You had me at haroooo
BY NICK BARNETTYou think you know your pet, and then it goes and does something unexpected.
My dachshund Phoebe, who's 20 months old, has discovered a new sound. It's a sound born of her heritage, grounded in her instinct; a sound roaring out from her wolfish DNA.
It is the sound "haroooo".
Yes, Phoebe has uttered her first howl. And a few moments later, her second.
It was yesterday afternoon, as I worked in the study while the dogs watched the world go by from our front deck. At first I thought it must have been a distant dog, because neither of my dogs has ever howled. Then I realised it originated close to me, so I went to look. As I watched, Phoebe threw her head back and bayed.
"Haroooo!"
What prompted Phoebe to wail into the wind? An ambulance siren.
Now, we used to have a couple of huskies living two doors down from us. Any audible siren would set them off, keening and sobbing as though their hearts were broken.
But I kind of expect that behaviour of huskies, as wolfish as they look.
I hadn't expected a petite girly dachshund to deliver herself of such a chilling sound.
But there you go. Now I wonder if she'll make a habit of it. And whatever she starts, can Connor be far behind? He's easily led, usually following Phoebe's example. So soon we might have the pair of them baying heart-rendingly into the breeze.
Which I'm sure will thrill our neighbours.
Actually, Phoebe has been building her vocabulary for quite a while. As a puppy she had a small range of whines and ear-slapping barks that are best transcribed as "h-thwapp".
To these she has added "bahwawawa" and something I can only record as "bleh". These two sounds constitute Phoebe's watchdog repertoire; she only uses them when reacting to a strange outside sound.
I have to say that none of Phoebe's noises are pretty. Connor has a more bearable bark, gruff and smoky: "ourf, ourf, narf, ourf ourf" is his usual rhythm, the "narf" being his intake of breath.
Connor can also make himself sound precisely like Scooby-Doo: "Ra ru rerry rerry ru? Ra ru?" But it's only a noise he'll make when addressing our cat. Who, of course, does not dignify the impertinence with a reply.
Does your dog howl? If so, what sets it off? Does it have a repertoire of sounds for certain occasions?
» Join Four Legs Good on Facebook.
Sponsored links
Newest First
Oldest First
Ohh yes do my dogs howl! They are both beagles, the older girl does it everytime she gets excited about anything... breakfast, treats, bones, toys, wanting her brother to play with her.... My younger dog is only 7 months old and he's just learning how to howl at the moment - its soooo cute!
Our JRTx barks at the tv. Incessantly, at any animal, cartoon or otherwise, and lord help any dog on the TV that barks. He searches the whole house for that mutt.
We have no idea how to get him to stop!
No howling per se. I have a male golden retriever who despite being the least aggressive male dog of any breed I have ever come across - has a welcome bark that can cause a staunch, dog-friendly grown man to lose bladder control. Needless to say that my house is the only one in the street that has never been burgled.
The Fire siren! And my Rottie/Huntaway X has the most terrible howl I have ever heard! I keep telling him he can't sing, but it doesn't stop him at all. At least my Rottie has a proper dog sounding howl when she joins in.
I used to live next door to a farm that had a handful of racing greyhounds (no idea how many there were) that would howl in the most horrific way when the fire siren went off. It was really quite chilling, and not nice to listen to in the middle of the night!
I have 2 boxers and my girl who is nearly 3 does a half howl half bark, also known as the wah wah song that boxers have. When she gets up in the morning or we get home from work, she does a little, woo woo and thats it. Other than that she barks at everything else coming pass the gate!
I love my daxy's howl! It first came out when the fire station siren went off which rattles the valley. I found it hilarious. But sadly she got used to the siren going off and has stopped the howling. Instead she just has her usual yappy annoying bark when she sees cats outside our house.
My mastiff-staffie cross pup loves to sigh with a 'humph' sound when settling down, and when he flops onto his back after being naughty utters something sounding eerily like 'oh no'!
Our huntaway cross howls when we blow down the horn we have at our holiday home - it's the cutest thing! Our staffy dosen't howl but he does this weird warble/cry noise when he's really excited. It sounds like he's trying to talk
Schoolgirl sex video man guilty
Sir Richard Taylor named New Zealander of the Year
Dazzling Adele silences critics
Kiwis in cruise ship cocaine bust
Mallard offers ticket cash back
'Starved, beaten' teen weighed just 32kg
Sonny Bill Williams finds rugby boring: mate
No radiation leak on plane, says Fire Service
Sir Richard Taylor named New Zealander of the Year
Mallard offers ticket cash back
Dazzling Adele silences critics
Kiwis' epic skateboarding adventure
Electronic cigarette explodes in man's mouth
15-minute-old newborn gets heart pacemaker
Game promotes friendship across cultures
A few years ago I dog-sat an old, deaf springer spaniel. She didn't bark, or whine. She howled. To be let out, to be let in, when she wanted food, when she wanted attention. I made it through the week & then ran as fast as possible back to my petless flat, hoping the owners would never call on me again.
I love dogs, and I can handle them barking at nothing/cats/wind in the trees/sirens/visitors, but howling just sets my nerves on edge.
We had an old Lab X who had the most ferocious sounding bark for when visitors came to the gate, but as soon as someone addressed her, she'd wag her tail & present her belly for scratches. She was part border collie too, so she would slink when she did something wrong - dead giveaway there!