Howling is one of the many forms of communication your dog uses to communicate with other dogs, pets, and even you. However, sometimes things get out of control, especially, when dogs howl all the time. Therefore, we are here today, to know why do dogs howl and how to control it.
Dogs howl because of several reasons: sometimes because of anxiety, medical causes, boredom, communicating, and sometimes your dogs howl to grab your attention. To control it, you need to pay attention to the reasons and reward your dog for being quiet. Let’s dig more and know how to control our dogs howl without making them uncomfortable.
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What to do when your dog start h
First of all, you need to know what triggers that howling, or in other words, why the dogs howl. Dogs howl when they are responding to, for instance, another dog’s howling, or when some specific sounds become so high that causes him/her some sort of anxiety-you can find a lot about dogs sound’s anxiety, here-, or when he/she tries to grab your attention.
hese are some easy to handle behavioral issues, and that what we are going to talk about before going through any medical reasons that can answer a lot of questions about why do dogs howl.
As a start, Let’s talk about your dog’s behavior when you leave home.
Have you ever went work and you were surprised when your neighbor called you to tell you that your dog didn’t stop howling since the moment you left for work, and once you are home you noticed that your dog is doing fine, calm, and nothing wrong with him/her?
Well, in that case, your dog may have something called separation anxiety howling, and that kind of anxiety comes with other symptoms such as lip quivering, pacing, and other signs of distress.
In that case, you can ask for professional help. However, you can start training your dog a different behavior, too. So, when you notice that kind of behavior from your dog, try to teach him/her different behavior like playing a game, or play with his/her favorite toy.
You can find a lot of toys that helps your dog feel better, here:
Moreover, in the case of howling when they need something, you can help your dog grab your attention and ask for whatever he/she needs without howling, and that, by time, will become a habit. For instance, you can train your dog to get his/her bowl to you when he/she is hungry, in that case, you will get him/her the food he/she wants, and he will know that this move helps him/her get what he/she needs, so he/she will stop howling for attention.
However, your need to teach him/her that howling is not working.
What to do to stop the howling?
- Ignore your dog’s howl
- Don’t get your dog what he/she needs while he/she is howling
- Don’t reward the howling behavior
- Reward your dog for being quiet
- Spend more time with your dog
1- Ignore your dogs howl
Dogs howl to make you get them what they need to stop howling. Therefore, what you are going to do is when you dog starts howling, you will ignore him/her and watch TV, play some video games, got to a separate room; you will just make him/her feel that you are not paying attention to him/hee as if you cannot understand the reason behind all that howling.
Don’t look at your dog, don’t touch him/her, and of course, don’t get him/her what he/she needs. Which leads us to the next part.
2- Don’t get your dog what he/she needs while he/she is howling
Don’t get your dog what he/she needs, because if you did, your dog will understand that the howling behavior is working, so why he/she will ever think of changing it? It doesn’t make sense.
Therefore, you need to not get your dog what he/she needs while he/she is howling, even if you understand what he/she is howling for.
3- Don’t reward the howling behavior
Getting your dog what he/she needs while howling, means that you like and understand what he/she is doing, and that is a green light for your dog to keep doing it. So, once you reward your dog and get him/her what he/she needs, you are giving him/her permission to keep doing it.
So, don’t reward your dog for bad behavior like the continuing howling, because you will not be able to live with it for a long time, therefore, you need to make it stop, and by not rewarding it will one day.
Here is a weird reason for howling recorded by a dog owner!
4- Reward your dog for being quiet
That is something you need to do. While you are ignoring your dog’s howling, you need to know that your dog needs to understand why you are ignoring him/her, and how he/she can make you not ignore him/her.
Therefore, you need to give your dog a hint, so when your dog stops howling, you need to give him/her a treat for being quiet. By the time, your dog will understand that this is what you need him.her to do and that this is how he/she will get what he/she wants.
By reaching this point, you will see that you can live a happy and calm life with your dog.
5- Spend more time with your dog
This is a very worth mentioning point. When you spend time with your dog, you become more aware of his/her needs and behavior, by default you will understand how your dog reacts, and what will trigger him/her to howl, so you will be able to stop him/her from howling before he/she even starts because you already know what will trigger him/her to start howling.
Also, be spending more time with your dog, you are creating a stronger bond with him/her and you start understanding each other more, which will make the process of living with each other under the same roof much easier.
More solutions to control dogs howl…
The previous five steps are the most effective solutions for the howling problem, however, not all dogs are the same, some of the dogs need extra effort and help.
Therefore, to control dogs howl you might need to use one of these other methods, at least till your dog understands that this is bad behavior and that you need him/her to stop.
The recommended method is the no-bark collar.
The no-bark collar is one of the 2020’s best rechargeable anti-collars for dogs. By using this no-bark collar, you are helping your dog understand that you need him/her to stop barking, you will get more quiet nights after the noisy working days, and you will not get a call every couple of hours from your neighbor who cannot stand the non-stop barking your dog does.
Moreover, after using the no-bark collar for some time, you will see that your dog started to be quiet for longer periods than before, which will help you apply the previous 5 steps, and by time, you will be able to stop using the collar, because your dog will be quieter and calmer than before.
Also, let’s go through some other reasons as to why you need to get that no-bark collar…
- This no-bark collar is designed to safely block your dog’s barks that wake you up in the middle of the night for absolutely no reason other than being bored and he/she is just making the time pass.
- It is a safe no-bark collar because the spray that is using is made of natural oils, doesn’t contain CFC, which is not good for your dog’s health, and you can control the amount of the sprayed oils. Which means that we are talking about a 100% unharmful training process for the dog.
- Another worth mentioning benefit is that these essential oils belong to the environmental protection products, in other words, you are not causing any harm to the environment, too, by using this no-bark collar for your dog.
- Moreover, the no-bark collar is waterproof, so you will not need to worry if you are walking with your dog and it started raining, or your dog found some water on the road and decided to jump in it while wearing the no-bark collar; bothe the no-bark collar and your dog will be fine.
- Also, the no-bark collar is rechargeable. So, you can recharge your dog’s collar anywhere and at any time. Which means that even if you are going to spend the weekend with your family and your dog somewhere outside, and you need your dog to be calm, or you are going to celebrate with your friends somewhere outside town (where there are going to be a lot of noises) and you need your dog to stay calm. You can take the collar’s charger with you and recharge it whenever needed.
- Last, but not least. The no-bark collar’s cylinder capacity is really large (It can spray to 32 times when filled and it can be added for 16 times)..
Now, you have all that you could possibly need to know why do dogs howl, and how to control it. However, you need to know that these recommended tips, tricks, and methods cannot guarantee you the same results for all dogs, because after all, every dog has his/her own personality that might need extra effort from you or need some professional help.
Therefore, if you found that your dog is not following your instructions, and you felt that you might need help; don’t hesitate to ask us, or his/her veterinarian, because he/she will, of course, know what should and what shouldn’t be done in this situation.
Related questions:
Can I use the no-bark collars on a dog that is scared of loud noises?
Well, it is important at first to help your dog get rid of his/her fear of loud noises before you think of muting him/her. Because, if your dog is afraid he will, of course, bark and howl for a long time. However, you should worry about the reason why he/she is afraid, first.
Therefore, you might be interested in checking the ‘How to help a dog that’s scared of loud noises‘ article first, where you will find plenty of methods to help your dog get over his/her anxiety towards loud noises. After that, yes, you can think of using the no-bark collar on a dog that is scared of loud noises as a temporary solution, but not for a long
Now, why don’t you tell us about the first time you knew that your dog howls much, and how you controlled it?
