It is possible that many times you have heard your dog howling and you don’t really know what it is. Therefore, in this post we tell you about the most common reasons why your dog may generate this characteristic sound.
You should also know that through howling you will be able to obtain a lot of information about your dog’s condition. That is, you can learn to listen to your pet and know what his howls say about his emotional state, his mood and even his health. It is also important to know that although it may seem to you that your dog howls for no apparent reason, howling is a form of communication for canines.
Six reasons why your dog howls
Let’s take a look at the six main reasons why your dog may howl.
- To mark territory. A dog may howl when a stranger approaches your door. While it is most common for dogs to bark to alert to the presence of strangers, they may also bark in these situations. It can also be a defense mechanism to mark territory. That is, to make it clear to anyone that this is their territory.
- To celebrate. Some dogs can express their joy with howls. This can happen, for example, at the end of the day when the family returns home or when the vacations are over and the family gets together. What your dog means when he howls at these times is that he is expressing his joy. This is a behavior that dogs have inherited from their ancestors, the wolves. They howl with joy when the herd is reunited.
- For pain. Just as when humans complain about pain or discomfort, dogs may howl to express that something hurts or makes them feel bad. The pitch of the howl is lower and probably has a broken sound that you can recognize as a sign of pain or discomfort.
- By imitation. If your dog hears another dog howling, chances are he will want to join the party and start howling too. This is because dogs usually like to imitate sounds and howling does not escape. Even if you show your dog a video of another dog howling, chances are he will start howling as well.
- Anxiety. Another reason your dog may howl is anxiety or stress. A dog subjected to a high stress situation may release its anxiety by howling. This type of howling is usually accompanied by energetic movements of its tail or turns on itself.
- To attract attention. Last but not least, your dog may howl for attention. A dog that wants to eat, play or is simply demanding attention may howl quietly.
When you notice your dog howling, pay attention to what is going on and you will probably learn to distinguish the reason each time. Remember that dogs are descendants of wolves and have inherited from them this way of communicating.
Image by Alexa at Pixabay
