Edie MacKenzie

Edie MacKenzie is a published author, traveler, dog lover, and tortoise enthusiast. Passionate about what she does, her books provide peopel a firm grounding in the dog breed and their unique characteristics with a nice touch of humor.

More Dog Sounds And What They Mean

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Soft whimpering: “I hurt!” “I’m scared.” The average person is most likely to hear this at the veterinarian’s office, when the dog is suffering, or when a submissive dog is in a strange place that appears threatening. This is really a carryover of the mewing sound that young puppies make when cold, hungry, or distressed.

Louder, more prolonged whining sound: “Please give me . . .” or “I want …” A dog usually uses this sound when waiting for food, or for the leash to be put on, or when trying to get his owner’s attention, and so forth.

Sighs: This vocalization, which is invariably accompanied by the dog’s lying down with his head on his forepaws, can have two meanings, depending on the context and certain facial expressions. With eyes half-closed, it is a sign of pleasure, meaning “I am content and am going to settle down here.” With eyes fully open, it is a sign of disappointment when something anticipated has not materialized, best interpreted as “I give up!”

Baying: This is the characteristic sound of hounds during a hunt. It is usually interpreted as “Follow me!” “Let us get him!” or “All together now!”

Yip-howl: This is really more of a yip-yip-yip-howl, with the final howl quite prolonged. It usually means “I am lonely” “I feel abandoned!” or “Is anybody there?”

Howling: “I am here!” “This is my territory!” or “I hear you out there!” A confident animal will often howl simply to announce his presence. Howling also often occurs in response to a yip-howl from another dog. It has a more sonorous sound to the human ear than does the yip-howl, which is often described as mournful.

Moaning: This sounds something like “ar-owl-wowl-wowl . . .” over a short interval of time. It is a sound of spontaneous pleasure and excitement that means “I am excited!” or “Let us play!” A dog usually moans when something he really likes is about to happen.

Panting: “Let us go!” This is a sign of excitement.

Dogs can also learn specific vocalizations. For instance, the bark that dogs give to the command speak sounds qualitatively different from a spontaneous bark. The same can be said for the bark that police and protection dogs learn to give.  Your dog can even be taught specific sounds for specific settings, ranging from simple barks, moans, or play-growls to more complex sounds that may sound like yodels or attempts at speech.

Measuring Your Dog’s Intelligence

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Some dog owners and dog trainers expect their dog’s level of thinking and smartness to be the same of humans, when being trained.  This mistaken assumption about dog psychology can be devastating to the expectations of both the dog owner and the dog itself.

Trainers shouldn’t assess canine intelligence against human standards. Each individual canine may possess his own unique talent. If the occasion does not arise for the animal to display this talent, it doesn’t mean he’s dumb. For centuries, behavior experts have been trying to devise a test that measures all aspects of human intelligence and have failed miserably. With this success rate in mind, how can canine experts profess to measure the dog’s intelligence when we do not even speak the same language?

Labeling a dog dumb can be as unproductive and damaging as labeling humans. If an animal is labeled dumb, the owner usually gives up trying to teach the dog. The label then becomes self-fulfilling because if his owner won’t train him, the dog really won’t know anything.

On the other hand, labeling a dog smart may create unrealistic expectations and disappointment if he doesn’t respond as expected. Perhaps all these “dumb” dogs are just clever enough to make their owners think they are dumb to avoid the effort of obeying! A very frustrated Basset Hound owner complained to his instructor that he had spent a month trying to teach his dog to sit on command and the dog just didn’t get it. As the owner was explaining his dilemma, the instructor was mindlessly playing with a piece of liver that she had not put away after working with another dog. The Basset noticed the liver and began nudging the instructor. From pure habit, she told the dog to sit. The Basset plopped his rear end down as fast as Bassets do. This is a good demonstration of learning theory proven long ago that a lack of response does not mean that learning is not occurring. This dog was learning, the owner just hadn’t found the right motivator to get him to respond.

Perhaps canine intelligence is not measurable, particularly when the criteria for intelligence are measured on another species’ yardstick. Fortunately, regardless of breed, the great majority of dogs are intelligent enough to grasp basic obedience commands when training is intelligently presented. A trainer armed with motivating training methods and a good understanding of the principles behind canine learning can shape a dog’s behavior into desirable conduct.

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