Baying is a sound hounds use to communicate to humans and other dogs.
Do you know what it means when a dog howls? Do you know the difference between a dog howling and a dog baying? Most people feel more secure when talking about howling, but many are not sure what baying is.
Howling is a natural behavior that is found in wild canines like wolves. Because of deliberate genetic manipulations (through selective breeding) our domestic dogs bark more than wolves or their other wild canine cousins. The flip side of the coin is that our dogs actually howl a lot less. In wolves, the howl has several functions. One of them is to assemble the pack for hunting. Since wolves hunt early in the evening and early in the morning, it is not surprising that we are most likely to hear wolves howling at these times. The howls assemble the group, which may have dispersed into the underbrush to sleep through the evening or to rest out of sight during the day. Our domestic dogs have a food supply that is presented to them by their owners, and they do not have a need to call their pack together for a synchronized hunt.
Another purpose of the howl is to reinforce the identity of the group. Upon hearing the howling, group members gather together and join in the song of their pack. Because of this, dogs often howl when they are forcibly shut away on their own, or otherwise isolated from their family and pack. This howl of loneliness has the same function as the group howl; it is an attempt to attract other canines.
Baying is the sound that hounds make when they are tracking. In the older literature, it used to be referred to as “trail barking.” However, it uses a deep and booming voice and is usually distinct from the barking voice. When you first hear baying it might sound something like howling, however, it is a more complex sound. While howls involve holding a single sound for a prolonged time, baying contains many tone variations and occurs in short bursts. To me, baying sounds like the combination of a howl and a yodel. It is certainly a much more excited sound and is often filled with a happy enthusiasm.
For centuries scent hounds—including bloodhounds, foxhounds, coonhounds, bassets, and beagles—have been systematically bred, not just for their scenting ability and desire to track, but also for the sounds that they make when they are hunting. The baying sound that hounds make when tracking acts as a beacon. It allows the hunters or trackers to know exactly where the pack is at any moment. The number of dogs sounding off at the same time, and the intensity of the baying, indicate the strength and freshness of the scent to the hunter. As the dogs signal this information about what they are smelling, the hunter or tracker uses it to figure out how near the quarry might be. Some control of the packs movement can then be exerted by humans via signals on a hunting horn—which, to the dogs, probably sounds like a special form of baying—or mundanely via a whistle.
The sound of baying is also important for the other hounds on the hunt, as well as their human masters. There a major limitation of the dogs scenting ability known as “olfactory adaptation.” When you walk into a room you might notice a distinct smell, such as perfume, the scent of flowers, brewed coffee, or so forth. After only a few moments, however, you are no longer aware of these smells because of olfactory adaptation. This is actually the result of fatigue of the scent sensitive cells, which comes about when a particular odour is present in the nose for a period of time. The same thing happens to hounds on the hunt.
Typically when a hound picks up a scent it will begin to bay or “give tongue.” This sound is interpreted by other dogs in the pack as, “Follow me. Ive located our quarrys scent.” For a strong scent, however, olfactory adaptation will set in after only about two minutes and then the hound on the track loses its ability to detect the scent. At this point the dog will go silent and raise its head to breathe fresh, spoor-free, air, and allow its nasal receptors to become functional again, a process which will take at least 10 seconds and could take up to a minute, depending upon how strong the original scent was. This is why hounds are run in packs.
At any given time, some dogs will be perceiving the scent and will be sounding off, while others will be mutely running with the pack waiting for their noses to recover. Various members of the pack take turns tracking the scent, hence there should never be a moment when all of the dogs are resting their noses at the same time. The dogs whose noses have temporarily shut down know which dogs they should be following; the dogs still on the trail are the ones that are baying. These sound signals allow the pack to continue to move in a coordinated manner with every dog still close to the track.
As the scent becomes stronger, suggesting that the pack is now very close to its prey the baying becomes less melodious, as the individual sound phrases become shorter in duration but more frequent and the message now shifts to, “Lets get him!” Or “All together now!” Once the quarry is sighted the baying sounds will begin to break up and barking will begin to be mixed in with the baying sound. In some sense, this is still distantly related to howling because it has the element of attempting to rally the pack for a coordinated hunt, only the hunt is ongoing already.
In the same way that whether a dog barks or not is under a high degree of genetic control, so is baying. The geneticist L.F. Whitney, noticed that while most Bloodhounds bayed when on a tracking a scent, a few rare Bloodhounds did not. He was able to demonstrate that by selectively breeding the non-baying dogs, he could produce a strain of silent tracking Bloodhounds. While such a line of dogs might be useful for sneaking up on a hiding criminal, such a silent hound would be useless in most circumstances.
For instance, since the dog makes no sound you would not know where it was. This means that you would have to have the tracking dog continuously on leash if you wanted to monitor his position. Furthermore, since the dog does not bay, you would not know if he had found the scent and was tracking, or whether he was simply strolling through the woods enjoying the normal smells of nature. The baying sound of a dog is thus an important way of communicating what he is smelling to his nasally challenged human companions.
Copyright SC Psychological Enterprises Ltd. May not be reprinted or reposted without permission
Whitney, L. F. (1929). Heredity Of The Trail Barking Propensity In Dogs. Journal of Heredity, 20 (12), 561–562, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a103133
Coren, S. (2001). How to speak dog: Mastering the art of dog-human communication. New York: Fireside Books, Simon & Schuster (pp. i-xii, 1-274).
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Most of us are familiar with the sound of dogs howling, dogs are often heard howling at sirens or when the owners leave the house.
