Translating Those Barks, Whines, and Yelps

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

31 Aug 2006 05:18 PM

When I first got my Lally, she tended to play a little rough. I talked to the shelter's favorite trainer about it, and she suggested that whenever Lally played too rough, I yelp like a puppy: high pitched, short, and loud. I felt kind of silly, but I tried it... and it worked! Dogs may not understand "OUCH!" but they know that pain-filled yip and tend to back off when they hear it.

Experts divide a dog's sounds into five different types: the whimper or whine, the yelp, the growl, the bark, and the howl.

The whimper is high pitched and pathetic -- designed to get attention. Puppies whine to get their mother's attention; adult dogs may whine to their masters. A whine may get so high in pitch that the human ear can't entirely hear it! My Moose will whimper/whine at me when he's looking for an invitation to come upstairs to bed. To my ear, though, it sounds more like a whistle: a high pitched FWEEET kind of noise.

A yelp, like the nice trainer lady told me, is a sound of pain. It can be a sound of surprise, or a sound of injury.

The growl is a low warning. Your dog may growl at an approaching stranger; your dog may growl at another animal to warn them away. Lately, Lally will growl at Moose to keep him away from her dinner -- her little snoot crinkles back, her teeth are bared, and her ears are flat.

There are two kinds of bark: a bark for warning and a bark for challenge. The warning or alarm bark is short, kind of a "Hey! Somebody's here!" The challenge bark is usually longer, or may be a few short barks followed by a longer one.

Not all dogs howl, but those who do may do it for different reasons. Some people feel their dog howls out of loneliness, in response to a noise, or even in celebration.

For further reading:

• Moose, the Nose Whistler
• Why Do Dogs Howl?

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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