Weird fear
So lately Ender, my 9 (coming up on 10) month puppy has started howling all of a sudden. It's weird... he'll be sleeping on the rug for a while and then suddenly get up and start a low growl and eventually end in a kind of howling sound. I didn't know Corgis could even howl! It sounds exactly like a wolf would. It's like all of a sudden he hears or smells something that would make him fearful or worried. Sometimes if he's sleeping on the rug at the top of the stairs, he'll wake up, howl, and then go downstairs and look out the window for a while.
It's especially strange because he's not aggressive toward humans or other dogs AT ALL. My breeder says that she had to bottle feed him as a baby so he's very trustful of humans and this has and is the case. Everytime we take him on a walk, he's always eager to meet every person or dog that he comes across. He's actually kinda naiive in that he thinks every dog is friendly and has gotten snapped at by bigger dogs because he's always trying to play with them. He doesn't think he's a Corgi, he thinks he's a GSD or something... He's never barked at another dog or human except to say "I want to play. Why aren't you playing?" I've never even heard him growl before this.
Maybe it's a fear imprint stage or something? He's 9 months though, I thought that happens around 4 months... How should I treat this behavior? I have read that I shouldn't enforce it and ignore it. Is this normal?
It's especially strange because he's not aggressive toward humans or other dogs AT ALL. My breeder says that she had to bottle feed him as a baby so he's very trustful of humans and this has and is the case. Everytime we take him on a walk, he's always eager to meet every person or dog that he comes across. He's actually kinda naiive in that he thinks every dog is friendly and has gotten snapped at by bigger dogs because he's always trying to play with them. He doesn't think he's a Corgi, he thinks he's a GSD or something... He's never barked at another dog or human except to say "I want to play. Why aren't you playing?" I've never even heard him growl before this.
Maybe it's a fear imprint stage or something? He's 9 months though, I thought that happens around 4 months... How should I treat this behavior? I have read that I shouldn't enforce it and ignore it. Is this normal?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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If this is only happening as with what you desribe where he wakes up and looks out the window it would seem like he is just getting into his sense of protecting his domain from unknowns. He probly just hears a sound that he didn't know where it came from and wanted to allert you. I wouldn't be worried about it unless he growls or howls at a person or other dog when you are out walking and instead just be amused at the fact that you have a howling corgi. I know I still want to introduce Ein to a dog that can howl so that he will do it hehe.
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Permalink Reply by Susan Stanton on
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My older dog does that too. We'll all be lying in bed, nearly or totally asleep, and he make this funny rumbling noise (not a growl, more like a deep, deep throat clearing), and then suddenly leap to his feet, barking and looking out the window (he sleeps in an armchair with a view). I can rarely find anything out there myself, except occasionally I'll see the tail of a deer running off or a flock of wild turkeys scooting away. But most of the time, it's just empty space to my eyes and nose. And Bertie is a friendly, easy-going dog, happy to meet everyone. Similarly, he barks like a crazy man when he's in the car, and another car with dog pulls up alongside. But let him out of the car, and he runs over to do the standard butt-sniffing greeting and is delighted to meet everyone. So I agree with Sam, I think your puppy is just doing his job! Can I say, that's the CUTEST picture with the flowers, too. It should be a notecard!
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Permalink Reply by Akshay Anikhindi on
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Yes! This is exactly what Ender does. "Deep throat clearing" is what it sounds like. He sounds like a grumpy old man complaining - "stay off my lawn you goshdarned squirrels!"
Thanks for the photo compliment - though I can't take credit - the breeder had a professional take these. I would have submitted them to the Corgi calendar photo contest, but alas, I am not that talented a photographer yet :(
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Permalink Reply by GoGoRainbow on
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Maybe its just a bad dream ;)
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Permalink Reply by Lisa on
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My dogs dont howl but the neighbor's dog down the street howls everytime he hears a siren. Maybe he hears something you can't?
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Thanks for the replies everyone. So if this is just his "job" as some have pointed out, what should my reaction to this be? Should I ignore him? Try to comfort him?
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What I do with Ein when he does this at night sometimes when he jumps at the walls making sounds is just pet him firmly, tell him to shhh and that theres nothing there. Sometimes if he really thinks that there is something there i'll turn him to me and get him to give me some kisses. Either way I wouldn't worry about it. I usually just tell him to shh because it's late or something lol.
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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Dax does this. Sometimes he'll be sleeping or we'll just be sitting on the couch or something and he'll start growling or just barking out of nowhere and run to look out the door. I suppose he hears something I don't. It gets annoying because it scares the crap out of me when he just barks all of a sudden, but I deal with it because I know he's just trying to protect us. He'll bark and growl all day at something until he gets up close to it, then all he wants is to play. He's not aggressive at all, I think it's just his instinct to bark or growl when he hears a noise, because I certainly didn't teach him. I can also say "who's that?" and he'll launch himself off of the couch and run to the door barking and growling. Once again, I never taught him that so I have NO idea where he learned it. Heh. I wouldn't be too worried about him though, it's just his protective instinct. But hey, you'll know someone is at your house before they even pull into the driveway, I know I do.
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Oh yeah, definitely. The cleaning lady and her crew pulled up the other day and Ender immediately started barking. I didn't even know what was going on until I heard the doorbell.
It is kinda scary when I'm on the computer and he's sleeping and suddenly he'll bolt awake and start growling. Freaked me out the first couple of times.
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Permalink Reply by CorgiLover on
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my corgi would howl only rarely when she was sleeping. she would suddenly sit up and give this most mournful howl then lay back down. she never got up to walk around after she did it so i always figured she was sleep howling... if that's possible. i remember asking other dog owners in the neighborhood and it seems like everyones dogs were doing the same thing at the same time... weird. scared the living crap outta me a few times! yet it was so cute but so pathetic!
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Bertie Wooster also does this at the TV. It's gotten so he recognizes the music of certain commercials that feature dogs, cats, horses and for some reason, the commercials for Optimum TV featuring people in multicolored leotards (those leotards get him, somehow). He will rumble while the music plays, then leap into a full bark when the animall appears onscreen. I've gotten him to respond to the shushing noise, too -- I say shush, he looks at me, and I tell him "all gone" -- so he settle back down with a certain amount of disappointed groaning, like I take all the fun out of TV. If he's really going nuts (like actual live animals in the backyard), then yes, I talk him off the ledge with a soothing voice and he usually quiets right down.
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