Monday 30 March 2015

Howling Ozzy

 
 

The howl is the one sound wolves and dogs have in common.
Howls are long, melodious sounds that sweep through many different pitches which are more efficient and more audible over a long distance than a single pitch sound.  Why?  Because sound that travels long distance must overcome obstacles such as trees and their leaves or an uneven terrain.   
Wolves howl to communicate across large distances.  They will frequently howl when they are separated from the pack to keep or re-establish contact with the pack but also to deter members from another pack.  Often they howl to raise the alarm, to regroup as a pack,  to reinforce the cohesion of the pack.
Some dogs howl.  Others do not.  Dogs will howl when the hear the sirene of an ambulance or fire brigade or the ice cream van. 
Howling in dogs does not happen often.  A dog gets no reply when he howls so the behaviour is not reinforced and that’s discouraging.
Ozzy howls whenever an ambulance drives past the house.

I must admit I find it a spine chilling sound.  A call from the wild.

 

4 comments:

Whispering Walls said...

Do you think he's responding to the pitch of the siren in sympathy or in pain? How is dear Ozzy? No more bites, I hope.

Eurodog said...

Who knows, WW?
Ozzy is being a model dog. We just have to be careful around food.

Unknown said...

Sometimes I start howling so my dogs can join in. They seem to be tickled by a group howl, much tail wagging and kissing. Some will howl, others just do high pitched yipping, like the coyotes do. The dogs never participate when the coyotes sing at home, it's like they could care less.

Unknown said...

Great blog post, informative list. Thanks so much. I’m enjoying devouring your site!!
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