WEIRD...one of the dogs howled!

This is really bizarre! Our Australian Shepard, Rhode, was outside a bit ago and let out a howl like we've never heard before.

The other two dogs had come inside and we're sound asleep, but he likes to be outside. He was laying on the patio furniture on our front deck right outside our bay window. Wife and I were watching a movie. All of a sudden we hear this howl. It started off real low and guteral and built up to a full blown almost wolf like howl. The wife and I looked at each other like WTH was that????

I jumped up and grabbed a shotgun because I thought we might have had a big adult male coyote on the front porch. I opened the door and Rhode is just casually getting off the couch like nothing happened.

Rhode has always been kind of a 'talker', and he will 'sing' sometimes in his sleep (as Australian Sheps do), but NOTHING like this!!! It sounded like a full blown wolf howling at the Moon!!! (Plus there's no moon tonight anyway).

There were some nearby coyotes earlier tonight and they were calling, but then they quit. (we have tons of coyotes out here in the country). I can't believe he'd be trying to imitate a coyote would he???

It was really strange!!!

My Pitbulls howl when they hear a siren, or If I howl at them, they will too. Your dog either here a coyote howl and answered back or a siren

How old is he? Howling sometimes doesn't manifest until a certain age in a lot of breeds.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk
As an Aussie I was wondering what the hell kind of dog breed that was, now I see. Okay weird never knew they were called that, here we'd call something like that a mongrel. lol

As for the howling etc, who knows? Dog's can hear things we cannot.
I had a blue heeler (Australian Cattle dog for the yanks) and he would go nuts when my parents would reach the edge of our town 3km's away. He just knew the sound of our car.

Dog's will howl at a lot of things, for a lot of reasons. Fire engines are a good example. But yes, coyotes are basically dogs and dogs like to chain howl. Rotweiler aint a Corgi, but will howl or bark if it hears a corgi howling or barking.

But yeah you may never know what triggered him, more than likely something out of the human ear range.
I wouldn't over think it.

Im an Aussie and I also had no idea what an Australian Shepard was, I agree with Atomic, to us that would be a mongrel but Im guessing it got the name because its half Blue Heeler (Australian cattle dog to Yanks) and maybe half Collie.

I had a Bluey when I was a kid and they are beautiful natured dogs, very family orientated, likes to be outside and explore to protect the pack.
Every now and then seemingly at random ours would kinda howl, we called it a "Yowl" as thats more what it sounded like, it was never scary or seem odd so Im not sure if thats what you could be describing.
Blue Heelers are very vocal and people have even tought them to say words so the weird noise you heard could just be the Bluey coming out.

Thats my first guess but if I had to offer a 2nd I would say the noise you heard wasnt actually your dog but was in fact a demon ghost coyote who you shot and has come back for vengeance.

Im 60/40 in thinking the Bluey coming out is more likely

originally posted by: IkNOwSTuff
Im an Aussie and I also had no idea what an Australian Shepard was, I agree with Atomic, to us that would be a mongrel but Im guessing it got the name because its half Blue Heeler (Australian cattle dog to Yanks) and maybe half Collie.

I had a Bluey when I was a kid and they are beautiful natured dogs, very family orientated, likes to be outside and explore to protect the pack.
Every now and then seemingly at random ours would kinda howl, we called it a "Yowl" as thats more what it sounded like, it was never scary or seem odd so Im not sure if thats what you could be describing.
Blue Heelers are very vocal and people have even tought them to say words so the weird noise you heard could just be the Bluey coming out.

Thats my first guess but if I had to offer a 2nd I would say the noise you heard wasnt actually your dog but was in fact a demon ghost coyote who you shot and has come back for vengeance.

Im 60/40 in thinking the Bluey coming out is more likely

We "Yanks" have been in love with Blue and Red Heelers for 30 years.

They are the go to dog on any self respecting farm in middle America.

It's just wrong to put these dogs in the middle of the city.

I had one for 20 years he became like my son.

They are their owners best friend.

I had a Red named Johan Bittenoff...And he would bite your hand off.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

My border collie howls like a wolf once in awhile for no apparent reason. She sounds really convincing, too. First time she did it, I thought it was something on the radio or someone's ring tone...I had no idea she could make that noise. She doesn't even bark unless I tell her to speak for a treat lol.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Arthritis? Indigestion? Distant fireworks? Primal howl therapy? Who knows?

I have an Akbash (like a Great Pyrenees) who occasionally does that.
The first time was when I left him in the truck to go into the bank - he was 2 months old. He's a year and a half now, and will occasionally look up to the sky, or ceiling, and let out a really long howl.

It's so sad sounding, and my other dog will go and sniff him all over after he howls, but she's never howled herself.
He's healthy, so I don't know if it's a sad thought that sets him off...?

