Pet Tips
Tip – 36 – Howling dogs – why dogs howl
Howling is a form of communication in dogs. It is a way for dogs to signal their presence to other dogs that are often located far away. It is common in wolves and coyotes, both relatives of today’s domestic dog.
Domestic dogs that howl, especially those that howl excessively are usually doing this because they are bored and lonely. Getting extra toys, and giving your dog more attention and exercise will help to stimulate your dog and reduce excessive howling. If you make your dog sleep outside all night, it’s no wonder the dog howls a lot. Bring the dog inside!
Sometimes dogs will howl when they hear sirens or other loud higher pitched sounds like clarinets and flutes. These sounds may even come from a television set. Dogs do this as an instinctive response to hearing what they interpret to be another howl (dog in the distance). They are not doing this because it hurts their ears.
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So my dog has been howeling for the passd three days I’m thinking maybe somethings hurting him,but when I go n check him out he seems happy like nothings bothering him but whn I go bak into the house he continues to howel. Why Do u think that is I’m so confused
Dogs often howl when they are bored, so there’s a good chance that’s exactly what your dog is telling you. Next time you go to check on your howling dog, maybe try playing with him for 10 minutes and see if that helps. Just a thought. good luck! Marko
My Dachsund, age 9, has started howling at night. ALL NIGHT LONG. It is maddening! We can’t bring him inside because since his back surgery 5 years ago, he is incontinent. Has no feeling whatsoever about when he is urinating or defecating. But he’s been sleeping outside (technically, in our sunroom with the door open to outside).
Is it loneliness and old age with his condition? His body gets pretty twisted up but his tail wags happily. Is there a med that vets can prescribe to help him if it is night pain causing howling?
In my experience, domestic dogs usually howl continually at night because they are bored. Dogs are social creatures (pack animals) and it considers your family its pack. It wants to sleep with its family as it is hardwired to do, not alone all night, every night in your backyard.
There are doggie diapers available for these incontinence conditions and i would discuss this with my vet.
Good luck – Marko
I will look into the diapers. He’s been alone only the past few months since our other dog died. We are contemplating getting a young dog so maybe that will help.
Thanks for your input.
No problem on the input. Now that you say you had a dog that passed, it makes even more sense that your dog is bored and lonely, thus the howling. Still, I’d suggest that solving the incontinence issue through diapers and letting your dog sleep inside might well solve this problem quickly. Good luck again. Marko
Our new cocker spaniel who is 2 years old and a rescue will start to howl in the middle of the night so far 3 times in the last month. He has been with us only a month and has adapted really well and bonded to our family without any adjustment whatsoever. He has been with us a month now and was wondering why he is doing this. He does sleep in our bed and is usually cuddled up with us. To me he almost seems like he is having night terrors like children sometimes go through. It takes me holding him and calling out his name over and over for him to snap out of it and then he goes back to bed. Not sure if this is as a result of any abuse he may have encountered before he was rescued. He gets lots of exercise and love in our family. Any ideas why this happening and how to help him?
If it’s not boredom, and it’s not an instinctual response from a noise heard outside (like another dog howling or an ambulance siren that can sound like howling to a dog) then I’d call my vet. Good luck.
We have a 1 year old Brittney and every morning when my alarm ringtone goes off he starts to (sing ) or howl to the ringtone. It seems like he is trying to sing the song, but then he goes into a howl. He jumps on our laps and licks our faces. He also gets very cuddly and lays close to us once the song is over. Is this because he knows we are getting up and leaving for work or does he like the song? We sometimes play it durning the day and he gets very playful. He seems to like it, but I will change the ringtone if it makes him sad.
In this regard the howling (and this is just an opinion) seems seems rather automatic like the automatic howling response some dogs have when hearing an ambulance. Given that he gets all cuddly afterward, it seems positive to me. IMO, he likely likes the regular interaction the song provides.
Hi Marko, I have to agree with you completely that in average cases, the howling is just out of boredom, rather than pain or being irritated.
