very, very rarely), usually when he hears a siren as you had already mentioned. I always love your videos!
Awww thank you! I need to dust them off and repost them again, have been kind of busy with stuff lately.
Your howling post made me long for the pre-allergy days when I could have a dog or cat. Now that’s something to howl sadly about 🙁
At least the neighbors are happy to share their pets with my kids and I – every pet and owner in the neighborhood knows our yard is a pet-friendly zone.
Great blog!
Thanks Danielle–it is sad to have allergies to something you love. There are some ways around allergies, though. Hmnnn, topic for another post. *s* BTW, love your “barefoot” blog, too! Gorgeous pix.
Weird, for some reason the “comments” got shut off. Set the @#$%^&! thing back “on” so hope y’all will fire away!