Why does a dog howl? There are logical and scientific explanations for this. The roots of dogs come from wolves, who communicated with each other through howling. But in our time, such “singing” often disturbs neighbors and the dog’s owners themselves, especially if the pet becomes talkative at night.
A dog's howling is one of the ways of communication and expression of feelings, so you should not punish your tailed friend - it's the same as punishing him for wagging his tail. But it is possible to eliminate the motives that cause unwanted behavior.
Dreaming is normal for dogs
Almost all dogs dream the same way as humans, and this may be the reason why you hear howling when they sleep. If your dog is having a particularly exciting or even scary dream, he may start howling. Sometimes this manifests itself as whining, while other dogs may howl like wolves.
Like humans, dogs tend to experience their most vivid dreams during REM sleep. Some dogs make no noise at all while sleeping, while others are quite noisy.
Studies have shown that small breed dogs dream more than larger breeds. While we're still not entirely sure why this is the case, it's fascinating to say the least.
The main thing is not to let negativity into your heart
In night vision, do you walk down the street and meet a sick, emaciated animal that howls pitifully? It is believed that a lot of troubles will soon fall on you.
Dreamed of a little puppy howling
Interpreters advise you not to lose heart. If you are able to understand in time what is the cause of your suffering, then the dark streak will soon end.
After dreams in which you saw a small puppy howling, you should be extremely careful. It is possible that you will find yourself in a situation from which it will be quite difficult to extricate yourself.
According to Tsvetkov’s dream book, the crying of a puppy promises the dreamer the loss of a large sum of money. After such a vision, you should control all your expenses and not trust even close people.
This way you will not only save your money, but also maintain peace in your family.
Check your dog
If you wake up to the sound of a dog howling in another room of the house, it's worth checking on him just in case. There is a possibility that they are awake and in distress. Some dogs howl when they are in pain or simply anxious. It could even be your dog's way of getting your attention if he's feeling very stressed.
Make sure there are no other signs that your dog requires medical attention. This includes vomiting, seizures, balance problems and other abnormal behaviors. If the problem does not seem urgent, you should make an appointment with your veterinarian as soon as possible.
You should also look for any signs of injury if you ever notice your dog howling while awake. There is a chance that he stepped on a piece of glass or something else sharp. In this case, you will need to clean the wound and bandage it.
Mysticism and facts
Almost all signs indicate that a dog's howling is a harbinger of death, trouble or serious problems. Most of the interpretations have been invented for why a dog howls in the yard at night, and almost all of them talk about the imminent death of the owner or family members. Such an eerie judgment, again, is due to man’s age-old fear of wolves. There are quite a few reasons for a dog’s howling, and in order to stop it, it doesn’t hurt to first figure it out, and not scold and punish the dog, or even worse, expect some kind of trouble.
Such vocal performance is a completely natural manifestation for dogs. This becomes clear if we recall their classification, according to which the canine family belongs to the order of carnivores, the genus and species of wolves. Drawing an analogy with wild relatives, one can find explanations for the howl of dogs, which among wolves has many variations and, above all, is a means of communication for them. Such a study will help you figure out why your dog howls during the day or at night and what to do about this annoying phenomenon.
Just leave your dog alone
The best thing you can do when your dog howls in his sleep is to simply leave him alone. It may be tempting to wake your dog to stop the noise, but this is usually not a good idea. Disrupting your dog's sleep cycle can be detrimental to his overall health.
If you really have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep due to your dog's howling, you can always try using earplugs. You can also try placing a dog bed in an area of the house that is further away from your own. This may be enough to give you peace and quiet during the night.
Folk signs
There are a lot of folk beliefs about dog howling, and some of them may contradict others. Some resulted from random coincidences, while others have a completely adequate scientific explanation.
- If a dog howls at the moon at night, it was considered a sign of a change in the weather.
- A dog howls at a house - to a fire.
- If the dog howls with his head down, there is a dead person in the house. If a dog howls while lying down, it has a presentiment of its own death.
- The dog howls, holding his head straight - to hunger, pestilence or war.
- A pack of dogs howling means big trouble.
Can I stop my dog from howling?
Here are some tips that could potentially help you stop your dog's nighttime howling without compromising his health.
Help your dog lose weight
If your dog is howling/snoring due to excess weight, you should do everything possible to help him lose the excess fat. This may mean giving them fewer treats and even switching to a new diet food that is a little lighter.
It is also important that you give your dog plenty of exercise when you are trying to help him lose weight. If you usually take your dog for a walk only once a day, increase the walks to twice. You might also consider taking them to a dog park to run and explore a couple of times a week.
As your dog begins to lose weight, you should begin to notice an improvement in his howling. They will most likely howl less and not as loudly, allowing you to constantly rest for your beauty.
Take your dog to the vet
Be sure to take your dog to the vet if he howls in his sleep (or is awake). This will help you know if there are any potential health problems that need to be addressed. Some dogs have sinus problems that can cause this problem. It is possible that your dog will require surgery, depending on the nature of the problem and its severity.
Don't think about bad things
Seeing a sick animal in the middle of the street in a dream, moaning and howling a little, means some misfortunes that will come out of nowhere. It’s especially bad if you dreamed that you were affected by the suffering of an unfortunate creature. However, the outcome will be very comforting if you manage to notice the emerging problem in time.
Bad news, losing money, getting into a critical situation - this is exactly what a crying puppy dreams about. Tsvetkov’s Dream Book recommends not letting things take their course, monitoring every payment, and monitoring all transactions personally. Then there is hope that major troubles and quarrels will be avoided.
Conclusion
- Dreaming is the most common reason why dogs howl in their sleep.
- A dog begins to dream when it enters REM sleep, just like humans.
