What does it mean when a dog howls at the moon?

Birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim, cats gotta play with balls of yarn, dogs gotta howl at the moon.

That’s the way it’s supposed to go, right? But wait — why do dogs howl at the moon, anyway? Is that even what they’re doing?

The image (and sound!) of dogs howling at the moon is a pretty potently indelible one, but what’s the truth about this phenomenon, and what does it mean for your lunar howler.

Of Wolves and Dogs

One of the most common explanations for this behavior is the fact that dogs are descended from wolves who supposedly howl at the moon. Wolves are so closely associated with the full moon that folklore links the emergence of werewolves to full moons and wolves howling at the moon. However, there is little hard evidence for this myth. Instead, if wolves howl at night, it’s less because of the moon and more because they are nocturnal animals. As such, dogs may be drawing on that. If your dog is up at night, their nocturnal sleep schedule and potential loneliness at that hour may have more to do with them howling than the moon.

Howling at Night

Wolves, the same as dogs, use howls to communicate over long distances. This is one potential reason why a single dog howling in a neighborhood can sometimes set off a chain of dogs howling back to them. These dogs may think that they are responding to each other’s howls, and they happen to be doing so during the night.

You’ll also want to think about the other potential upsides of howling at night for dogs. Most people are asleep at that time (or are trying to while their dogs bark away) which means that car engines, TVs, and other sounds that are the product of human activity are quieter. As a result, it can be easier for dogs to hear one another while they howl. Moons also provide them with more light to see by than a pitch black night, which can also incentivize them to be active at that time.

Studies have attempted without much success to connect dogs’ nocturnal howling with the moon or other activities on their part. Studies by the Colorado State University Veterinary Medical Center as well as the British Medical Journal have attempted to draw such a comparison, with both noting an uptick in emergency room visits for dogs during full moons.

However, this is far from conclusive, in no small part because the emergency room visit rate also went up for cats in these studies, and it’s not as though these felines are howling along with their canine brethren. The British Medical Journal article noted an uptick in animal bites during those full moon hours, but before you start connecting that to any kind of myths about wolves during the full moon, it’s worth noting that the causes of those bites remain in dispute.

What You Can Do?

So while your dog may not be howling at the moon per se, they are still making quite a lot of noise.

Once you recognize that dogs don’t just respond to the moon but can bark at night for a wide range of reasons, you may be able to better focus on those reasons and thus address the actual cause of their howling.

For example, as mentioned, dogs typically use howls as a means of long-distance communication. Knowing that, you can start to figure out with whom your dog may be communicating (are there other dogs howling and setting them off?) or the other stimuli to which they may be responding (do you have neighbors who are playing loud music or are otherwise up at that hour?).

On the other hand, their nocturnal howls may also be a peal of loneliness. There’s something exciting about night in the city, but it can also be quite lonely and isolating. Whether you live with your dog in the city or out in the countryside, there’s a chance they could feel that sense of loneliness and isolation with you and the rest of your family asleep, leaving them “alone” all night. In such a situation, the howl of another dog far away may seem all the more welcome and comforting, helping them feel as if they aren’t “alone” after all.

If your dog is howling due to separation anxiety at night, you can try to comfort them, or work to train them to better understand that you haven’t “disappeared” during this time but are simply asleep. If your dog is calm enough and you are willing, you might consider letting them sleep at the foot of your bed. However, if you do that you run the risk of your dog “getting used” to that, so if you aren’t willing to cater to your dog making themselves at home in your bedroom at night, consider other options.

If other dogs’ howling is to blame, you could always try talking to those dogs’ owners, but the success of that will obviously vary on a case by case basis. It may be better to take matters into your own hands by soundproofing your dog’s pen if they are an inside dog so external howling and nighttime noises don’t find their way to your dog’s ears.

Then there’s the idea of desensitizing your dog to nighttime noises. This will obviously take a lot of patience, and the technique you follow to do so will depend on what things your dog likes and how you prefer to train them. However, once you have broken free of the myth that your dog is necessarily going to bark, and further that this is due to something as out of your control as the waxing and waning of the moon, you’ve taken the first step towards solving that nocturnal howling problem once and for all.

We love to romanticize moonlit midnights and imagine that they can bring out the wolf in us all.

Contrary to popular belief, however, they don’t have to result in you suffering through your dog baying at the moon.

No matter where you live, you must have heard late at night how the dog howling. Researchers believe that this behavior is deeply engraved in the dog’s genes. The DNA of ancient races largely coincides with wolves, of which they originate. There are many reasons Why do dogs howl at the Moon?

These are the answers to why dog howling:

• Dogs seek attention
• Dogs warn of the danger
• they call the dog from a distance or his owner when he is not at home
• react to high tones

Full Moon as an explanation of howl

If the moon is young, it is possible that due to the influence of the gravity of the Moon and the Sun, to can affect the dog howl. People also feel this effect of gravity, so they can sleep. But when the moon is full when it comes to the fact that people are not sleeping and become nervous. This also affects dogs and leads to dogs howling.

Animals are even more fragile than humans, and the full moon acts as a catalyst for strength. So, animals often do not sleep in such a night. Their brain does not rest and becomes aggressive (just like people who can not sleep).

20 things why Weimaraner is the most versatile hunting dog

Other reasons for dogs howling

Why the dog howl?

