The wolf within
A Pomeranian puppy listening to wolf howls on the computer:
This reminds me of Katie, my first Sheltie. When she was a puppy I would hold her in my lap while I sat at the computer so I could play things for her — YouTube videos, Jacquie Lawson cards from my Mom, etc. I played wolf howls for her, and she would cock her head and listen intently, just like this little Pom. But she never howled. In fact, I never heard Katie or Molly howl, not once. Maybe Shelties don’t usually do that. Barking they can do; they’ve got barking down. We’re good on the barking. But howling? Not so much.
And here’s a German Shepherd doing the same thing:
It’s wonderful to me that German Shepherds and Pomeranians are the same species. I guess it’s not quite the level of variation as broccoli and Brussels sprouts, but still.
P.S. The top comment on the Pom video at YouTube is hilarious and spot-on:
Guess the wolves howling means:
1. Go to your basket.
2. Listen carefully.
3. Howl like us.
4. Good job!
14 Responses to “The wolf within”
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Gayle says:
That was awesome. That Shepard had it down!
My little dog howls when he bites his squeaky toys. He’ll make squeaky noises for a while and then howl and howl triumphantly. I played this loud for him to see how he’d react. Nothing. (Shrug)
January 9th, 2012 at 7:43 pm EST -
Violet Socks says:
What kind of dog do you have, Gayle?
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Gayle says:
He’s a Schipperke. If you haven’t heard of the breed, you’re not alone. They are technically very small Belgian Shepherds. He’s super smart and very active.
If I start howling, he’ll sing along to beat the band. The real thing doesn’t seem to faze him.
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tinfoil hattie says:
I love wolves. And dogs.
That is all.
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Violet Socks says:
Actually, I just remembered: when Katie was a puppy, YouTube didn’t exist yet. I found the wolf howls on some website devoted to wolves I think. Weird, life before YouTube. It all seems so vague and long ago.
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Violet Socks says:
As a matter of fact, I don’t think Jacquie Lawson existed then either. I think Mom was using Blue Mountain back then. Katie was born in February 1999, which was something like a thousand years ago in internet years.
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Violet Socks says:
Gayle, I’ve never known a Schipperke, but I’ve seen pictures of the breed. They look very Spitzy, even though I understand that they’re descended from shepherd dogs.
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LabRat says:
There’s another option- they’re howling for mom/the rest of their own pack. Wolf packs will kill dogs, and a baby like the little pom would be especially vulnerable.
Or it could just be confusion/instinct for a species that has had the “howl” slider dialed way down and the “bark” dialed way up.
I’ve only heard my own dogs howl twice. The first time was when the youngest pup (he’s four months old now, was seven weeks then) managed to get himself hurt/stuck; the adults howled like wolves until I was able to come help him. The second time was when a couple of younger kids using the sidewalk adjoining the long end of our fence line managed to stir a nest of late-fall, angry yellowjackets; when the younger girl started screaming in pain, my adult male began howling. (The female didn’t, but she’s not half so interested in/protective of strange children in general as he is.)
I don’t know what howling necessarily means to dogs in general, but to mine it apparently very specifically means “someone is in trouble, come rescue them”. They don’t react to audio of wolves howling with anything other than curiosity, and they react to coyotes howling nearby with hackling, pacing, and maybe barking. Or the adults do, the puppy looks for someone to protect him.
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Violet Socks says:
There’s another option- they’re howling for mom/the rest of their own pack. Wolf packs will kill dogs, and a baby like the little pom would be especially vulnerable.
Or it could just be confusion/instinct for a species that has had the “howl” slider dialed way down and the “bark” dialed way up.
With the little Pom, I think it’s both of those things sequentially. At first she’s startled and alarmed—she runs to her basket and you can hear her make a little puppy squeal. But then once she’s safe in her basket, she resumes her attention to the howl and is baffled. What is that? What is that? When she tries to howl too, is she calling for her pack, or is she just feeling compelled to join in?
When you watch the big German Shepherd react the same way, it’s hard to believe that she’s frightened. It seems more like she feels compelled to join in. At least she doesn’t look frightened to me; she looks fascinated.
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quixote says:
I remember walking in a park in Perth, hearing one of those peculiar Australian birds that can sound like a human being. No words, and a cry that a human would have to feel very strange to make, and yet you have to watch the bird make the sound to convince yourself it’s not human. Arresting, is perhaps the right word.
I know just how that Pom feels.
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LabRat says:
I think you’re right about the Pom’s initial reaction- I interpreted diving for her bed as diving for her den, where she’d be safe enough to think about either calling for Mom or staying put and quiet.
And I think Quixote might actually be spot on about the motivation to howl back, at least for the GSD and maybe for the baby Pom too.
FWIW, my dogs are Akitas; relatively primitive breed, and they tend to attach very specific meaning to different kinds of vocalization, at least that I can interpret. Barking is either a warning or a threat, howling is apparently a distress call, everything else is some variant of gruff, growl, yowl, huff, or whine…
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Violet Socks says:
Here’s an interesting link from PBS about wolf howls and the various types/usages:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wolves/howl.html
I’m going to post another dog vocalization video because, yeah, that’s pretty much my life now. Looking at dogs on YouTube.
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class factotum says:
I played the videos and my cats went on alert! One is looking around trying to figure out what is going on and the other ran to the window. She is watching carefully, tail twitching.
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Val says:
Yep, it is amazing, isn’t it? Poms to German Shepherds, Chihuahuas to Great Danes, all Canis familiaris! Anyone who doubts evolution, how do they explain this genetic diversity within a single species?!?
Or fancy poultry, for that matter…
Anyway, I feel privileged each & every day to work for the good clients who entrust me w/the care of their beloved pets (don’t get me started on the rest ;-) !