My Jack Russell howls (like a wolf - Woooo-woooo) when she hears the chimes of Big Ben. This announces the six o'clock news on the radio. She also sits and howls when she hears the local Priory church bells. It must be a a particular booong.

Edit to add. My Jack has started to teach my Border Terrier how to howl, so they sometimes do it as a pack.

a reply to: whyamIhere

I wasnt aware Blueys were so common outside Australia, apologies, I didnt mean to sound patronising

And just to clarify when Aussies say Yanks we do it because its shorter than writing Americans and we mean it affectionately, like when we say Kiwi or Pom

originally posted by: IkNOwSTuff
a reply to: whyamIhere

I wasnt aware Blueys were so common outside Australia, apologies, I didnt mean to sound patronising

And just to clarify when Aussies say Yanks we do it for because its shorter than writing Americans and we mean it affectionately, like, when we say Kiwi or Pom

Actually, heelers are extremely common in farming and ranching areas in the States. They're very popular here in Texas. I never knew the term Australian cattle dog until a few years ago. I've always known them as blue or red heelers, but they're the same. They're awesome dogs.

So a couple things; an Australian Cattle Dog (ACD) is actually a slightly different breed than a straight blue/red heeler. We also have an ACD in addition to the Australian Shepard. Best dog a man could ask for. And yes, these dogs should never be kept in the confines of the city, they love to run way too much. I think our ACD runs for 200 miles before the sun even comes up every day, and he's got lots of country out here on the ranch.

Regarding Rhode and the howl; it definitely wasn't a siren. We live 20 miles from the nearest store and even then it's just a gas station, and 50 miles from the nearest 'city'. Not a whole lot of sirens out in these parts. It may well have been another dog (coyote) up close to the house who made the howl, although I would have thought Rhode would have been a little more excited than he was when I came out (looked like he just woke up).

Not to be morbid, but supposedly some dogs
make a distinct howl when someone dies.
I had read about it before, didn't pay too much attention, figured it was just a superstition!
Until the night my Mom passed away, napping
on the couch, while she was watching TV.

I live in the neighborhood where I grew up,
& originally almost everyone was a relative, because it used to be my great grandparent's farm. Anyway, I was walking next door to my aunt's house when another neighbor's dog
started howling like I have never heard a dog howl before, or since! The hair stood up on
the back of my neck! It was dark out, so it
was even more creepy! I remember thinking,
I wonder who died? But I still didn't believe it! Found out later, that it was the exact time my Mom passed away, three houses down the road!

My youngest brother was home from college,
had just talked to her & then gone upstairs. When another brother came to the house a little while later, she was already gone. So we had a timeline to go by! They say all superstitions have some basis in fact, otherwise they wouldn't persist. I've often wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience?

How far away are your neighbors? If your dog never howled like that before, maybe...
Or, if your dog could hear a coyote when it made a kill or something, if it would howl?
Make sure you read the obituaries for the next couple of days!

WOQ

a reply to: wasobservingquietly

That was my first thought when my dog howled recently. He howled at 2 months when he was left without his human for 5 minutes, then he didn't howl again for about a year.
In the past couple of months he's howled about half dozen times. The first one of those my first thought was that I hoped everyone was ok.
He's a very emotional dog, and the howl is way different than a coyote. He has a deep voice though.

When the coyotes come around late at night, both my dogs stay quiet.
Which is good. Coyotes will gang up on a dog if they're too hungry. Maybe the OPs dog is trying to disguise himself as a coyote?

or the howl wasn't made by your dog but woke him up?

originally posted by: IkNOwSTuff
a reply to: whyamIhere

I wasnt aware Blueys were so common outside Australia, apologies, I didnt mean to sound patronising

And just to clarify when Aussies say Yanks we do it because its shorter than writing Americans and we mean it affectionately, like when we say Kiwi or Pom

No worries, don't you guys say that ?

OP has an Australia Shepards which are Headers not Heelers.

They bred Aussies as we call them to lead the herd and they do.

Heelers bring up the rear and get the strays.

The Heeler is a cousin to the Aussie.

The difference is that Heelers are 70% Dingo.

Dingos are wild dogs from Australia. Kind of like our Coyotes.

a reply to: Caver78
Or maybe the dog howled in it's sleep?

My boxer did this, for the first time, just the other day. She was sleeping on the couch, and let out a howl I had never heard before, yet scared the daylights out of me. When I walked in the living room, to see what was going on, she was sound asleep. But her feet were "twitching."

Hope I never hear that again. Sad but scary howl.

a reply to: whyamIhere

Actually, we have both.

We have an ACD...

ANd..an Australian Shepard

(and a Lab too).

originally posted by: visitedbythem
My Pitbulls howl when they hear a siren, or If I howl at them, they will too. Your dog either here a coyote howl and answered back or a siren

We live close to a hospital and there are usually 4-5 ambulances that go by every day and our 3 Pitbulls will howl every time.