I grew up with a neighbor who hunted with beagles, so baying and howling were daily background noise. But my dogs - even the husky mix - never howled. Now my friend’s batshit Shih Tzu mix will howl if you start him off. Which leads to a group of otherwise seemingly normal middle-aged people sitting around howling at a Shih Tzu. Anyway. Who has howlers, and what kinds of dogs are they?
Once I moved to town a block off the main road, they started howling. The ambulances going by on the main drag would set off the whole neighborhood into a howl; starting with the dogs nearest the street, fanning out across the entire peninsula, mine included. If you’re outside when it happens, it sounds like a singers singing a round, barbershop quartet or something. Pretty neat.
All my dogs have eventually learned to howl because of it, some more enthusiastically then others. All breeds and types in the neighborhood howl.
My Border Collie was a howler… the saddest sound you ever heard. At least his separation anxiety was limited to seranades.
None of mine do (all Brittanys), but some Brittanys do. We were at our National Specialty Show a few weeks ago and for some reason one or two dogs would start howling in the evening, and then dogs would join in. I think one night (about 7pm) there were about 30 dogs howling together. It was hilarious.
I actually had my puppy in the ring at the time and was a little worried about how he would react; the only howling we hear around my house is coyotes. 
One day, back when I was in college, my Mom was home from work, and my 2 dogs started howling in the middle of the day (doberman and chow/shepherd cross) She thought I died and called me in hysterics. Later the neighbor told her that they howled EVERY DAY at that time. Like 1- 2 pm. I have no clue what set them off.
We had 3 Mastiffs that do a howl fest together when one of us was gone too long. It was very soulful and I really miss it, and them. We recently got a senior Mastiff from the shelter and she barks a lot, and has howled once or twice. I am hoping she teaches our young Mastiff to howl, although so far, she has only taken up the barking.
[QUOTE=skipollo;8981009]
She bays but doesn’t howl. She’s a beagle.[/QUOTE]
OMG she is adorable!!
My plott hound mix barely barks and I have never heard her howl, but she does this wooof-wooof-wooooOOOOOOOOoooooooooffff thing that is pretty funny when she sees the feral cats in the yard. She also doesn’t react to any sirens.
We had a pack of deer beagles a while back, and they howled like mad from time to time, along with our labs. They were hilarious!
2 of my Dobes have howled.
1 who either loved or hated Van Morrison and would howl through entire albums lol.
My last Dobe taught my little Terrier to howl. Since he has passed away she hasn’t howled since.
Neither Blue (ACD) nor Scout (BC??? mix) did until I brought Monkey (Cocker) home from the town shelter this August. Now she starts things off, and the other two are happy to join in and harmonize! It sounds like I’m camping in Yellowstone!
I agree with the posters about sirens setting them off, but mine like the ambulance version better than the sheriff’s dept. cars or fire engines.
I taught my old ACD to howl when I said “I love you.”
My pack of Irish Wolfhounds howls regularly- most Irish Wolfhounds do. At our National Specialties, there is usually at least one “group howl”- hearing 300 or so Irish Wolfhounds howling together is quite an experience!
What I have never been able to figure out, is how they synchronize the howl- which might last several minutes- so that they all stop simultaneously, as if some unseen conductor has made the signal.
I think it is a beautiful sound.
My pack of Irish Wolfhounds howls regularly- most Irish Wolfhounds do. At our National Specialties, there is usually at least one “group howl”- hearing 300 or so Irish Wolfhounds howling together is quite an experience!
What I have never been able to figure out, is how they synchronize the howl- which might last several minutes- so that they all stop simultaneously, as if some unseen conductor has made the signal.
I think it is a beautiful sound.
Over the years we have had several that howled to the Jeopardy theme tune. Then we had a springer that would howl on command. We have video somewhere of the dog and my husband howling in the yard. :ambivalence:
My dogs (Aust. Shep. mix and a Pointer mix) will howl randomly throughout the day. Sometimes I hear it when I get to the house before I go inside. My friend who stays with me and works from the house when she’s in town says they’ll do it for no reason every once in awhile during the day. They sound so sad!
My parent’s Greater Swiss Mtn Dog will howl when I call for my dogs to come when they go exploring. She’s too lazy to tag along, so she helps to call for them to come home :lol:.
Our very sensitive weirdo Aussie Shepherd didn’t howl, or even bark, until Grit (our Catahoula/Rat Terrier/who knows mix.)
She has since taught him to do both. She looks and sounds like a tiny coyote, and it’s hilarious to hear him trying to “sing” along with her with his deep crackly voice.
None of my Labs ever did, but we had a Samoyed cross who would howl at the drop of a hat. The Lab we had at the time would look at him like he was crazy.
The 2 Labs I have now are quite happy to bark their brains out, but no howls.
Sally Mae, my bloodhound, howls at the full moon. I remember reading a Jim Butcher novel featuring werewolves while Sally was outside baying at the moon.
When I showed dogs, something about the national anthem would start the dogs howling.
Sally Mae, my bloodhound, howls at the full moon. I remember reading a Jim Butcher novel featuring werewolves while Sally was outside baying at the moon.
When I showed dogs, something about the national anthem would start the dogs howling.
This thread is so timely, my little Corgi woke me up at 3 am last night howling. I think she must have heard sirens in the distance. It was quite a shock! but still funny.
She started howling after she was at the vet’s for OFA hip xrays. Coming out of the anesthesia, she heard a siren and was apparently howling along with it. The vet techs were ROLLING! She will pretty consistently howl at sirens now. But only “real” sirens. You can’t fool her with internet sirens.
