The complaining howl or lingering whine of dogs causes a painful impression in a person and often makes him very anxious. Too much mysticism is associated with these sounds! And really, what is the reason that the four-legged friends of a person suddenly start to howl? Do not know? Let's figure it out.
Do not associate a dog's howl with mysticism or occultism, the reason for it is much simpler and more prosaic. The fact is that domestic Chihuahuas, Dobermans and even toy terriers are very close relatives of wolves and have inherited some behavioral features from them. The wolf pack is used to communicating with each other through barking and howling. For every wolf, belonging to a family is of great importance, which is why, if someone fought off the rest or just became sad and wanted to communicate, the wolf will lift its muzzle up and start a lingering beautiful song that will surely be heard by its brothers. The howling of wolves can be heard in the night forest, but, contrary to popular belief, it does not mean anything sinister. It's just that the members of the wolf brotherhood decided to talk to each other.
Dogs howl for the same reason. If a puppy is lonely without a mother and brothers or an adult dog is left alone at home for a long time, he begins to whine or howl in full force solely in order to feel that he is not alone and, perhaps, hear somewhere in the distance the whining of his relative in response. A dog's hearing is much sharper than a human's, it has been proven that our four-legged friends can easily distinguish notes in the semitone range, which is why it costs them nothing to hear a distant howl, inaudible to the human ear. Only people think that dogs start howling for no reason at all. In fact, if a dog suddenly howls on the street or in an apartment, most likely, it is simply responding to the song of another dog, you just do not hear it.
The phenomenon of dogs singing to music is also fairly well known. If your dog starts singing along to a piece or whines lingeringly when he hears the sounds of your piano playing, this does not mean that the playing is bad, and the musical composition is worthless. If the dog does not like any sound, he will not howl under it, but simply get up and go to another place. Singing along, however, means complete sympathy on the part of the dog and a desire to join such a beautiful work of art. After all, wolves often howl in unison for the same reason - they just really like it.
People are used to thinking of a howling dog as a disturbing omen or as something aggressive and otherworldly. But this phenomenon has a simple explanation. In ancient times, when a person was forced to defend himself from wild wolves and was afraid of their invasion of their possessions, the howl served as a signal of danger and said that dangerous ones were somewhere nearby. We can say that the sound of a dog howling is imprinted in the genetic memory of a person as firmly as the aroma of fresh bread and the smell of hay. But do not be prejudiced against the howl of your four-legged friend. He is just trying to join the big dog brotherhood or wants to feel that he is not alone.
