Hearing your dog howl is amusing and one of the joys of living with a dog. Even now, when our dogs howl, we watch, listen and smile. A dog's howl can carry for several miles and is used for communication, to their pack and as a warning (I'm, we're here). There are several different types of howls.
Lonesome Howl
This howl says come be with me. Dogs are pack animals and don't like to be alone. If your dog is outside and howling, bring them in, they really want to be with you.
Confrontational Howl
This howl says - stay away. This is a very low deep howl. Our oldest male does this a lot when we have new puppies. It is a warning to keep out or else.
Pack Howl
Also called chorus howl, it sounds like a choir. We have seven dogs and when they get going it is truly something to behold. Our alpha male will start with a low smooth howl, another joins in with a higher smooth howl with intermittent yipping, then all of the rest start in with howls, yips, and barks. This carries on for awhile and then just stops. It gives the impression there are more dogs than are really there.
Pups howl, well, because they can. Our white German shepherd puppies will start this when they are two weeks old.
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