I wanted to share though, how my dogs use howling and maybe get some of your input. I have 3 small/medium sized dogs, all mixes, two girls, one boy (the puppy); and they are all inside dogs. Our two girls did not howl before he came into the picture. He seems to have happily introduced them to it. About once a day, usually at a time when it’s quiet in the house, they literally form a circle or a line, and howl, like real wolves. The male puppy has a really low tone to his howl and the girls are high pitched. They are wagging their tails while they do this and seem to really enjoy it. I let them do it as much and as long as they want since they apparently feel it is an important activity! Not to mention, it’s pretty funny, and cute.
My dog, an Akita, only howls when I sing her name in a particular pitch. She comes up to me, her face near mine, wagging her tail. She seems to enjoy doing it and is very loving afterward. Can you tell me if this is instinctive pack behavior or just an oddity of my gorgeous dog.
Hi, my dog who is three years old has been howling for the passed three days. However he has been active all day we walk him for 20 min and play with him but still he howls at night around 2- 4 am. Why is this?
Hello, My dog is a 6 yr old chocolate lab. Our dog howls whenever our son cries. Our son is now 10 months old and has started to do “baby talk” and shout “ah-ah” a lot. Our dog now howls when our son does this too. It is making everyone in the house crazy. As well, we live in a semi-detached home and I know that the elderly lady who lives next door is home all day listening to the dog howling, the baby crying and me yelling at the dog to stop it. Please help! The only advice I have been given is to buy a shock collar, which I am not sure I have the heart to do.
I have a 13 year old dog who is very active acts like a puppy into everything toys, running off with our socks, we had to have our 16 year old dog put down two weeks ago. Since then we have been taking our dog out twice a day morning and evening, he is never on his own longer then seven hours and that only for a few days over a month. We take him to places that accept dogs like to family and friends. I feel my dog is grieving so have been given him extra attention, thats the advice offered by the vets. But when am in the house trying to do chores, just living life, my dog will sit and howl and cry. I have tried to be firm with him as he cant have attention all the time.Am just not sure what to do next, am hoping in time he will not be grieving as much and stop the noise.
The howling may be to try to find where the other dog is. It’s very sad but it should stop on its own. If not I’d call my vet. Good luck!
Hi, I have a 5 year old Miniature Doberman and tonight for the first time he started howling while completely asleep, I move close to him and accidentally hit the bed, he woke up looked at me and continue sleeping .. I had goose bumps because he never howl before, not even when awake! Is there any explanation for this? It got me by surprised, he scared me! LOL
Dogs have the ability to dream, so if I had to guess I’d guess that the dog was dreaming and howling at something in the dream. Just a guess though, feel free to post this on the forum to see what others may think of this.
Hello,
My dog is an outside dog
My dog barks all night long, but its crazy that she starts barking at a certain time of night which is around 11p.m. I wish I could bring her inside but I can’t ( Dad’s rules not mine) I go to work and school during the the week from 6a.m. to 6p.m so by the time I come home I am dog tired.(no pun intended) lol, so all I do is feed her play with her for about 10 minutes, then go back into the house. I have been told by some neighbors that when she starts barking their dogs start barking. I love my dog very much and my dad wants to get rid of her. I don’t want to get rid of her she is my baby. I rescued her so there is no way I could give her away. I spend time with her on the weekends. Its just during the weeknights that she’s goes stark raving mad. Before finding her a new home is there anything that I could do. She is 1 yr. old German Shepard/Chow mix. Princess is her name.
Sidenote: Is there a way I could get her to stop tearing up everything in the backyard and digging deep holes. Everyone tells me that she is just in the puppy stages.
This is a problem.
Dogs are social animals. They are pack animals. They crave interaction. especially from the ones that adopted them. They view you guys as the leader….but the dog spends its life outdoors, alone.
They should NOT be left in the backyard alone and when they are, they try to amuse themselves by doing anything…like barking and digging. Your dog is neglected/lonely, period. You would be lonely too if you had 10 minutes of interaction a day.
This dog simply needs more interaction from its human family and it needs to sleep indoors.
Given your dad’s rules, your house, imo, is no place for a dog and your family should not have allowed you to adopt it.
This 1 year old breed is also VERY active and needs hours of exercise a day. Just because it is alone outside all day…doesn’t mean it’s getting the exercise it deserves/needs.
Here’s a tip on how to get some dogs to stop digging….http://www.pets.ca/dogs/tips/terriers-and-digging-pet-tip-214/
Good luck.