Some dogs howl, greeting people, others turning with joy, some wrapping when they hear the music. The range of hearing is similar to that of humans, or about eight and a half octaves, but the sensitivity in this range to dogs is very high, for example, they recognize notes differ only in a one-eighth octave.

The fact is that the dog is howl with a song or while the singer sings or imitates the dog’s wrap. Likewise, if the dog heard howling or barking another dog, he howls to respond to this kind of communication and felt less lonely.

This explains why dogs have learned to easily recognize the shepherd’s orders that blow in the whistle. People in one of the main parts of the brain have receptors for recognizing the music. Maybe dogs own those receptors too. Music relieves stress. It can calm the dog and give him confidence.

Organizing the community

In the wilderness, wolves and dogs wander in order to instruct “dog scouts” back to the pack after hunting. Wrapping actually serves as vocal guidance to guide other members of the pack.

Dogs howl when they want to tell each other about their location. Wolves talk this way, in a situation when the pack is scattered through the forest, and the wolf is separated from it. The wolf will then begin to squeeze what in translation means to wonder where the other members of the pack are.

Seeing these different types of howls, the wolf stops whip. Puppies who have long started to whip. As some older dogs, especially Dobermans and Beagles, take over the sad howl. When these types of dogs alone will start to howl.

Wolf howl when he wants to gather a pack (which is a desire for socializing), and on the basis of this, we can conclude that dogs mostly wander for the same reason. Dogs with howl express a desire, mostly a desire to socialize.

When a dog pet howl does it for a similar reason, especially if you have been away from home for a long time.

Setting limits and defending mechanism

Also, when howl dogs signal and warns other unknown dogs that the territory is already occupied. Time dog announces its presence and warns the rest of the pack to the newly emerging circumstances. In this context, wrapping serves as a defense mechanism for combating predators and ensuring security.

Aggression in dogs and how to prevent it

In a home-like environment, like your house, dogs can say howl for the same reason. Some yell or bark when an unknown person comes in or a new car parks in front of the yard …

The attraction of attention or expression of anxiety

A dog that howls might just be looking for attention. Some owners know well that dogs are also manipulating emotions a little bit, and howling really attracts the attention of the owner.

Get your dog’s attention by using a Kong toy. A dog can chase it, chew it, and play with it. The dog instinctively reacts to this toy and it stimulates his mental activity.

However, if your dog spends a lot of time alone, there are not enough toys or things to entertain him in your absence, it can become sad, lonely, and depressed. Howling can be a sign of protest because the dog is alone!

Why dogs like things that stink

Response to external exposures

Howls can be the answer to triggers from the environment. Dogs are most likely to react when they hear the sound of an ambulance, police, or firefighters. Also, triggers can be music from stereo or television or the sound of musical instruments.

If there is a dog that barks all night or also howls it can be the reason. Do not punish a dog for reacting. You should try to eliminate the cause that led to it and trains your dog to stay calm.

Showing injury or pointing

People cry when they get hurt, and dogs wander in similar situations. Dogs also bark to draw attention to the pain. Some dogs are dressed to wonder when they discover something important – hunting when they find prey or a police dog when they come to an explosive.

Howl and sexuality in a dog

If you have a dog that is a male and in the neighborhood is a female, the dog will how to get in and attract her attention. This can also affect the appetite of your dog, so he will refuse to eat.

Genetic code

Official dog pages of Cassara Milano say that the push for howling some dogs “are embedded in the genetic code” and that in some situations there are no (at least not for our people) logical explanations why dogs howl.

Fear of abandonment

Except when they feel the physical pain of dogs, they often howl and when they feel fear of abandonment, which is one of the 10 most common dog fears. It happens with dogs that owners have not learned to be alone at home.

Howl often monitors and urinates in the apartment, destroying furniture and similar unwanted behaviors. The dog does not do it out of hell, but because it is under stress and thinks you will not return.

Why do hunting dogs tend to have floppy ears

How to train a dog to stop to howl

Bind the dog’s fence for the fence or pillar. Get away from the dog a couple of steps, and during that time, show the dog a toy to be interested in it. When she begins to bark (looking for a toy), reward her with a delicacy Prama Delicacy Snack Dog Treats.

Say the “Voice” command as soon as it turns on, then reward it. When the dog adopts the exercise, stop rewarding it with desserts, but praise it and pat it.

If all this dog has mastered, you can switch to the command “Quiet”.

This is another interactive toy for your dog. We are talking about iFetch Interactive Ball Launchers for Dogs. The dog can now throw the ball to itself and chase it when the machine throws it out. The dog just has to go get the ball and throw it in the intended place.

When the dog begins to bark (continuation of the previous exercise), tell him “Quiet” and reward him with a delicacy or toy as soon as he stops barking. This exercise is a bit tougher, so you have to be patient. When a dog adopts the “Quiet” command, praise him with words and pat it.

If he has properly adopted the exercise, prepare him for your “departure” and say the “Quiet” command. Start moving. If the dog turns on, do something noisy (for example, kick with your palm on your palm), to calm down and stop barking.

As soon as he stops, go back and reward him with delicacies. In this way, you can teach your dog that after a walk and after your going to the house, he should rest.

It is extremely important that you have patience and motivation and be positive so that you do not fall into the temptation to punish your dog and thus fail.

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

If you want to read more interesting facts you can join the discussion on our Facebook group, and you can follow us on Instagram or Pinterest