Howling

Benny · Post by **Benny** » Wed Dec 11, 2002 7:04 am

Hello,

My wife and I are both professional musicians. My wife plays the cello at home and the dog just sleeps under her chair or near by. I play the trumpet and every now and then, if he is in the same room, he starts to howl, almost sing with me. I have wondered if it is because the sound and overtones hurt his ears or if he just wants to share the song with me!!! Can anyone share some insight into this?

Benny

Post by **Bev** » Wed Dec 11, 2002 7:37 am

Dogs, especially beagles, howl for many different reasons. Perhaps sometimes it's from sounds that hurt their ears, but likely not. We live in the city and will have police/fire sirens set off a howl of a glorious magnitude. This is definitely not one of those times when it hurts their ears - they are answering the rising and falling pitch (sounds like a rivaling pack howl approaching their territory) by howling back and announcing their "great numbers" - as if to say "We are many - stay away")

Each morning one of the males in the kennel will start an unprovoked wake-up howl. I believe this to be a head count.

The howling that occurs when we take some dogs to run but not all is the separation from the pack howl - or better known as the "lone wolf howl". Even though they have company left in the kennel, they don't make sense of it and will howl anyway upon seeing part of the pack leave.

Sometimes a hound will start a howl from pure boredom - a howling is fun. What amazes me (we have 15 hounds) is how intact the instinct remains to use the howl to make the pack sound larger than it is. I listen to each howl when i can and if two hounds' voices sound close to the same, one will change his pitch.

I never interrupt or stop a howl. It makes Ralph mad because he's afraid the neighbors won't like it, but I tell him that's tough - it only lasts a minute and they can get over it, lol!

KPrice · Post by **KPrice** » Wed Dec 11, 2002 4:25 pm

It's funny how predictable hounds can be. At my house, you can bet that about 10 minutes after feeding time, the "group howl" will begin. I used to worry over it because of neighbors, etc. but like Bev says, it only lasts a couple of minutes and it really seems to calm them down a bit. My wife says its because I don't feed them enough. I can't pay attention to her, though. If she had her way, the hounds would be as fat as me.

Rabt Fver · Post by **Rabt Fver** » Wed Dec 11, 2002 9:16 pm

My hounds do the same thing about 6:oo am every morning, the howling only last for about 1 minute. It so cool to listen to them, i thought they were just saying Good Morning!!

Benny · Post by **Benny** » Wed Dec 11, 2002 9:49 pm

Thanks,

I thought that with the trumpet, one note has many overtones and many other notes sound at the same time and are not audible to the human ear, that is what makes up the sound quality. I was thinking that the other pitches, high pitches, that are sounding at the same time that the trumpet sounds, was hurting his ears or something. Now I can play away and play duos with my dog and not worry that I am hurting his hearing. Thanks for the help.

Benny

Post by **Bev** » Wed Dec 11, 2002 10:58 pm

Benny, if it hurts his ears, he'll go hide - not sing along.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Dec 12, 2002 7:40 am

When I get home from work mine line up in the kennel and start a group howl ir just crackes me up I love the sound and usually I howl back which just keeps it going.I always thought it was some kind of greeting.

Post by **Bev** » Thu Dec 12, 2002 8:37 am

Hey, they consider you part of the pack. Just lettin' you know where they are, lol! I believe they howl a lot just because they can. They use it as a greeting, to locate each other, head count, warning to others, cock-a-doodle-doo in the morning, etc. It's definitely a system of communication! Has anyone else noticed that the howl will continue until the smallest of pups have finally joined in, and have you noticed how it normally shuts down as quickly as it starts?

harvhounds · Post by **harvhounds** » Thu Dec 12, 2002 9:06 am

My 12 week old pup has just started chimeing in with her squeaky little howl it's too funny.They seem to be compelled to do it as you say Bev something in the instinks.It's thier instrament I guess.