My dog houls at sirens?

Question

Everytime an ambulance is in the distance my dog just starts houling like a wolf. Any ideas what this might mean?

Note: He used to be owned to someone we didn't know...

Answer 1

A lot of dogs do that when they hear an on going (very annoying, lol) sound.

I'm not sure, I could be wrong, but I think it hurts their ears!

Answer 2

Sirens and other high pitch sounds could be simlar to howls in the animal kingdom. They are just responding the way we initiate clapping our hands. Have you ever noticed that someone actually starts first and others follow. My dog howls when i play the recorder. She is passing on a community message in the jungle system. Of an impending danger or some food source. Try howling yourself your dog will reply. What great pals you would make to your original jungle friend.

Answer 3

My dogs howl in response to coyotes howling and barking. It is their way of communicating. They do the same thing when they hear sirens. That's all your dog is doing, communicating with the ambulance. At least that's what your dog thinks.

Answer 4

The pitch of the sirens is piercing to a dog's hearing, and therefore they often react by howling. Some dogs will also do this with alarm clocks, smoke detectors, etc.

Answer 5

Sometimes dogs will howl when they hear sirens or other loud higher pitched sounds like clarinets and flutes. These sounds may even come from a television set. Dogs do this as an instinctive response to hearing what they interpret to be another howl (dog in the distance). They are not doing this because it hurts their ears.

Answer 6

All dogs are sensitive to high pitched sound. They can hear sounds a human can't. It hurt's their ears when they hear a siren. The 4th of July is a very bad day for dogs because of the high pitched rockets going off.

Answer 7

I used to live on the other side of a firehouse and my dog always barked at the alarm. So did my uncle's dog. (uncle lives nextdoor) I guess dogs don't like those types of sounds, not only because it's loud, maybe it bothers their ears? They do pick up pitches in sounds that we can't hear.

Answer 8

The frequency that sirens use hurt the dogs ears.

Answer 9

Dogs howl at sirens. It's one of the things they do.

Answer 10

Lol... Omg.. my cocker spaniel does exactly the same thing!!! I think it is so cute.. and it is normal. He does it everytime and at anytime. What kind of dog do you have? I've heard that it is common in cocker spaniels... although, all dogs do it but not when they hear sirens, only some.