Howling Dog !!

jjdub1

Last night my dog frightened the daylights out of me by waking me up, twice, with a long drawn out howl. I'm not sure if he was even awake at the time, he was lying at the foot of the bed, so he could have been asleep - don't know if that's possible. He hasn't done this before so not sure what's going on with him - any thoughts ?

fathead82

is he neutered? We used to have a dog who would howl all night when there was a bitch nearby in heat.Got him neutered & that was the end of that!

andreac

My dog does this sometimes and i think its because he gets the scent of a female, hes entire.
A lot of dogs would howl for all different reasons. But it does scare you when it wakes you up from your sleep,lol.

jjdub1

He is neutered, so probably not that

andreac

He would still get a scent though, that wouldnt stop him smelling a female in heat.

jjdub1

Didn't know what was going on for a second or two, was strange as he hasn't done it before. The only time I've heard him howl was when he heard a bird singing on a nature programme on TV - he howled along with it, lol

kylith

The only time one of mine howls is in her sleep; a long drawn out 'Woooooooooooooo' until she wakes herself up. Maybe your guy is just having a dream.

Pumpkinseeds

What was the weather like in your area last night? It was horrendous here with snow and howling gale force winds. A lot of animals are frightened by the howling sound of gales. A dog howling is a very primal sound, eerie especially when it wakes you from sleep.

jjdub1

Didn't think of scent, there's a new dog/bitch somewhere in my building and seems quite near as I've heard it bark, so maybe that's it

jjdub1

Weather was terrible , howling (lol) wind etc. but he hadn't done it before and it also looked to me like he could have been asleep.

staffielassie

What breed of dog is he?

jjdub1

He sounded like a huskey last night, but he is a .......... wait for it ........ chihuahua

staffielassie

Some small dogs can experience severe head aches and symptoms can worsen at night. My king charles used to exhibit the same behaviour for about the last 6 months of her life. Our vet thought that it was Syringomyelia but as far as I know it is common (not as common as in king charles up to 75% of them can have it) in Chihuahua's also. I think it is diagnosed by an MRI and can be very costly.
I don't mean to scare you but its just it sounds like the exact same behaviour. Best get your vet to check him out. Also might be a good idea to contact the breeder you got the little fella from and ask if any of their dogs have exhibited the same behaviour or have shown signs of distress.

This might help too.
http://chihuahuaclubofamerica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136&Itemid=133

andreac

One howl at night and you are suggesting a vet visit?? Seriously? Bit ott if you ask me...

My rottie would howl every now and again, its normal dog behaviour. Doesnt warrant a vet visit.

jjdub1

^^^^ this. And was about to say he exhibits none of the symptoms of syringomyelia, but thanks for the heads up

kassie

my three howl at night all the time, its nothing to worry about, as andreac says its natural dog behaviour, yes its annoying when its 3.17am on your clock and you've been woken for a lovely warm cozy slumber but its what dogs do!!

My three (a foxhound cross whose bark would wake the dead!!!, a small crossbreed and a whopping big Dane) will howl and bark in chorus and it could last up to a half an hour if they aren't interrupted by a thud on the ceiling or one of us having to get up to them. I know its scary if it hasn't happened before but he/she might have heard a howling dog in the distance or was dreaming...

maggiepip

Funny - my Lab did this recently and it was after waking up from a nightmare - she had never done it before and hasnt since - Im pretty sure it was related to a bad dream.

Mark.Smith90

Here is some info I got from a good blog on why dogs howl and how to stop it, thought it might be useful

<snip>

Mark.Smith90, until you're going to reference and link to the blogs you're getting this information from, your posts will be deleted.
Do not reply to this post on thread.
Thanks,
DBB

tk123

Mark.Smith90 wrote: »

Here is some info I got from a good blog on why dogs howl and how to stop it, thought it might be useful

.

Do you write that blog or what? You're copying and pasting from it in other posts and recommending the website it came from in another?!