The main reason why a lot of people seem to ask this question is because we have never seen poodles howling in the movies or on the television, not even once. So is it possible for poodles to even howl?
Can poodles howl? Yes, poodle can howl, the thing is that they don’t do it as often as other breed dogs. One of the main reason you have people reporting that their poodles howl is because the dog is going through separation anxiety or maybe they’ve been taught by other dogs in the neighborhood that tends to howl on a regular basis, like a beagle.
The first thing you should know is that there are many breeds and variety of poodles around the world. Can all poodles howl? What are the dog breeds that cannot howl?
Can Toy Poodles Howl?
The short answer is yes, toy poodles, miniature poodles and poodle mixes can all howl, the only poodles that cannot howl is the standard ones. The number one reason why you might never heard your poodle howl is because they don’t know how to do it.
What you can do is compare a dog howling to someone whistling. Everyone has the ability to whistle but not everyone can properly do it or even do it overall. If you try on a regular basis, you might get the hang of it, same as dog, if the poodle isn’t taught by other dogs how to howl, they won’t start howling.
Do All Dog Breeds Howl?
Base on research we don’t think there is any specific dog breeds out there that doesn’t have the ability to howl. Though you have a few dogs who currently have malformed vocal cards and doesn’t have the ability to howl, this isn’t stick to any specific breed. It tends to happen among all dog breeds evenly.
Even though you might have some breeds that are more likely than others to howl and not howl. If you are a dog fan then you may know by now that some dogs such as Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes are very much known for howling.
Do All Poodle Mixes Howl?
Poodle mixes are very popular these days and seems to happen quite frequently. However, when a dog is mixed with poodle, their characteristics tend to change a bit. You have a few dog breeds that are more likely to howl, these breeds include:
- Hunting Dog: Any kind of hunting dog is capable of howling. Hounds definitely fit this category. As you can see, hunting dogs were trained to howl when they found what they are searching for so that you could retrieve it from them and they were mixed and trained to be louder and louder and you can expect to hear this from the big bloodhound.
- Eskapoo: These kind of dogs are known to be mixed with the American Eskimo and poodle. These sturdily built dogs are very small in term of size while having a round head, well-set eyes, floppy ears, short black muzzle and dense coat. They are considered by many to be the ideal pet choice for all age groups.
- Bassetdoodle: These dogs are is a mix between the breeds of the Basset Hound and Poodle. These are known to be many people favorite cross breeds and the reason for this is because of their wonderful looks and gentle, friendly deposition. If you look closely you’ll notice that they look like a photoshopped version of their hound parent, but with the pretty hair of the poodle.
- Doxiepoo: Another poodle mixes are the Doxiepoo which is a cross breed of the Dachshund and the toy poodle. These kinds are considered to be one of the most unpredictable among the crossbreed dogs. At times you’ll notice that they develop the Dachshund’s long body size covered with the poodle curly coated, or the other way around.
How to Train Your Poodle to Howl?
Some poodle will learn how to howl at an early age, while at the dog park or when they’re in a kennel. But what if you have a full grown poodle that still doesn’t know how to howl and you don’t want to force them by leaving them in a kennel.
What you can do is introduce your poodle to other dog even at the dog park that knows how to howl. You can even take the time out to schedule a play date with other dog owners so that you can let your dog play with theirs. Once your poodle starts to spend time around dogs that howl, eventually they will learn how to do it as well.
Another thing you can do is try to communicate with your poodle by singing a song and the reason for this is because dog usually howl to communicate. It’s best if you try to high pitched notes, as those are normally the closers thing to a dog howl. If your dogs try to mimic you back, you should reward them with a treat, just like any other training procedure.
Whenever you are planning on giving your dog a treat make sure to do it with a howl command same as you would command your dog to sit. You can literally do whichever word you are comfortable with. But make sure to give your poodle with a treat as soon as you hear a howling sound and simply repeat the process.
What’s The Easiest Way to Make Your Poodle Howl?
What you can do is take the time out to play the harmonica and the reason for this is because it has a very high pitched. Most dogs doesn’t respond well to singing, but you’ll find a few that do like to sing along with whatever instrument you decide to play. Harmonica would be the ideal choice for this, but the good news is that any instrument can work with your poodle.
You may noticed that a lot of dogs respond to siren by howling. You should give your dogs a cue, a treat and clapped at them for howling. Another great method is to download a siren app on your phone and play so that your poodle can howl along as it play.
If none of the above work, the only thing you can do is give your poodle some time. However, it might take a very longtime before you ever hear your poodle howling. Just as how you might be ashamed to sing especially if you haven’t done it for awhile, your dog might feel insecure to howl if they don’t have enough experience.
You should also keep in mind that not all poodles will howl same as not all people will whistle, so dogs just don’t want to or even brave enough to do it right on front of you. If you are desperate to see if your dog ever howls, what you can do is set up a camera to watch your dog when you are not in their presence.
Why Do Poodle Even Howl?
It is safe to say that you have a few dogs that are more inclined than others when it comes to howling. It tends to vary from dog to dog or breed to breed. For example, we all at some point hear a beagle or hound howl, but some dogs are just not known for howling, such as toy poodles, it’s only a handful of time we hearing about these dogs howling.
If you’re one of those people who currently have a poodle that howls and you are wondering how you’ve been lucky to get one of the few poodles that has the ability to howl, here are a few reasons why your poodle is howling.
- To communicate – In order to communicate with us, dogs usually use their vocal noises as well as body language to communicate, just as we do. It’s very similar to wolf in packs, they normally howl to communicate with each other. Whenever your dog howl, he is trying to communicate with you, your family or other dogs in the household.
- To protect – One thing for sure is that dogs are territorial animals and they normally to indicate to other dogs that this isn’t an open territory. If your dog is spending time running around the fence, howling at another dog that’s properly why.
- To bond or respond – If your dog is howling while you’re playing a song, he’s only trying to join in on the fun. Whenever your dog hears the siren, it may sound very similar to another dog howling, so he might try to respond to the siren by howling back at it.
- To get attention – At some point this might begin to get annoying. When dogs are hurt or simply need your attention to alert you have something, they will sometimes howl. However, that’s not always the case as some dogs howl just to get your attention which can be quite annoying especially when you’re not in the mood.
Is My Poodle Howling Because He’s Sad or in Pain?
A lot of people whenever they hear their poodle howling they begin to think that he’s sad or maybe in pain, but that’s not necessarily the case. Although at some point we might see the dog sitting in a corner by himself while letting out a low mournful howl, that doesn’t indicate that the dog is sad.
As we’ve mentioned above, dog usually howl because they are trying to communicate. The main reason why many people think that their poodle is sad is because of the tone of howling that the dog is making, it’s a bit depressing and none of us like to hear it.
If you ever hear the dog making a long, low howl this could be a cry for help because the dog might be injured. If we compare it to a howl, this is the sound that a wolf make when he is injured and crying out for help from his packed.
This is why you shouldn’t assume that a sad howl means your dog is going through a depressing state. If you gave him all your attention and you realized he quickly recover, you could be facing a very common phenomenon that is known as manipulation. This just means that your dog like to get your full attention and knows exactly what to do so that you give it to him.