foo dog49 Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Since the age of eight weeks or so, Sonny has greeted me with a howl, usually accompanied with a bow when I return home. It's not at all like a Husky's sound but starts off as a sort of growl. I find it very endearing and always reinforce the behavior with a laugh. I've been wondering if this is at all common to BCs. Does anyone else's dog do this or make any other interesting sounds? Other than this he is very quiet, rarely barking even when excited. Which is fine by me as he's almost always excited. (Also fine by me!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 My Celt is not a barker (when he does bark, it's pretty puny) but he is a woo-woo-woo-er, and I love it! He makes all sorts of sounds when he is uber-excited, but barking is not one of them. The other two are more likely to bark and not make funny sounds like Celt does. There are others here with dogs like that. It doesn't surprise me because Border Collies don't tend to be "barky" dogs. Their nature is to work quietly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Gibbs joins the chorus, too. He only barks when he's alarmed - remember the dastardly grocery bags in the middle of the night? He roo roos and wags his tail at the same time, very cute. Ruth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maja Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 My Bonnie talks to me, she makes very funny noises which are not barking, but they are cute too. Bonnie's mom would join in in with the chickens' clucking: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Moon Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Cerb roo roos is a big, 55lb deep chested doggie voice. He only really howls when Janey is practicing her saxophone. <- shade wearing jazz musician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnLloydJones Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Since the age of eight weeks or so, Sonny has greeted me with a howl, usually accompanied with a bow when I return home. It's not at all like a Husky's sound but starts off as a sort of growl. I find it very endearing and always reinforce the behavior with a laugh. I've been wondering if this is at all common to BCs. Does anyone else's dog do this or make any other interesting sounds? My ex-foster Rhys did that -- usually wen he saw that it was time to go out. I think some people call it the happy howl and you could see a smirk on his face when he did it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyTDogs Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Yes Sprite "sings" along with the Spiriva commercial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Quinn has exactly what I call a happy howl that he only does when especially pleased with the turn of events, usually when a game is about to start or he sees a favorite person. Even though he is especially pleased at least a couple times of day, the little howls never fail to melt my heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyTDogs Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Quinn has exactly what I call a happy howl that he only does when especially pleased with the turn of events, usually when a game is about to start or he sees a favorite person. Even though he is especially pleased at least a couple times of day, the little howls never fail to melt my heart. My friend & I refer to that as the Rebel Yell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine R. Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Welcome in the club of the singing dogs ;-) Lucy also started at the age of 8-9 weeks, and so i put a command on it. When we sing: happy birthday, lucy joins in at "to you" Since 6 years now, it makes me smile daily Greetings Christine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maja Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Christine, Very funy!!! :lol: :lol: Maja Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine R. Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Christine, Very funy!!! :lol: :lol: Maja But Bonnie has definetly more talent and the better voice Maybe they can do a duet in a few months ? Greetings Christine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foo dog49 Posted January 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Yes! Sonny often makes a funny face at the same time. He's a clown and he knows it. Thank you for the video, Maja. I thought he might join in but all he did was cock his head to the point where he might need chiropractic services now. (I might too from laughing.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maja Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Christine, The singing is Bonnie's mom, Kelly's, but she will be there too. Unfortunately she does this only when there are hens laying eggs and clucking . foo dog49. Yeah, dogs are a health hazard sometimes . Maja Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Yes, Torque roo-roos and rowr-rowrs when he is both happy/excited and when he is frustrated. He will roo-roo-roo sometimes when my husband comes home from an extended business trip and the other dog is all excited and whining and is making a fuss. He has to fuss also. Both tails are going a mile-a-minute. He will also roo-roo when he thinks it is time to go outside and I am not moving fast enough. Also at agility trials, he gets so amped up when we arrive that I will make him sit to get him to focus and control himself. He usually responds with a sit and multiple, loud roo-roo-roos. Just yesterday, we were at an agility trial and he was roo-rooing loudly, and someone turned around and commented that he sounded like a Siberian. Jovi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloria Atwater Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 I have one, too! My Gael does this sort of play-bow-and-stretch while giving a great