Why don’t many domestic dogs howl like wolves anymore

The researchers, led by first author Fanni Lehoczki of Eötvös Lorand University, showed that dog breeds that are genetically very similar to wolves are more likely to respond to recordings of wolf howls with their own howls. Breeds more distantly related to wolves, on the other hand, usually responded by barking. The team reports this in the journal Communications Biology.

Unlearned howling due to the proximity of people
However, the researchers only found this association in older dogs. They therefore assume that dogs of most breeds can howl, but that this ability has lost its function in humans due to their changed social environment. As a result, many dogs of modern breeds would no longer howl in the right situations. In short: domestic dogs forget how to howl because of their proximity to humans.

In addition, it has been found that breeds that cry more are also under stress at the same time, explains author Tamás Faragó from the same university. The team theorizes that ancient breeds are better at converting wolf howls into information than modern breeds. In the test situation, the dogs of old breeds would have felt in the territory of a strange pack, which caused them stress. So they gave their presence to the howling platoon by howling to prevent a possible encounter, Faragó suspected. “As wolves do.”

Crying as a fear response?
According to the study, dogs older than five years of age from more original breeds responded with howls. It’s also possible that the howling that occurs with higher stress levels is a fear response and that older dogs are more fearful of the situation, Faragó said. Further research is needed to verify this.