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Howling
Seeing some varied results online to my question, so I thought I’d ask the DD community. Is howling a learned or innate behavior for dogs?
Caber is a 15 month old, unaltered mixed breed. He hasn’t demonstrated howling until the past few weeks. He was in the house quite a bit over the holidays with my mom’s elderly cocker spaniel who will loudly voice her dislike for my mom being out of her sight by howling. Caber has now been howling his needs dramatically to go outside and play in the snow.
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10 Replies
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ooh fascinating question, @PerpetualCleric – I think as with a lot of behavior it can be BOTH.
Little Jasper (12 weeks tomorrow) howls like a banshee when he has FOMO. Nobody else in the household does, so he definitely did not “learn” it here.
Yet, in the situation you are describing it definitely sounds like Caber has recognized the song of his people from hearing his “auntie” sing it…
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@PerpetualCleric OMD, he is soooo cute! Maybe he’s channeling his inner wolf or opera singer? How funny that it happened after he’d spent time with your mom’s elderly spaniel. I’m guessing this particular behavior is learned. (Unless he’s a part Beagle, even a 10th percentage in his DNA…????)
I’m also wondering if your mom’s dog is reinforced in any way, with attention or such. If so, even in the not-so-positive (“be quiet, I’m right here” type talk), perhaps Caber saw it as reinforcing and thoughtt for himself to try it out?
Dogs are REALLY smart, and I know they can learn off seeing what works for someone else! And, he’s so doggone dramatic in that pose!
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Nary a drop of beagle or northern breed DNA. ???? He’s Aussie, pitbull, poodle and lab mix.
Luna is reinforced for her howling. Usually, one of us will go sit with her or call out to her to help calm her down. She’s prone to grand mal seizures, so we try to keep her calm as possible. Caber will usually be right there next to the gate by Luna and will observe all this, usually cocking his head as he’s listening to her “singing”. And now I’m realizing that he’s learned that howling = attention from humans, which is his goal. Smart little booger anyway…????
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Sounds like Caber is very smart indeed, @PerpetualCleric , seeing the benefit of the howl thanks to your mom’s dog, Luna.
I’ve had only two dogs who howled without role models. Reina, a GSD, howled each day when she heard the fire department siren, which then whipped my previously non-howling other dogs (sheltie mix, 2 min pins, papillon, and cattle dog) into a chorus of howling.
Bond, my current chi mix (? – just a guess) howls on his own. I first saw it as a tag-along behavior when he wanted to bury an edible chewy or carrot in the furniture. I found it so charming, that I convinced him to howl with me every morning. Many months into that, my other dog, Bean, also began joining the chorus, as do a percentage of guest dogs who previously had never howled in their own homes.
This video shows guest chihuahua, Allie, howling for the first time and it’s mellifluous!! (OTOH, Bean’s howl is hideous and she doesn’t like when the camera points her way to catch proof of such hideousness.)
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OMD!!! They are truly aDORGable! Allie is the little fluffy one? I love the little change into “arr-rarr -rarrr “ she does at one point!
Vocal dogs. I just love them. My Berner did howl when it snowed outside. Or when he knew he was getting walked soon.
My Samoyeds would howl sometimes, when I was a kid. They were a mother-daughter team, and I think the breed is more like huskies are, with vocalizations. I remember after the mother, Tasha, was put down (wayyy too early, she was only 4), her daughter knew she wasn’t coming back… all night long she howled, such a mournful cry, in the outdoor kennel. I wanted to bring her in the house or go sleep outside with her to comfort her…those were different days in dog rearing…I was 9 or 10 and my mom wouldn’t let me.
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That is super interesting behavior, Christina, @PerpetualCleric . He sounds like a fascinating little man. He learned, by watching the humans comfort Luna when she howled. Maybe one way to ease his need to howl would be to sit with him, just because, while he’s quiet?
I dunno if that idea would work. I wonder if he also enjoys the feeling of howling in his throat. I say this, because there is something very beautiful feeling where the vocal instrument lies, where it resonates and buzzes…
I personally would love to see him howl. ???? Beagle-less DNA, ha ha HA!
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Here’s Caber being very dramatic in his request/demand to go out in the snow. He’s also started howling with sirens and local coyote packs. It was nice ambiance out in my she-shed office Saturday night running a Dungeons and Dragons game with a coyote pack howling around me and Caber joining in ????????
I did tell my mom last night that I blame Luna for hearing more howling in the last month than I have with over 20 years with husky mixes.
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So tuneful!!
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Song of the stars! He’s so expressive!
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Ha!!! I watched it a few times. It looks like he got startled after that howl by something on a countertop?! Oh, he is such an expressive soul…
I’m laughing at your description of his howling with sirens and coyotes, too. ????. So cute. He’s found his voice, hasn’t he?
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