Is your Alabai howling for an ambulance, and your neighbors are banging on the radiators?
This “concert” is not just an annoying habit, but a complex communicative act whose roots go back to wolves.
Ethologist Patricia McConnell writes in her book Bark: "Howling is a way of communicating information over a distance. Dogs respond to sirens because they remind them of the howls of their fellow dogs."
A study in Behavioural Processes confirmed that breeds with wolf DNA (huskies, malamutes) howl 4 times more often than, for example, pugs.
But there are other reasons. Veterinarian Irina Kovaleva explains:
"High frequencies (like sirens) can irritate dogs' hearing.
Howling is an attempt to “cover up” an unpleasant sound.” The owner of German Shepherd Rex, Andrey from Rostov, shares: “He howls only at certain sirens – apparently, their tone irritates him.”
An interesting experiment was conducted in Hungary: dogs were played recordings of howling wolves and sirens. In 80% of cases, the animals responded to both sounds, but responded more actively to the howling of their relatives.
“This confirms that the instinct to communicate with the ‘pack’ has been preserved,” comments Dr. András Péter.
How to calm your pet? Trainer Elena Petrova advises: "Distract him with a game or give the command "Quiet". If the howling is repeated often, use white noise to drown out external sounds."
And remember: for some dogs, it's just a way to express emotion, like people humming along to music.
Author: Valeria Kisternaya