This increase in intensity draws the attention of other dogs and hunters to gather at the trail area or where the animal is cornered.
It may happen that the wolves are scattered about with some sleeping and some others wandering, and being that wolves take a cooperative approach to hunting, its necessary for them to unite.
According to Seton, author of “Life-histories of northern animals : an account of the mammals of Manitoba page 770, ” a “muster” or a “rallying cry” may be emitted by a wolf upon finding game that is too big for him to confront alone, while a higher pitched howl vibrating on two notes known as the “hunting song, corresponds exactly with the full cry of a pack of hounds on the hot scent!”
Dogs however, bark more considering that barking was selectively bred by humans so dogs could alert them of the presence of other animals or strangers.
Is it OK to howl with your dog?
I think it’s perfectly fine, as long as it’s a behavior you don’t mind encouraging. It could wear thin at some point. Howling = positive attention.
They’re prone to cuddling and snuggling and despite their large size, will turn into canine pretzels in order to fit in that little spot next to you in bed or on the couch. … Since Black and Tan Coonhounds are large dogs, they would do best in a house vs. a condo or apartment.
As puppies and adolescents, your Bloodhound may cry more often than a mature dog. They’re learning how to cry, howl, and bay, and because Bloodhounds take longer to come to full maturity than some other breeds, they may exhibit this kind of behavior despite training and activity.
While hounds are known for having a natural hound smell, there are also other causes of odor that may be due to health conditions. If you smell a fishy odor consider that it may come from the hound’s anal glands.
Despite superstitions that say a dog howling means death is near, howling is actually just a form of communication used by dogs. They may howl to let others know they have arrived, to make contact with other dogs, and to attract attention.
Dog baying
There are generally six types of dog sounds the use in order to vocally communicate with humans or with other canines. Most noises dogs make indicate some form of frustration, like when a dog whines to go outside. But dogs will also vocalize pleasure – and happy dog noises don’t always sound too friendly! Here’s a rundown of what dog sounds might mean:
Why do dogs bark? Dogs bark for many reasons, including alert (there’s something out there!), alarm (there’s something bad out there) boredom, demand, fear, suspicion, distress, and pleasure (play). If you know how to tell between different kinds of dog barks, you can easily understand why your dog is so vocal in the first place! Believe it or not, dogs’ vocal communication methods aren’t just for annoying neighbors – they’re for telling you something important has happened!
The bark of a distressed dog, such as a dog who suffers from isolation or separation distress or anxiety, is high-pitched and repetitive; getting higher in pitch as the dog becomes more upset. Boredom barking tends to be more of a repetitive monotone. Alert bark is likely to be a sharp, staccato sound; alarm barking adds a note of intensity to the alert.
Demand barks are sharp and persistent, and directed at the human who could/should ostensibly provide whatever the dog demands. At least, the dog thinks so. Suspicious barks are usually low in tone, and slow, while fearful barking is often low but faster. Play barking just sounds . . . playful. If you have any doubt – look to see what the dog is doing. If he’s playing, it’s probably play barking.
Baying is deep-throated, prolonged barking, most often heard when a dog is in pursuit of prey, but also sometimes offered by a dog who is challenging an intruder. The scent hounds are notorious for their melodic baying voices. Some people interpret dog baying a long moaning sound.
Growls are most often a warning that serious aggression may ensue if you persist in whatever you’re doing, or what-ever is going on around him. Rather than taking offense at your dog’s growl, heed his warning, and figure out how to make him more comfortable with the situation.
If instead of a hostile growl, your dog is grumbling lowly, he may be perfectly happy! Dogs also growl in play. It’s common for a dog to growl while playing tug – and that’s perfectly appropriate as long as the rest of his body language says he’s playing. If there’s any doubt in your mind, take a break from play to let him calm down. Some dogs also growl in pleasure. Rottweilers are notorious for “grumbling” when being petted and playing, and absent any signs of stress, this is interpreted as a “feels good” happy dog noise.
Howling is often triggered by a high-pitched sound; many dogs howl at the sound of fire and police sirens. (Two of my own dogs howl when our donkey brays). Some dog owners have taught their dogs to howl on cue, such as the owner howling.
Howling is generally considered to be communication between pack members: perhaps to locate another pack member, or to call the pack for hunting. Some dogs howl when they are significantly distressed – again, a common symptom of isolation and separation distress.
A whimper or a yelp is often an indication that a dog is in pain. This may happen when dogs play, if one dog bites the other dog too hard. The whimper or yelp is used to communicate the dog’s distress to a pack member (or human) when they are friendly. The other dog or human is expected to react positively to the communication. Whimpers can also indicate strong excitement such as when an owner returns at the end of a long workday. Excitement whimpering is often accompanied by licking, jumping, and barking. Dog whimpering is softer and less intense than whining. Puppy crying sounds are just little whimpers.
Dog whining sounds are high-pitched vocalizations, often produced nasally with the mouth closed. A dog may whine when it wants something, needs or wants to go outside, feels frustrated by leash restraint, is separated from a valued companion (human or otherwise), or just wants attention. It is usually an indication of some increased level of stress for the dog. Most often the dog crying sound is an exaggerated whine or whimper.
Some dogs are capable of replicating human speech sounds. When these sounds are selectively reinforced, dogs can appear to be speaking human words, sometimes even sentences. It is most likely that the dogs have no concept of the meaning behind the words they are “speaking” – although as we learn more about canine cognition, one can’t ever be too sure.
It’s interesting to note that one of the phrases most frequently taught to dogs by their owners is some version of, “I love you…” Youtube provides some entertaining footage of talking dogs, like this one.