Why do dogs howl when they hear sirens?

Answer 1

Many people believe that dogs howl in response to fire-truck and police sirens because it hurts their ears. This is not so, the response is a throw-back to the wild instinctual behavior of howling in response to another dog's howl.

Pack animals like wolves and dogs will howl in harmony as a form of staying in touch over distances and communicating between packs. You begin to "howl" and your packmate simply joins in.

It's the reason all those dogs howl on the video shows when their owners play the clarinet, howl, sing,or play songs on the radio. It's an instinctive wolf behavior.

Wolves will howl together as a social and territorial ritual. They also howl to locate each other when the pack is split up, to help coordinate hunting activities or to reassemble the pack.

Answer 2

You are absolutely right about this! My dog (a german shepherd) howls when he hears:

1) car alarms
2) cell phone rings (but only musical ringtones -- not the ones that sound like a regular phone.)
3) electronic music (like from a child's toy or video game)
4) police sirens, like your dog

Strangely, he does not howl when there is music on the radio. There is something specific about "artificial" music coming out of electronic devices -- but it has to be music, not just "beeps".

It has nothing to do with the volume of the music. I did an experiment and played some cell phone music from very far away and very softly and he started howling like he was dying. I have several hypotheses:

1) he is singing along with the music.

2) there are sonic frequencies which as humans we cannot hear, but must "tickle" his ears

3) he is responding to the sounds to communicate; this perhaps has roots in his long ago ancestry in the wolf, where the wolves howled at each other to communicate or express their feelings (like howling at the moon).

A very interesting question, and I'm eager to see what other ppl say about this. Thank you!

Answer 3

I had a chow that never howled at the sirens. She had very good hearing and it really surprised me that she didnt howl.

Answer 4

Their hearing is so much better than ours, the high shrill tones hurt their ears.
To a dog, the siren sounds as awful as someone dragging their fingernails across a chalk board to our ears.

Answer 5

It is becasue the siren has a higher pitch that bothers the sensitive hearing of dogs.

Answer 6

I guess because they sense trouble, my neighbors' dogs do that too when they hear sirens.

Answer 7

It may hurt their ears but maybe they are answering it like in the call of the wild

Answer 8

Dogs have very good hearing & have very sensetive ears and it could hurt their ears.

Answer 9

it's probly a low frequency sound, which their for hurts the dogs ears. but then again i'm not sure.

Answer 10

Thier hearing is sooooo much better and they hear tones we can't. It is painful to them.