So my dog Coke is 15, she’s starting to go blind and her hearing is very limited. Her sister passed away in July and we recently got another dog to keep her company during the day when we’re not home. Recently however, Coke will sit up out of no where and just start howling. She can be sitting right next to me and still just howls and howls. She used to howl at the door when we were outside and she knew we were there, but she’s never done it being with us. It’s worrying me some. I’m attributing it mostly to decrease in her senses but is there anything else it could possibly be?
It could be the onset of dementia..but old bodies, either human or canine, tend to suffer from multiple problems as they get really old.
This is pure speculation on my part though and your dog should see a vet to be sure what’s going on.
Good luck!
Had my 15 year old dog put sleep a couple of months ago. My other dog that is 10 years old has been missing his best friend so much so he started howling when left in the house. We need to get him a friend. We got a puppy.We thought i was a good idea, but now both of them howl when i go out. What was i thinking. We have just made things even worse…….I love my dogs so much and would never consider getting rid off them. Any ideas what to do? .Maybe i need to see a trainer to help me.
A trainer is an awesome idea – get one REFERRED by someone you trust. If you have a video camera that can be set up to record when u are not home…that would help the trainer. Good luck!
Ok, so i’ve got a 4 year old husky/shepard. i adopted her from an abusive home and about 2 weeks ago she was attacked by a pitbull. shes around me ALL day and is completely lavished with attention. we have her sleep outside at night so we dont have to worry about things being chewed and/or one of the other animals missing (cats) and lately shes been whining and howling and insists on being inside, which i am more than fine with but it becomes quite a hassle as of late. is it possible to make this dog self sufficient? i understand the whole pack and they see us our the leader…but i cant take her with me everywhere i go and watch over her all the time. I NEED SLEEP TOO
Not sure what to suggest, you are trying to get a dog to act against its nature, it rarely works well.
If this were my dog, I’d let her sleep inside.
Our outside male american bull dog gets played with daily and is walked/runned daily as well. As soon as we come back from the activities and we go back inside, he starts howling. He has been trying his best to escape and has become difficult to contain him, he chews on things, and is starting to dig; he has plenty of toys and is giving treats while we try to teach him how to behave. We are thinking that our neighbors female dogs are in heat because he has never done that before, we were advised to neuter him but will that help? Everyone is also saying that he is just in his horrible 2′s, we have tried keeping him in our inclosed deck but he has chewed up one of our sofas we had there for company. Any suggestions?
Neutering might well help. Good luck!
My dog howls at my flute playing. I thought it was too high for him. But now I know that he’s just responding to another howl. Thanks.
Hi my Dog Hutch never used to howl before but we recently moved to another house and ever since he howls a lot and a lot and he seems to be bored but i take him for a walk like an hour but that doesnt help at all what do you thing he is doing this??
This is a better post for the forum. You left out critical info
– how old is dog
– when does the dog get this 1 hour walk
– breed of dog etc.
when does the dog howl? please post this in the forum.
thx – marko
To marko…My poodle is 11 years old which howls when go out. I also have a 14 week old puppy. We brought the puppy as a few months ago i had my 15 year old dog put to sleep. I take the dogs for walks in the morning and afternoon. If iam going out. I always take them out before i go out somewhere. Still not working……neighbours said still howling and ive heard them as i walk up to my front door. tryed every trick in the book and still does not work….
My dog is about 6 years old in human years, and it just recently started howling I know she may be bored and everything but, she is really old so im wondering if its a badthing or not?
As far as i know – not a bad thing and doesn’t indicate illness…just boredom.
