Why Do Dogs Howl When They Hear Ambulance Sirens. So when a howl-like siren goes off that wolf pack instinct gets triggered and your pup feels the need to respond. Hounds like Beagles Coonhounds Foxhounds and Bloodhounds are known for their distinctive howls likely because theyve been selectively bred to howl while on the hunt to let their handlers know where they. Hes simply responding to the howling the way. But when it comes to howling at particular noises there are likely two main reasons.
Reward your dog anytime they hear a siren and dont respond with howling both with praise and a treat. Bringing the noise to your attention and verbally scaring the sound away. The howl is considered to be a long distance doggie telephone call since the long drawn-out sound can travel for distances of several miles thus alerting other dogs to their location or needs. In fact this is the more popular explanation for why dogs howl at sirens. This can quickly turn into a neighborhood event as all the canines on the block start joining in the group message. Another common belief as to why dogs may howl at sirens harkens back to some dogs being utilized as a protector or watchdog for a family.
It may take some time howling is an instinctual behavior after all but eventually your dog will learn that staying silent when they hear a siren is a shortcut to affection and treatsand theyll willingly keep the howls at bay.
This new sound may be harmless but it may also be a threat and as they say its better to be safe than sorry. Some dogs will start howling at a siren even if they recognize that it doesnt belong to another animal. The cause could be that it is in its genes to howl when it hears high pitched noises like sirens. In the wild dogs and wolves would howl to alert other dogs and wolves of their position and when they hear other dogs howling they would start to howl as well. Thousands and thousands of years of communicating with other dogs and before that as wolves via howling are in-built into your dogs instinct. We dont really know why dogs howl in response to a siren but I believe the high-pitched sound of sirens is an auditory perception trigger that elicits a vocal response in some dogs as a form of communication based either on primal response to high-pitched sounds or discomfort.