Do You Know Why Dogs Howl?

At night, when the city falls asleep, we sometimes hear dogs howling. And to this “voice” are added many others, near and far, until forming a chain of dogs communicating with each other. However, we may not know why dogs howl, what they mean, or what they all try to do together. 

the howl

Dogs are descended from wolves. The most recent theories say that the wolves that were less afraid of people stayed around the villages to take advantage of the garbage that these villages generated. People saw that the wolves that were around could help them in hunting, and thus a symbiotic relationship began.  evolved  until reaching the current dogs.

That’s how things happened, the howl of dogs comes from that phase when they were wolves, who also howl, but don’t bark, like dogs. It is suspected that dogs learned  bark when they had already evolved. Some purebred dogs needed to warn their owners where their prey was, we humans pay attention very quickly to a bark.

In fact, there are breeds of dogs that today do not bark: so-called primitive dogs, such as the nordic races (Samoyedo, Husky, Malamute, etc.), for example. They are capable of making noise but not barking.

The Call: Why Dogs Howl

A howl is a call. Both dogs and wolves use it to know where the other members of their family or pack are.

Why Dogs Howl:

• to ask for help
• To find other dogs nearby

It is common for dogs that have a problem or feel distressed they howl for help. Those who are sick when they are alone at home howl to cry out to their owners for help, even if they are unable to understand this call or cannot hear it. Dogs that get stuck somewhere or have a problem they can’t solve, howl.

It is common to find videos of wolves howling to locate other members of their pack . Dogs do that too, and that ‘s one of the reasons that when a dog howls alone, it ends up joining every dog ​​in the neighborhood and beyond.

That’s because the first one who howls asks for help or “asks” for the location of other nearby dogs, and those dogs answer him. According to the distance that the howl reaches, the dog is able to tell if it is alone or accompanied.

In nature, both dogs and wolves use howling to join their fellows. But these days they live  in seclusion in houses or gardens, and are only able to know where the others are, but not able to bring the group together.

Dogs howl by instinct

Therefore, emitting a howl is instinctive. When a dog leaves what it is doing and starts to howl, it does so instinctively. He does it because it is his nature, not because he chooses to do it.

In the same way, responding to another dog that howls is instinctive. Even more so because, at night, it is possible to hear more clearly,  as there are no sounds or noises that distract or muffle the sound.

A dog that starts to howl frequently probably has a problem: it may be experiencing pain, loneliness, or hunger. He has to satisfy a need and asks his owner to come to his aid.

The ambulance sirens

In cities, it is common to come across dogs that are howling when they cross a siren, such as ambulances, fire engines or police vehicles.

This response is also instinctive: the siren is very similar to a howl. From the dog’s point of view, this sound coming from the streets is like another dog asking for help. He is forced to answer that howl, although it seems strange to us. They are howls that usually take a while to stop, as the howl’s emitter has gone away and there are usually many other noises that do not stop.

Now you know why dogs howl and why this current of voices that begins to form at night and that extends throughout the region where you live is: it’s the dogs consoling each other, reminding their friends where they are .

Finally, remember that howling is instinctive: there’s no point in scolding or trying to silence the howling dog. Definitely,  howl  it’s a survival mechanism.

Main image source: nathanmac87