Why does my yellow lab howl?

[q43000gt]

My dog is 10 months old. He howls only when there are firetruck sirens in the area. Any reason for this? It is cute, but I just wanted to know if the howl meant anything.

[jesse's mommy]

Probably the same reason my dog barks at the front door when she hears a door bell on TV -- it's just something they do.

[Dog Dancer]

My lab does this also, I have heard (from Stanley Cohen's book) that it's very hard to break this as the dog believes they are answering another dogs howl. Sounds reasonable enough. I don't think it's just that it hurts their ears which is another common theory. It's not so amusing when the sirens are at 3 in the morning though!

[rainbow]

Dogs hearing is a lot more sensitive than ours especially in the lower and higher ranges. Sirens are obviously in the higher range and are definitely loud for a human's ears so, IMO, they are just reacting to the sound and I can't say that I blame them.

[K9Friend]

mine even howls to certain led zeppelin tunes!

[Writing4Fun]

I just witnessed the funniest howling ever! My sister's dog (a Berner/Collie X, as far as we can tell) howls at my niece's phone. It's a Disney Princess phone, so whenever someone calls, the Princess talks to you instead of a ringer. First, Mojo cocks his head so far you think he's going to flip himself over. Then he points his nose straight up in the air and lets out this long, low, sustained howl. It's absolutely hilarious! I was in tears watching it the other night. It's the only time he howls - when the Princess talks to him!