Good luck!
a couple of weeks ago, i inherited a dog whose owner passed away two months ago. she is a 5 or 6 year old standard poodle. her owner was very elderly/had dementia and the dog basically slept with her on her bed at night and got a few absent-minded pets during the day from her (the owner). the elderly woman’s caretakers often just ignored the poodle, except to feed her. no one could train this dog to sit (she was from a kennel when she was 2 or 3). eventually, i trained her to do that and then she learned to lay down, too. she is very obedient, wants to please, and is very affectionate. the live-in caretaker of the former owner had a collection of small dogs, mainly chihuahuas, that the poodle spent most of her time with, outdoors. the poodle used to howl just on occasion if shut into a room by herself, at her previous home, but didn’t howl if left in the back yard without any humans (but, she was kept company by a gaggle of chihuahuas). since she moved in with me, she has gotten a heap of attention. we sleep in the same room and she sleeps on my bed when she feels like it, i take her outside at least three times a day, play with her all the time, cuddle with her, pet her when she wants me to, and give her chew toys. she also gets to go out sometimes to a dog park and sometimes to my friend’s house where there’s a huge back yard and two big dogs to play with. the problem is that more than half the time, if i just walk outside and leave her in my place, she will start to howl just after a couple of minutes. my neighbors tell me that she howls for prolonged periods if i leave her @ home alone for a few hours. if i can’t find someone to watch her (keep her company) in the day, she spends up to 4 or 5 hours alone, but i try to avoid that as much as possible. if i am outside and she howls, i do not immediately rush in and shower her w/ affection, because i don’t want to reward the behavior, and i could never go outside to do anything if i came back in every time she howls. when i do come back inside, i ignore her for about 10 seconds and then pet her. when i leave (either for a few minutes or for part of the day), i do not make big fanfare. i simply leave and don’t want to make it seem like a big deal. i am thinking of getting a small dog to keep her company, but now i read in some of these posts that the new dog will simply learn to howl too (if the poodle keeps it up even if she has a little dog friend). what am i doing wrong? why does she do this even if i’m just ten steps away from my door?
This sounds like separation anxiety to me. I’d recommend getting a reference for a a trainer or a dog behaviourist to come to your home to tailor make a program for you and your dog.
Good luck.
Hi there, I have a similar situation to one of the above posts. I have an 11 month old son and my 5yo mastiff/st Bernard howls/whines every time my son “talks”. It is almost deafening and goes on multiple times daily. My dog actually moves towards my son when this goes on. I’ve tried things to stop this (giving treats, bones, exercise, attention, toys etc) and nothing helps, he will even howl when he’s eating if the baby starts. Any suggestions will be helpful and may keep me out if therapy
thanks.
Forgot to mention that I have posted this on YouTube. If you’re interested, search username MissMaddyJ in YouTube and you’ll find the videos. . I am considering contacting a boarded behaviourist about this. It was amusing for the first couple minutes but it really has become intolerable. Thanks again.
My 7 year old Randy for the past three days goes to the backyard in the afternoon and howls a little while and yesterday night it was howling for some time. What is the reason?
My dog howls everytime I play opera music, and only opera music, what do you think that means?
I think the dog is responding to certain tones in the opera the same way some dogs respond to an ambulance siren.
use citronella oil to calm dog.
The city I live in has an epidemic of people who own dogs as accessories. People are all obsessed with dogs and owning them, but no one takes care of them. They are all neglected, left outside all day and night, never taken for walks or given any interaction of any kind. So naturally they all just bark and howl all day and into the night. The local dog authorities wont do anything about it either. Those dog owners that do take their dogs on walks dont pick up after them, and some dog owners feel so self entitled that they actually bring the dogs into shops and stores, grocery stores, and even restaurants. It is out of hand, but the city is so big and full of these people, I wonder if it will ever be taken care of, or if it will just continue to get worse. Now, those like myself who do not wish to own dogs, and have allergies, are looked upon as “bad people” because we dont want to interact with everyones dog, and we want them to quiet down, and not be at the restaurant we are trying to enjoy ourselves at. There must be some way of getting the city involved with pet owners to limit how many people can have them and under what conditions may they have them. I moved into my neighborhood specifically because it was quiet and dog free. Now all of my neighbors surrounding me and up and down the street have them, and I cant get a good night’s sleep to save my life.
I feel your pain jon – If I were you I might bring this up with my town counsellor or city official. This is not right and probably illegal.
Hello my dog, a 3 year old papillon mix, recently started howling but only when the phone rings and only of my wife is not home, or if i’m not home And my wife is home.
Why is she doing this?
Thanks
Hi Alex,
Sounds to me like the dog is responding in the same way that the dog in the article responds to an ambulance. Changing the ringtone of the phone (or the phone itself) may very well help in this case. Save the bill in case it does not.
