Dogs and Howling - How to Stop Excessive Howling

Eight Salukis start to howl incessantly at 3 a.m. each morning. Are they making sure all the family is together or has the howling become a habitual routine to wake owners?

An owner leaves the home and a Belgian Tervuren sits by the window, howling pitifully. Separation anxiety or calling for owner to return?

A piano song is played and two dogs participate in howling along. Are they singing or are they distressed by the tones and noise?

These real life accounts are common to dog owners the world over. Dogs and howling go hand in hand in some breeds. Is it distress or boredom or something else entirely? How does one go about stopping excessive howling once it starts? How is howling prevented from the beginning?

Why do dogs howl?

Dogs howl for a variety of reasons and like barking, the reasons are the key to stopping it. Dogs howl for attention, to make contact with family members and as an announcement of their arrival. They howl to alert there are strangers arriving. Like barks and growls, there are different types of howls, with very different meanings. High-pitched noises like police or fire sirens or piano playing can start a dog howling along as if singing.

Dogs howl because they are anxious, worried, or stressed, which equates to separation anxiety.

Dogs also howl if they are distressed, hurt, in pain and need to gain attention to themselves.

Once the why is identified, the what to do can follow.

How to stop howling

Teach a dog to howl and add a done cue. My dogs are taught to howl out "I love you" and to howl in harmony when I play the piano. We even have howlfests that are enjoyed. When we are done, I cue a verbal "Done!" said pleasantly and use a body cue putting thumb and forefinger together and pulling apart as if stretching a string.
This is accomplished simultaneously, verbal and body cue.

This process teaches my dogs to howl on cue and have fun with it, literally get it out of their system. It teaches there is an end to the howling and if I don't cue it, there is no reason to howl. One of my dogs could easily have separation anxiety, and a couple of times I heard him howl, sitting at the window while I was away. Satisfying the need to communicate, to howl, adding a cue to howl, plus a cue to stop howling did away with his habitual howling. Today, I have satisfied, confident dogs and more importantly, no howling.

Imagine eight Salukis howling in unison. Breaking this habit can be very challenging. One dog starts to howl, and seven others join in. Waking up at 3 a.m. to start an uncued howlfest could mean several things:

1) the dogs are not tiring out in the evening and need more exercise

2) the owner routinely gets up and responds to the howling even if in a negative manner or

3) the dogs are in different rooms and are calling out to make sure every family member is in attendance.

Usually one or two dogs start the cacophony and the others join in.

Sometimes it is as simple as discovering the instigator(s) and diverting attention, other times it can be more difficult to impossible to end the howling in a group. Below are some strategies to decrease or eliminate howling.

Redirecting behavior through desensitization and counter conditioning

Discovering why the howling is stimulated is the key to being able to redirect behavior. Desensitization is a process where reduction of sensitivity to a situation is the goal. Rewarding not howling and/or cueing dog to stop howling are two ways to desensitize them to routine and habitual howling. Counter conditioning is a process whereby an unpleasant situation is paired with a pleasant situation. The urge to howl is replaced with another activity, such as falling asleep to music or exercise. Howling stimulated by separation is counter conditioned by creating a safe and interesting environment. Howling created by attention seeking is met with giving attention for not howling rather than creating drama during the howling. Changing the way the dog perceives the act of howling and changing the reasons they do it through prevention and management can counter condition and in the end desensitize the dog so howling diminishes or extinguishes altogether. Below are several measures to take to accomplish a positive outcome.

Ignore and reward for not howling

If the howling is attention seeking behavior, it must be ignored. Even shouting at the dog, creating any drama, or coddling the dog feeds into the attention seeking behavior enough that it will recur. While the dog is howling, be quiet, ignore, play invisible dog, even if you have to put in ear plugs, play your ipod or turn up the TV or music. After several seconds of quiet, reward the quiet behavior with verbal praise and/or treats.

The goal should be to create an atmosphere of safety and to stop howling before it starts. Once it starts ignore the dog until they stop and reward for not howling. The effort will result in diminishing the length of the howling and ultimately the extinction of the howling behavior.

Increase exercise and activity - mastermind a complicated find it game

A tired dog can result in a satisfied, calm and sleepy dog. Some breeds, like Salukis, need more exercise than others. Mental activity coupled with physical activity can create a happy, secure dog who sleeps through the night. Ideally, a dog needs a 30-minute full out run or the equivalent in a one to two-hour leash walk per day. In addition, mentally stimulating toy play, puzzles and training sessions round out a dogs day and keep them satisfied and tired.

Hiding treats in complicated toys or objects is one way I keep my Belgian Tervurens occupied whether I'm away or at home. The items, puzzle toys, are hidden and the dogs are released with a 'find it" cue. This keeps them busy for at least 15 to 20 minutes. In addition, toy box play keeps mouths busy, brain focused and positive endorphins flowing with healthy food and treats. For the dog who attention seeks, or howls out of boredom by simply increasing exercise and the daily mentally stimulating activities will decrease and even extinguish howling behavior.

Set soothing music or the television to come on several minutes before scheduled howling or to play while you are away

Music ,such as that created by Lisa Specter in the Through a Dog's Ear CD series is designed to put a dog at ease, make them sleepy and relax through soothing, well-placed chords and sound. Each CD has been tested and re-tested on hundreds of dogs. This series is used in my classes for aggressive and reactive dogs, as well as in basics. Rarely is there a dog who continually barks, howls or acts up in class, as not only are they relaxed and focused, but mentally stimulated with training activities.

The television can also be a great diversion tool providing it is set to sounds such as soft voices and
programming that doesn't stimulate the howler. Howling or barking dogs may very well increase howling behavior. Pleasant sounds drown outdoor noises and create a sense familiar people are in the house.

Soothing touch before bed or prior to leaving

Techniques such as Tellington Touch or Ttouch relax the cells beneath the skin with circular motions. For howlers it is a great tool to use before bedtime or prior to leaving. Using small circular touches around the ears, and down the muzzle, even inside the mouth relaxes. Usually howlers, barkers, whiners hold a lot of tension in their mouth and just this simple calming process can produce miraculous results. Couple this with ear strokes and the dog will sufficiently relax enough to decrease howling behavior.

Condense movement - crate, x-pen or small room

Turn out lights, cover crate and create a calm, dark and soothing atmosphere. Add a ticking clock and warm pad or water bottle and alone times will come to mean something special. Adding soft music can put a howling dog to a restful, howl-less sleep.

Create a safe zone for the dog combining all techniques or some of them as pertains to each individual canine.

Use calming tools

There are quite a few tools available to dog owners that are calming, soothing and safe. These tools are in the form of calming collars, DAP (Dog Appeasing Pheromones) diffusers, Rescue Remedy and aroma therapies for dogs, and psycho or audio biotechnology in the form of chords of music to soothe the canine soul, such as the Through a Dog's Ear series of Cd's.

There are Tellington Touch wraps, Thundershirts and anxiety wraps to soothe the anxious canine. These are like a big hug of comfort causing the dog to relax and feel a sense of security and safety.

From calming tools, to a calming environment, exercise and mentally stimulating activities a howler can go from loud to learning what it means to be calm, content, and quiet.