How to stop dogs howling at sirens

Dogs often bark quite low in pitch but their howling is quite high in pitch. But if you find your dogs howling is excessive and its driving you up the wall you may want to work on correcting the behavior.

Its not easy to train out a behaviour as ingrained as howling but there are solutions.

How to stop dogs howling at sirens. Most dogs will look at you and stop howling at this point. If he ignores you you may have to be more insistent. One way to discipline for howling is to give a quick squirt with a water bottle when you give the command to be quiet.

Always give him the chance to be quiet on a verbal command first. Howling is a different response from barking and the training is different. Dogs usually howl for two reasons.

To express misery or to communicate their presence to other dogs. If you think of wolves howling at night youll understand why your dog is howling at sirens. Dogs howl at sirens because the high pitched noise reminds them of another dogs howling.

They also howl to warn their humans and get your attention. Dogs howling at passing sirens is a way in which they communicate and make you aware of danger. When dogs hear howling their first instinct is often to respond by howling as well.

Because sirens produce high-pitched sounds which dogs may interpret as howling they are likely responding to those sounds as if they too are howls. Many have suggested that dogs howl to announce to their pack where they are situated. Why Do Dogs Howl at Sirens.

Most people believe that your dogs ancestors were responsible for howling at sirens. Although there are many ways that wolves communicate with one another howling is the most common. While we can hear some of these howls keep in mind that dogs and wolves have much better hearing than us.

Howling is your dogs way of communicating with you and the world. They howl to get attention make contact with other dogs and announce their presence. Howling is instinctual and can be natural or triggered by an underlying problem.

Some dogs respond to high-pitched sounds like emergency sirens or musical instruments by howling. Dogs howl for many reasons. Many dogs howl because of separation anxiety others due to an environmental trigger such as a siren or thunder.

Others simply howl out of habit or to get attention. If you dogs howling is a problem you can try to reduce their anxiety or use counterconditioning techniques. In the wild dogs and wolves would howl to alert other dogs and wolves of their position and when they hear other dogs howling they would start to howl as well.

This could be why your dog howls when it hears sirens. How to get your dog to stop howling at sirens ambulances and thunder. Jan 01 2012 For instance noon sirens which some towns or areas of towns may play sound a lot like the howl of a dog.

You may notice some dogs howl at sirens that sound most like other dogs and ignore short staccato sirens that really dont sound like howling. Howling is a completely natural behavior in dogs. If your dog occasionally howls at sirens its nothing to worry about.

But if you find your dogs howling is excessive and its driving you up the wall you may want to work on correcting the behavior. To stop your dog from howling the sirens you can make a simple change by thinking about whether they are actually howling to activate the alarm. If you pay attention to the howling of the dog and tell it that you are interested in it the puppy can register that it gets your attention when it howls and it takes this as a clue to continue howling in the future.

Keep in mind it may take a bit longer for your dog to stop being scared as your dog has already learned to fear the sound. Some dogs howl at sirens whether theyre close up or at a distance as dogs have excellent hearing. Howling doesnt dictate fear.

However its always best to watch your dogs body language when this happens. Training a Dog Not to Howl at Sirens Howling can be distressing for the dog owner and annoying to neighbors so many owners have an interest in ways to prevent this behavior. One widely used method is desensitization and counter conditioning DSCC.

Dogs often bark quite low in pitch but their howling is quite high in pitch. And emergency sirens like police cars fire trucks and ambulances are also high pitched. So scientists believe that dogs respond to these loud siren noises because they think theyre communicating with another dog.

Even wild coyotes howl at vehicle sirens. When dogs howl at sirens they typically stop when the siren has passed. But if you live near a hospital or fire station you might be dealing with howling throughout the day and night.

Its not easy to train out a behaviour as ingrained as howling but there are solutions. While howling doesnt mean that your dog is in pain there are instances wherein you should be concerned. Excessive howling not only at sirens but at other loud noises or none at all may mean behavioral or medical problems that need to be addressed.

Excessive Howling as a Behavioral Issue. Dogs can howl when theyre sad which can be.