Good luck!
My dog whines/screams like someone or something is hurting her, everytime my other dog starts barking or if I yell for my daughter when I’m downstairs and she’s upstairs. She even does it if someone whistles. Is something wrong with her ears?
She is 2 yrs old, spayed shih tzu
Yesterday I bought a 10month old St Bernard and when I brought her home to my three young children all under the age of six she was fine with them. But this morning when we all got up and she saw the children she would not stop barking at them her tail was wagging at the same time, what was wrong with her and should I be worried for my children. Thanks Michelle <3
Your children should NOT be left alone with a large powerful dog for at least a good few weeks and maybe months or more depending on their behaviour and the dog’s behaviour.
Make sure of this.
If fact until you are 100% sure of the dog’s disposition toward the kids, do not leave them alone. Most dogs become happy family dogs but it takes a little while.
Kids are loud and move in jagged ways and grab dogs by the head… – all of which can be threatening to some dogs and those dogs may react instinctively with a bite. Kids and dogs DO NOT speak the same language. kids OFTEN provoke dogs (cuz kids are kids) when their parents are not around….so make sure you are around.
Your dog is in a period of transition and will take at least a few days or more to adjust. Saint bernards are known to be good with kids….but you JUST got her. All dogs are animals and their potential force needs to be respected.
A loud “NO” when the dog barks at the kids is appropriate. And lavish praise when the dog is quiet is also appropriate.
The BEST thing you can do for your family and your dog is get some group obedience training – immediately.
Good luck
I have a 3 yr old border collie, he is really affectionate and always lookin for affection, my family has split up, we went from 3 dogs to me just taking him on his own. Everything has been great but recently he has started to whine and wolf howl when I go to work, can hear him out on street so go back up and he stops, iv left toys etc for when I’m out, he is v laid back and chilled out so strugglung as to why thus has just come on?
The dog has lost 2 buddies and the dog is lonely….inanimate toys (that require another participant to be really fun) cannot replace the bond of 2 members of the dog’s pack.
I’d post this on our forum to get a better back and forth from members that have dealt with issues involving separation anxiety.
Good luck!
My 13 year old female staffy howls when im out at work through the day, we have just moved house so i know it is probably this that has upset her, what can i do? I couldn’t get rid of her as ive had her since she was a puppy, i hate to see her so upset
Howling is usually associated with boredom.
Maybe try getting a neighbour to look in and play with the dog during the day.
Or Doggie daycare for a day or two a week if possible.
Perhaps get a referred trained to help you and your dog deal with the separation anxiety that is likely affecting her.
Good luck
Hello, I have 6 small breed dogs (some rescue, some from breeders, mix of male and female, all desexed). About once a day when it is quite in the house, they all get together on the lounge and howl for about 1 minute. It seems to start with the alpha then they all follow. The youngest will jump around and climb on the alpha and they all seem to have a good time doing it.
They will also do it immediately upon me leaving the house. I will wait out the front and if they don’t stop within 30 seconds I yell out to them and they stop completely and go about their usual business.
I can’t find much information on domestic pack howling. Do you have any ideas? They seem to be having a good time.
Hi, I’m a professional classical singer and voice teacher. I’ve had two maltese since they were pups and it’s been 9yrs. I’ve always practiced with them, and they have actually helped me to teach my students breathing. They’ve been in the room with all kinds of singing and even been to an orchestral rehearsal and church on sunday with loud organ music and nary a peep.
Last Nov a rescue contacted me about taking in a foster malt who had been abandoned in a box with her sister they assumed the pups were 2wks old.. the sister had to be put down because of a horrid case of Encephalitis. She just ran around chasing her tail and screaming i was told. The rescue, which specializes in special needs dogs told me my foster pup was half dead and they never thought they’d make it. After two weeks with them (they usually do big dogs and i was the only one they knew who knew anything about maltese) they sent her to me. My alpha taught her to bark and she even to clean the other dog’s ears. She was a good mommy dog. Unfortunately she died tragically about two wks in, also a rescue cat i had that she was attached to passed two wks ago, It’s been a rough couple of months.
