10 Reason Why Dogs Howl And How To Stop Howling

Wondering why is your dog howling? Don’t panic around when your dog howls just like a wolf. It is quite natural for dogs to howl dog in some instances. You may definitely find howling annoying. But howling is in fact, a mode of communication for dogs. We find it annoying only because we can never understand or decode what a howl means. There are actually many reasons for a dog to howl. Therefore, you may find it difficult to stop your dog howling.

Howling can be in the genes of your dog. Dogs howl to show their excitement, success, anxiety, distress, and irritation or when you leave them alone at home. Some breeds howl as a mode of communication as well. Your dog also howls to seek some attention or to announce their territory and ward off invaders. Howling can be reduced or stopped by following some tips. Spend some quality time with your dogs to prevent them from howling out of loneliness. Ignore your dog’s howling for attraction. Give rewards when they stop to howl.

Howling of your dogs can become super annoying to you as well as for your neighbors. Therefore, it is essential to keep on a check, and to train your do stop howling before it becomes unstoppable. You should, first of all, find out the reason for it to stop your dog from howling. We will thus discuss some of the reasons why dogs howl in the first part of this article.

10 Reasons Why Dogs Howl

Communication

Howl is a natural communication method among the packs of wolves and dogs. Dogs howl to inform their current location to another dog or a pack of dogs. Howl is thus actually a signal passed among dogs.

You might have seen your pet dog howl in response to the howl of another dog. Dogs might have definitely made communication by sending some messages.

Howling is a mode of communication for dogs. Dogs might howl to communicate with another dog or their owner.

Anxiety

Dogs howl to express their anxiety in certain cases.

Dogs are naturally pack animals. They howl and try to communicate with their pack when they are separated. When dogs are separated from their owners, the same anxiety occurs.

Breed

Certain breeds are more prone to howl. The Beagles, Dachshunds, Hounds, and Huskies are some of those breeds.

The breeds with a shared wild ancestry are also found more likely to howl.

Excitement And Success

Dogs mostly express their emotion by howling. They howl when they are too excited. You may also find them howling when you praise them or gives a treat.

Dogs howl when they have succeeded your commands or some games. Howling is a mode of communication for dogs, and they express most of their emotions via it.

Health Issues

As said earlier, dogs express most of their emotions and pain by howling. We often find stray dogs howling when some injuries occur to them. Sometimes dogs howl to get rid of the pain of some physical injuries. They also may do the same for an internal injury or some other illness just as people weep during injuries.

Therefore, it is essential to keep an eye on the howling patterns of your dog. Get them to the veterinarian if you find your dog howling continuously for no reason.

Attention

Some dogs really howl to seek the attention of their owners. They do so when you have forgotten to cuddle or play with them.

Dogs are so much like humans. They crave attention, care, and love. Just go and play with your dog for a while if you find them howling. Sometimes your sight can be even enough for them.

Territorial Announcement And To Ward Off Invaders

Dogs are protective in nature. They don’t like another dog entering into their territory. Therefore, they howl to announce their presence to invaders.

This trait of dogs is often used to guard properties and houses. The presence of a dog in your property restricts the entry of other dogs as well as animals.

Upset And Loneliness

Dogs howl when they feel so lonely. They are naturally pack animals. Therefore, living alone in a cage is a bit tiring for them. Dogs also howl when their owner leaves them alone.

Try to keep your dogs engaged and active. Give treats to your dog when they are responding well to your commands. Praise your dogs for their good code of conduct. They would obviously love your presence.

Response To Certain Noises

Some noises trigger dogs to howl. It might be an announcement going through roads, sirens, or songs. Some dogs howl in response to these noises. Dogs are more likely to respond to high-pitch noises.

Danger Alert

Dogs also howl when they find something new or rare. They howl to bring the attraction of their owners to the spot. Therefore, be cautious and respond when your dog howls. It might be a dangerous signal.

How To Stop Howling?

The howling of your dog would make distress in your house as well as in the neighborhood. Therefore, it is essential to train your dog not to howl before it becomes a behavioral pattern. You can take some tips from here to train your dog to stop howl:

• Spend some quality time with your dog. You can cuddle or play with your dogs to overcome their loneliness and anxiety.
• Give ultimate care to your dog when it is sick or injured.
• Dogs can howl due to boredom. Keep them active by playing games and exercising.
• Ignore your dog’s howling for attraction or treats. Some dogs howl for attention. And once you start ignoring, they will slowly stop the habit.
• Give treats to your dog if it had stopped howling listening over your command.
• Countercondition your dog if any external noise triggers it to howl. Counterconditioning involves changing your dog’s attention to something else.
• Give a toy to your dog if you are leaving it alone at home.

Conclusion

Howling of dogs can be for different reasons. For some breeds of dogs, howling is in their genes. But for most of the other breeds, it is purely a behavioral pattern. Many pieces of research have proved that howling is a mode of communication for pack animals such as dogs and wolves. No matter what the reasons are, howling can be scary and annoying after certain limits.

We have listed several reasons for howling. Have a check at the list. You can find out the reason for your dog’s howling and stop it at the earliest before it becomes super annoying. Try out our tips in the last section to stop howling of your dogs.

Keep your dog active. Boredom can be a real reason for your dogs to howl. Exercise your dogs and drain out their excess energy such that they would not have energy in excess to howl for no reason.

Also, don’t hesitate to take your dog to a veterinarian if your dog howls for a long time without sufficient reason. At these instances, the chances are high that dogs might be suffering from some internal or physical pain.