Why does my Rottweiler keep howling???

[mama2cntrykids]

We got her from the Humane Society over 2 yrs ago, she was 3 yrs old when we got her.

 

For the past year she's been howling. At first, it started as sometimes at night (not every night and she was sleeping in our room). Now, it's progressed to every night at least once per night and sometimes during the day too.

 

We tell her to "HUSH!" and she does. But, WHY does she howl? I don't get it. Are Rottweiler's normally like this? We suspect she was abused at some point because she's afraid of everything and when you yell, she cowers.

 

Any ideas about what's going on and how to get her to stop? It is waking my ds9 everynight (or worse at 6am).

 

Thanks!

[gaillardia]

:blink:I've haven't got any answers for you. Our dog howled when she'd hear a distant siren that we couldn't hear, if we'd get quiet we could hear the siren.

In her puppy days she howled when she wanted to go outside to ... you know.

Is she inside or out when she howls? Does she want to come in? Does she want to go out to the rest of the house?

At one point I think we had a habit going. Dog howls. Mom wakes up, lets dog out. Where's dog? Dog comes in. Dog howls. Mom lets dog out.

Oh. Well, sometimes it was doggie diarrhea, sometimes it was dog needing to chase the rabbit she knew was out there every night, mocking her.

And actually, we taught her to howl. She had been a barker and growler only. I saw something on public tv about teaching your dog to howl, well not your dog, my dog.

I doubt if this was helpful, but I had fun. :001_smile:

[KidsHappen]

Is she fixed? If not, perhaps she looking for a little male company. I had a female cat once that wasn't fixed and she used to make a terrible racket when she was in heat.

[mama2cntrykids]

:blink:I've haven't got any answers for you. Our dog howled when she'd hear a distant siren that we couldn't hear, if we'd get quiet we could hear the siren.

In her puppy days she howled when she wanted to go outside to ... you know.

Is she inside or out when she howls? Does she want to come in? Does she want to go out to the rest of the house?

At one point I think we had a habit going. Dog howls. Mom wakes up, lets dog out. Where's dog? Dog comes in. Dog howls. Mom lets dog out.

Oh. Well, sometimes it was doggie diarrhea, sometimes it was dog needing to chase the rabbit she knew was out there every night, mocking her.

And actually, we taught her to howl. She had been a barker and growler only. I saw something on public tv about teaching your dog to howl, well not your dog, my dog.

I doubt if this was helpful, but I had fun. :001_smile:

She's mostly inside, except when she needs to pee/poop or run around our acreage. I just don't get her, lol! Mostly, it seems to be for no good reason. She's awake when she does it, at first I thought she was dreaming, but she's not.

 

Is she fixed? If not, perhaps she looking for a little male company. I had a female cat once that wasn't fixed and she used to make a terrible racket when she was in heat.

Yes, she's fixed. We got her that way;). But seriously, it's starting to get annoying for us, esp. for my ds9. Most mornings he's like this guy:glare:...not impressed, lol.

 

Anybody else?

[OnTheBrink]

Maybe she's a hound in Rottie clothing?

[Laurie4b]

I bet there is a distant noise that you don't hear: a train whistle, siren, other dog. If it's about the same time each night, I would bet on something like a train whistle in which the whistle is on a regular schedule as it heads into a RR crossing.

 

Dogs also howl to communicate with other dogs.

[Denisemomof4]

I could be totally wrong, but I'm wondering if she has PTSD from being abused? My greyhound suffered the affects of that for YEARS and still cowers if we raise our voice At All, not even at him! For some reason I'm thinking she's bothered, upset, sad. Maybe something happened to her at night. I don't know.

[hornblower]

I'm betting on siren, coyotes or wolves.

 

Whatever it is, I'd start with the basics:

 

Several on leash walks/day

 

Several offleash hard play sessions/day - either with another dog or chasing a ball or frisbee or swimming

 

I'd also incorporate a bit of training - gentle rewards training for tricks etc. You want to tire her out physically & mentally.

 

If that doesn't work after a few nights, you could try 3mg of melatonin. I give it to my setter for thunderstorm phobia; he is calmer & more likely to sleep through noises with the melatonin.

 

ETA - another way to tire out a dog is with a big raw knuckle bone. A few hours of chewing on knuckles can really wear them out.

[mama2cntrykids]

I'm betting on siren, coyotes or wolves.

 

Whatever it is, I'd start with the basics:

 

Several on leash walks/day

 

Several offleash hard play sessions/day - either with another dog or chasing a ball or frisbee or swimming

 

I'd also incorporate a bit of training - gentle rewards training for tricks etc. You want to tire her out physically & mentally.

 

If that doesn't work after a few nights, you could try 3mg of melatonin. I give it to my setter for thunderstorm phobia; he is calmer & more likely to sleep through noises with the melatonin.

 

ETA - another way to tire out a dog is with a big raw knuckle bone. A few hours of chewing on knuckles can really wear them out.

 

Great ideas! Duh...I didn't even *think* about tiring her out. She's such a lazy bones as it is though (she's 5 yrs) that I don't think it'd take much to wear her out:tongue_smilie:. I have to be careful about exercise as her shoulder starts to bother her and then she limps. The melatonin is another great idea! My ds7 takes it at bedtime too, lol.

[Teachin'Mine]

Maybe she's insecure and a Thundershirt or something like it would help. There's another one, but I can't remember the name right now.