For the first time ever I came home to the older dog howling. Maybe she was answering a new dog in the building, maybe she needed more food, i don’t know but she hadn’t done that since she was a pup. The problem is the foster pup (molly) is howling if i play music and especially if i sing. She is a special ed dog and doesn’t process things well. she doesn’t see very far i think (at first i thought she was blind) she freaks out if you try to touch her face and once you get the little kitty harness on her (she’s 3lbs at 8 or 9 mos small for a malt) she will only walk backwards. She is very loving and at this point basically a tribble. doesn’t like to play much just sniffs around. Both dogs and the remaining cat get a long fine (although the cat has assumed the role of alpha, which wasn’t possible when my dog alpha was living).
I give you this back ground be cause the new pup will howl when i play classical music and if i sing anything she will howl. she’s a soprano. I have a very resonant sound but have t practice it. I live in a small, make that very small 1br. What do i do? is she in pain? Is it possible she is just wired differently. She was obviously induced early and has barely no skull on the top of her head. I don’t have another practice space. What do you think? and FYI, it doesn’t matter if i’m singing well or very badly, very very softly or full out., she just howls. I think it’s the resonance. i haven’t practiced as much as i should lately because i feel so badly. ideas? or is this not a problem for her. The little thing wasn’t supposed to last the week when i got her and now it’s been about 8mos. I think she’s going to out live us all. (fyi, i arranged with the rescue to be her permanent foster, they are officially the owners but should a medical issue arrive, other than routine they will cover it because unlike popular notions, very few professional classical singers make the big bucks. It’s an acceptable arrangement for both of us. I take her with me wherever I go and she never makes a peep when when we are on the bus or whatever around a very loud city, only when classical music is on or i’m singing. LOL all any insight would be appreciated.
P.s. i thought of trying to find the her a puppy helmut to protect her head but was told anything strong enough would be too heavy, i’d doubt that but i’m certain whatever is out there that would be appropriate is mostly likely at nasa or something and too far out of my reach. a long as she’s happy, loved, healthy and pain free there’s not much more to ask. This little dog is so unique she isn’t even treat motivated… accept she occasionally likes dried cranberries. she doesn’t really like toys or stuffed animals either.
p.s. however she sure does hear when i get out the puppy food!!!!! it’s the only time she seems like a normal dog, treats no, me coming home, no even if there is already food in the bowls she just loves that sound… silliness.
He (spike) is an outside dog we aren’t allowed pets inside
it sucks because I live on a reservation he is a saint bernard mix. I tried asking my dad serval times if I could keep him and my other 1 year old dog leila inside but says no everytime… But I do take them both everyday for a run in the evening when I go for a run they usually aren’t on leashes because they are to much when I’m trying to run. I’m usually out for a run for an hour is that good enough exercise or should I let them run freely a bit longer? On weekends I take them for 3 walks and a run I have school during the week from 8:30 am – 4pm. Both of them have to be chained up or else dogs on the loose get shot because most of the reservation dogs chase the cows we have here :/ I wish the cows would go to a farm or something because I hate having my dogs chained so the cows could be free :/ they didn’t orginate from here haha is there anything I can do to make him stop or? I really would hate to give them away or something :/ my dad doesn’t mind that I have them he just doesn’t want them running loose because he doesn’t want them shot.. They did chase cows when they were loose when the cows hung around here, before we had to chain them up. By the way both of my dogs aren’t from the reservation I got spike from a friend who lives in town same with my dog leila she is a german shepard she just had puppy’s the reservation dogs probably mated with her while she was chained up at night 
while we were sleeping. Should I get her spayed? Or whatever the word is. If I can’t keep her inside. I hope I didn’t ask way to MANY questions sorry.
Hi marie,
Please post this in our forum where you will get better responses – I don’t see what this comment has to do howling.
YES, please spay your dog. She is not a breeding machine and will get pregnant over and over and over…her unwanted puppies won’t have a happy life.
good luck!
Hi Marko, any ideas about my little domestic pack’s howling?
We have a 6 month old mini Dachsund named Frodo. We go on an hour walk everynight around mid-night. He sleeps in every day until around 9. The last 2 nights he has barked and whined non stop. He gets up around 2:00 a.m. and doesn’t stop all night. I finally get up around 6:30. He goes over into the living room (different spots) and goes to sleep. What could be causing this all of a sudden? He has plenty of toys in his crate. On our walks he pee’s often and always goes poop.