- It is generally not recommended to wake a dog that howls in its sleep as it disrupts its sleep cycle.
- Unfortunately, there is no real way to train a dog not to howl while sleeping.
- What you think is howling may actually be your dog snoring.
- If your dog is overweight, you can try to help him shed the extra pounds to reduce nighttime noise.
- If you have trouble sleeping due to your dog's howling, try placing his bed as far away from yours as possible.
- Howling while sleeping is a completely natural behavior for many dogs.
- Make sure your dog is not actually sleeping or howling, as this could be a sign of a serious health problem.
What does Miller's dream book say?
A faithful friend and friend in reality turns into an evil symbol in a dream. Psychologists say that if you dream of a howl, you must definitely analyze your personal and public affairs. In addition, the causes of a bad dream can be depression or stress suffered the day before. Which means only one thing - it's time to rest.
Why do you dream of a howling dog, Miller’s dream book interprets it as follows:
- a lonely dog on the moon - to melancholy, blues;
- hearing a pack - to a deterioration in health;
- not seeing an animal, only hearing it means a change in the weather;
- a sick and suffering dog means trouble.
Death and disease
During illness, a person’s excretory function of the sweat glands increases. Sweat contains substances produced as a result of metabolism, including harmful metabolic products that accumulate. A dog's sense of smell, considered the most important of its senses, detects the slightest changes in the owner's body by the smell of sweat. Therefore, the dog learns about the onset of the disease before its symptoms appear.
By howling, the dog warns of the dangerous state of the owner and sometimes even blocks his path when leaving the house. If a person neglects the warning of his four-legged friend, the dog may howl heart-rendingly, and if it lives in the yard, then it may also dig the ground with its paws in despair.
This behavior of the animal gave rise to many rumors about the imminent death of its owners. Indeed, diseases vary in complexity and can end in death; this happened much more often when there was a lack of medical care and diagnosis. But the death signal is not a dog's prediction, but rather a warning.
How to neutralize a bad prediction
Many superstitions that relate to a howling dog have bad consequences. And in order to ward off a bad sign, pronounce a certain conspiracy.
- According to popular beliefs, a bad sign that concerns approaching death can be neutralized by reading the following plot: “It’s not time, leave death from the yard.” These words are pronounced three times, after which they treat their dog with a treat.
- If the howling of a dog keeps you awake at night, and you are afraid of bad consequences, then turn the pillow over and say these words: “On your own head.” This simple spell will take away negative thoughts, and quickly plunge into deep sleep.
- You can also stand up, approach the dog, place a shoe in front of him with the sole up and stand on it with your bare foot. Beliefs say that this technique confuses evil spirits, and they go astray from their intended path.
- If your or your neighbor’s dog howls for several nights in a row, leave the house or yard, stand at the gate, and say, looking towards the street: “Trouble should not come through this gate. The dog barks, the wind blows.” This plot will save you from trouble, and you will fall asleep peacefully. Moreover, if the next morning the dog still remains near the house and continues to howl, then this means that today you or your neighbors will be overtaken by an unexpected danger.
- You can neutralize a bad omen by lighting a candle for the health of your family in church. If the howl of a dog promises a deterioration in the health of one of the household members, then in this case it is advisable to order magpie.
Whatever the interpretation of the sign about a howling dog, you should not punish your pet. Remember that a four-legged friend does not call out trouble, but only reports about it. A faithful dog is trying to warn of impending troubles, so try to take this into account.
Longing and loneliness
Dogs have a highly developed need to interact with others like themselves, which has been supplanted by dependence on humans and communication with them. Pets have a hard time being separated from any family member, especially their owner. They express their melancholy with a heartbreaking howl, from which their neighbors suffer.
Many families faced with this problem, where household members go to work or study every day, have been helped by purchasing a kitten. Even the most massive and ferocious dogs stopped howling in the absence of their owners, redirecting their attention and tenderness to the small creature. It is worth noting that when two dogs live in a house, they do not cry in anticipation of their owners.
Also, why a dog howls at night can also explain its longing for a sexual partner when it’s time to mate. This is especially true for male dogs, who will show their need in other ways.
What to do if your neighbors dog howls
If everything is more or less clear with your own animal, then cases when the neighbor’s dog howls are confusing. This is especially true for residents of apartment buildings, whose audibility is much better than we would like.
If the howling is simply unbearable and harms the quality of their own lives, apartment residents have the right to write a complaint to the administration or local district police officer. Of course, such measures should be left as a last resort, and first of all, have a conversation with the dog’s owners. Perhaps they do not mean that in their absence the entire entrance can hear.
Dog howling can seriously worsen the quality of life of household members, so you should not ignore the beginning of the problem. To stop a dog from howling, it is important to promptly pay attention to its behavior and identify the true cause. With this knowledge, you can easily adjust your behavior and enjoy communicating with your beloved four-legged friend in silence.
Call of the Wild
Wolves can convey quite complex messages with their voices. They send information along a chain for many kilometers about the location of another animal, be it an enemy, a victim or a person. In each case the howl will be distinctive. It is transmitted from animal to animal over many kilometers to gather all members of the pack for hunting or to warn them of danger.
A huge role in the social life of wolves is played by collective vocal performance, which serves as a tool of socialization, sharpening the instinct of individuals to belong to their group. In addition, in this way, wolves communicate with other packs and always signal with a choral howl if their brother has strayed from the group.
During experiments, scientists found that a howl was heard whenever any of its members were removed from the pack, but the loudest and longest sound came when the leader was separated from the group. The same reaction occurred if a pair of potential or permanent sexual partners were separated.
As a rule, the collective howl is heard at dawn or dusk. The leader begins to solo, and after some time, the rest of the group joins him. All of the above facts can explain a number of signs, not only why a dog howls at night, but why this happens during the daytime.
