Bizzoo, an 8-year-old Siberian Husky, howls next to his owner, Fanny Lehozki, during a test trying to find out why specific dog breeds are more prone to howl and whether it is related to their interactions with wolves. closely related genetically. Department of Ethology of Etwos Lorand University in Budapest, Hungary, February 7, 2023. , Photo Credit: Reuters
When Hungarian animal behaviorist Fanny Lehozki observed that the repeated howls of her Siberian Husky “Bizzu” did not always provoke a wolf-like response from other dogs, it prompted the question – why are some dogs more prone to howling? ?
Researchers from Budapest’s Etovos Loránd University where Lechozky works examined Are some breeds of dog more prone to howling and does this have anything to do with their genetic closeness to wolves.
Lechozki and his team investigated how dog breed, age and gender affected their response by testing 68 purebred family dogs by recording three-minute wolf howls and noting their responses.
The dogs in the experiment were of 28 different breeds, ranging from ancient breeds such as Shiba Inu, Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute and Pekingese to Bull Terriers and Boxers.
“The main finding was that … breeds that are genetically closer to wolves are more prone to respond with howling, and they also show more stress signals than dogs that are less related to wolves.” , ” Lechozki said, adding that this was only true for dogs over the age of five.
There was no difference between breeds in smaller dogs, so the researchers will investigate this aspect further.
Older dogs from more ancient breeds responded with longer howls and also showed more stress-related behaviors, while more modern breeds seemed to respond with barking.
The research also concluded that breeds that bark more often also show more stress-related behaviors such as yawning, shaking their bodies, licking their mouths, or scratching their bodies.
The study is the first to specifically examine howling in domestic dogs. “Domestication and selective breeding by humans fundamentally changed the vocal repertoire of dogs and both the perception and production of howling in dogs,” it concluded.