–My dog patch has 1 year and 6 months he’s a jack russel he is very cute but he does not stop barking when I play the flute so I think it eather hurts his ears or he is trying to sing along but that is really weird so am trying to know why does he do that .
–And each day at like 5 o’clock in the morning he barks and barks non stop ank I take him for a wald for one hour at morning in the after noon and at night same for the food and I play with him and everything so what could be causing all of those two things ??
I have a husky cross dog (not sure what may be in this dog as it was a rescue). He disappeared 8 days ago and we had given up hope of him returning. He came home this morning in fine shape. After loving him up and feeding him well he was put in the kennel with our two other dogs. Several hours later he started howling – something he has never done. It sounded exactly like a coyote in the back yard. Is he vocalizing that he is home?
Hi, I have a 6 year old patterdale x border terrier. He has always slept in the kitchen at night with my other dog. About a month ago he started scratching at the kitchen door in the night. He had never done this before and thinking something was wrong we went down to see him. Let him outside in case he needed the toilet but he didn’t. He had a full bowl of water in the kitchen with him so he wasn’t thirsty either. After a week of him scratching at the kitchen door and tearing all the paint off we decided to put him in a crate. He always used to sleep in a crate at night and my other dog still does. He was reluctant to go in the crate at first and his first night on there he just scratched at the bars and howled. He settled down after a few nights but the howling and scratching has just started again. His crate is right next to my other dogs and he has his bed and blankets in there with him. I have no idea what is wrong with him as his daytime behaviour hasn’t changed at all. Please help as I haven’t had a good night sleep for weeks!
Hard to speculate what is going on in the comments section of a blog post.
Please post this on our forum for free where others will be able to ask you additional questions to help solve your problem.
Good luck!
I have a female lab, she is very quiet dog. She is only about 3 but has never been vocal at all. She very rarely barks. But the last few mornings she has been howling. It’s not like her at all. It’s very loud and dominant. She also is on heat at the moment I’m wondering if that has anything to do with it?
My yorkie/apso howls every time I call her name. I will call her name loudly when she’s right next to me (as if I cant see her) and she howls. My family and I find it funny, but is it a bad thing? Why does she howl?
Recently, my male chihuahua started howling. It’s not too bad of a problem for us, because he seems to like howling, but our other indoor dog, a female bull terrier, seems to be worried or annoyed by this howling. Why is this?
Good question – feel free to post it on our forum. But it doesn’t seem like a big deal to me so long as the howling doesn’t upset you.
My dog is almost a years old. She is full blooded pit. But I can’t get her to howl. I’ve used YouTube videos and it gets her attention but she won’t howl. What are reasons why not or what else can I try….
Some dogs don’t or won’t howl. No need to force the issue.
hi i have a 5 year old beagle, we have had him since he was a pup, however he howls, he is fine when we go out no howling at all, but we went on holiday and put him in kennels the owner of the kennels said he howled for 2 weeks solid, so the next time we went away we asked a fried to have him in her house, he howled for 2 days, we were supposed to be away for 4 days but came back after 2 to pick him up! any sugestions?
My 2 year old husky X is a recently adopted rescue. When we go on walks, he will see another male dog and even from a distance he will start howling and try to get out of his halti. He will stop when the dog is out of sight. Is there anything I can do to stop this? He was recently neutered and lives with a female dog who is 3 years old.
I have 2 years old German Shepherd Dog, he used to howling when he was a puppy when he heard sirens. But since I hold Him & instruct Him not to howl whenever there is a sirens, he never do that again. Sometimes, I just make a joke with him and whenever there is a sirens, I make a sound of howl
, then he start jumping on me…I am not sure what he think? maybe he thinks I am teasing Him?… 
As he sleep with me on my bed, on night, he look at me on the bed & start howling…I also do not know what he means by doing that…but that is only happened one time.
