Howling for fun ?

[Normansdad]

Hi everyone!

My lovely boy Norman is nearly two years old. I absolutely love him, he's my best mate and we have such a great time together. I've got a question that I would be interested to hear from others about.

Every evening, after his dinner, he picks up his squeaky toy, a bunny rabbit, walks around the lounge with it, tossing  and turning it, and then embarks on a intermittent two or three minute howl!! It's hilarious, and I've videoed it many times.

I'm intrigued to know why he does this. It's all over afte a few minutes and he goes  back to sitting on the sofa afterwards.

Dies anyone have any ideas, or does anyone have a similar thing with their dogs.

He's an English working (not working) cocker !!

Thanks

[hoover]

Cute!  Ollie howls on command 'sing' and occasionally when he gets excited. My partner finds it hilarious which has led him to being encouraged in his howls and prolonging them until we finally convince him to be quiet.  You might find your response to it is like positive reinforcement to him and so he keeps on doing it and it is a bit of a habit now!  It always amuses us, so primitive looking the way he stretches his head back and lets rip, got to say he's not particularly tuneful however!

[hoover]

ps. you can teach them little tricks with this, especially if they are inclined to copy your vocalisations.  Ollie will try to match our tone, pauses, length of sound and volume, so we try to get him to mimic phrases like 'i love you' by almost howling  it to him first and then swapping in the words so that it is like he howl repeats it back to us 

[sodpot2000]

As I understand it howling (in the wild) can be a way of bonding or of calling members of the pack back to the den.

Last weekend we were all outside taking advantage of the last good weather to fix problems with an outbuilding roof. Buster and Annie thought they could help but had to be told to stay inside. Two excited dogs on a partially deconstructed roof is never going to end well!

So they got together and started to sing their 'protest song' - Buster Terfyl and Cockeryn Jenkins - since they both come from the land of song! I doubt they will be signing any record deals soon 

[bizzylizzy]

As I understand it howling (in the wild) can be a way of bonding or of calling members of the pack back to the den.

Last weekend we were all outside taking advantage of the last good weather to fix problems with an outbuilding roof. Buster and Annie thought they could help but had to be told to stay inside. Two excited dogs on a partially deconstructed roof is never going to end well!

So they got together and started to sing their 'protest song' - Buster Terfyl and Cockeryn Jenkins - since they both come from the land of song! I doubt they will be signing any record deals soon 

  it was probably their version of "We'll keep a welcome" 'til you come home from fixin' the roof!!  - bless 'em!

[Barry H]

Think yourself lucky.  Jack sometimes does this in the middle of the night for some inexplicable reason.  The first time he did it I nearly **** the bed...

[sodpot2000]

Barry! - You've been letting him stay up to watch those late night horror films haven't you?

The Howling
An American Cocker Spaniel in London
Salem's Spaniel
Cocker of Dracula