Hi, I have a 5 year old female Beagle who has started howling since we’ve moved home. She has an hours walk before we leave her in the morning and a dog walker takers her out for an hour three times a week on an afternoon. I’ve never known her to howl before and the dog walker has told me that before moving she often had to encourage her to leave her bed and she was curled up under her blankets. Next door have said she’s howling hours on end whenever we leave her but our dog walker hasn’t heard her once. We did leave a recording app on and did hear her crying after she had finished her chew. I’m hoping it’s the move but we’ve been here a month now and I’m not sure what else to do? Thanks.
Dod sound like it still might be bored despite the great walks you are offering.
I’d recommend additional toys (kong with peanut butter perhaps)while you are away.
For a better back and forth on this particular issue, please post your question in the forum.
Good Luck!
I have a German Shepherd and for the last week and a half everytime I come to my room and close the door she sets at it and wines until I let her in she started howling this morning I couldn’t figure it out I got up and I played with her for a few minutes but she’s even change there she played with my husband rough like she used to with us and now she won’t hardly jump on me or do anything with me anymore besides wine when I’m in the bedroom by myself or at night is there something wrong wi
Hey, I have 2 Siberian Huskies. Male and Female both fixed! We recently lost our home to a fire and have had to temporarily house them with a good friend. We put up a 6ft fence, with plenty of room for them to run and play, a large 4ft by 5ft dog house, and plenty of water sources. (They have always been outdoor dogs, their idea not mine. They never seemed happy inside. Would always go to the door and bark wanting to sleep outside, so this is where we decided to allow them to stay.) They have always barked and howled at night and during the day. Even with lots of family time, long walks, and toys galore. This never bothered me. I just chalked it up to brotherly and sisterly talk or play. However now that they have to stay somewhere else for a couple of months, I need suggestions on how to try to get them to quiet down late at night and wee hours of the morning. I’m talking 2:00AM-5:00AM. My friend says, they wont let her sleep, LOL. Any suggestions?
My Huskies will both be 5 years old in December 2014.
Hi Marko, we’ve recently changed our dogs sleeping position from outside our bedroom door to the laundry and he’s been howling at night. Since we are sure he’s comfortable, I’m certain it’s for attention. We have been scolding him when he does this as live with others and are concerned he’s bothering them. He’s a beautiful dog by nature but the constant sleepless nights are testing our patience. How can we rectify this quickly and get him settled inside the laundry? Many thanks
Hello. I have a 9 year old Siberian husky that we rescued months ago now. She was in a breeding mill for all of her life and when she had a c-section her “owner” decided to give her away. When we got her she was very weary of people and didn’t like to go around anyone except myself as the weeks went on she grew to love people and loved the attention. She got a toy recently (2 weeks ago) which is a pig about the size of a puppy. She will not let it out of her site. She only nudges it with her nose and ever so gently picks it up. She whines at it alllllll day long and I have tried separating her from it and she whined continuously so ofcourse I gave it back. Our real problem is now at night she whines and barks all night and brings it to her crate to bed. She loves her crate so I know that isn’t the issue.
I just have no idea do I take it away or is that going to upset her more? I believe she is treating it like a puppy and is unsure of why it won’t move/respond to her.
Not sure if she is whining with or without the new toy – if it’s without,…I’d just give the toy.
If it’s with…please post this on our forum for a better back and forth to answer this with varued viewpoints.
Good luck!
I have a 9 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who will suddenly sit up out of a deep sleep and howl like a wolf for about 30 seconds. It doesn’t happen very often, maybe once or twice a month. He does not appear to be bored – I think maybe he is talking to somebody far away. But I have never heard any answer. He is not at all moved that I notice him howling; he ignores me and he continues his business until he is done. Then he goes back to sleep. I call him my little wolf dog. He has an unusually large tail and has other hairy wolf-ie characteristics so I am thinking the wolf gene is particularly strong in his makeup.
Hi there! I hope you can help me find an answer to something. We have 2 dogs, one of which is a 4 year old border heeler (Max). At night, both dogs sleep in a kennel. Occasionally, Max will let out the loudest, low toned howl I have ever heard! It almost sounds like a wild animal. It scares us at night because it is so odd. He typically doesn’t bark, just whimpers sometimes to go outside. I can’t figure out why be does it! If he’s dreaming, or if he hears something outside. When he does it, It’s normally only once, and he doesn’t do it all the time. Any answer would be appreciated! Thanks!!