big, emphatic "WOOOO!!" that starts off as a funny little growl. It's definitely fun, and I am sure it's her sense of humor. She'll do it when greeting and sometimes just when we're having a big doggie snuggle-fest. I love it. I've never had a woo-woo before. ~ Gloria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 My niece, bless her heart, was trying to teach Scooter to howl one day. After just a few attempts, he let out with a pretty hefty howl, but then acted very odd after wards, like it hurt or he just didn't like doing it. Maybe it hurt his ears. We've also never taught him to "speak", but somehow he knows to bark when someone tells him to "speak." Very strange. Other than that, about the only time he barks is when someone comes to the door or the two Boxers across the street have been vocalizing nonstop. I've never heard any "roos" from him either, as many people here describe. Maybe he's not really a Border Collie... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 Ed and I used to get the dogs started on a "howl fest" back when we had old Mac. He'd howl along with us, and so would Celt and Megan. When Bute was part of our family, we'd do a howl fest because he loved to howl along - Bute always enjoyed being able to do something "the big dogs did", especially if he could do it better. Dan just looks at us like we are nuts if we try it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloria Atwater Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 A good friend of mine has border collies with a genetic "Rooo." She has several dogs, but only the dogs who are blood-related have the "rooo." Those not related hear the sound, but never mimic it. It's a happy-dog noise. ~ Gloria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 From Donald McCaig's "A Useful Dog": I'm drinking coffee in Amanda Milliken's motor home on the second morning of the two-day Blue Ridge Open trial held outside White Post, Virginia. It's mid-May, the light is clear, dogwood is blooming. Faint whistles drift from the bowl-shaped trial field, where another dog is making its try. Amanda's dog Hazel is a black-and-white smooth-coated Border collie. She is rather musical and will sing along with "Oklahoma!" but her favorite tune is k.d. lang's song about the old coyote, especially the chorus, where she gets to howl. Duncan loves to "sing", and will do it on command. Songs are much more enthusiastic before breakfast (his favorite meal of the day) than before dinner. He'll sing before strangers, too, but sometimes stage fright strikes, and it's a very quiet "roo, roo!". It's his "happy noise". He also sings (not on command), lustily, when his human brother is practicing the clarinet. Photo below is not the best in the world, but it shows him in action: ETA: Although his songs are generally of the "awr, roo!" variety, occasionally he ends with a "wow!". I often hold out and refuse to give him his treat or meal until he produces a "wow!", because I'm particularly fond of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisK Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 It's one of the things I really miss and my daughter commented as well when she was home from Finland. Jazz had a WHOOOWHOOO greeting which was his way of saying HEY, I'm so glad to see you. None of my other dogs do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretBC Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Every so often my three will join together in a chorus of howls. Try as I might, I can never succeed in getting them to start. This weekend I figured out that what triggers it seems to be when my little guy hits a certain pitch when he's "talking" or crying about something. That sets off one of the others and then soon all three are carrying on. This weekend it lasted for over a minute. I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurae Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Of all my dogs, only Taz has howled...once. He was about six months old, and we were taking a walk around the neighborhood. A firetruck came roaring up the street, sirens blaring, and out of nowhere Taz just picked up his head and belted out a full-bodied AH-WOOOOOH right along with it. As the truck receded into the background down the street, he lowered his voice to a wooow, and then whipped his head around, as though he was mortified and checking to see if anyone had witnessed his display. I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing. He looked away quickly and has never howled at all since. Actually, though, we do have "conversations," whereby I'll say something like "Oh, Tazzy" or whatever in a singsongy voice to him and he'll answer back "Ohwowo," and then I'll either repeat his "Ohwowo" or say something else in a in a singsongy voice again, and he repeats it, and so on. Most endearing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Alas I have no singers. I think Pach did it when he was young along with sirens but that's about it. Jazz does have a killer whisper which is done on que, but only if she knows dinner will follow. I wish someone would tell Dew, border collies aren't barkers. She barks when she's happy, she barks when she's afraid, she barks when you first come in the door, she just barks to hear herself bark. It's not an alert bark, but a "happy" bark. OY...even the other dogs tell her to hush! Long ago when it was just me and Mick alone going out to do chores, I would "talk" to Mick. It was cute and it turned into a game. Not so cute anymore cause he never did learn to "be quiet" and everytime we go outside to do chores he's running around my feet being a barking fool (of course Dew joins in) but as soon as chores commence he's all serious again. I can't help but laugh even thougth it's a bit nerve racking, he sure does wake a body up in the am! He's not a barker most any other time. I love a good roorooo. loved the singing videos. So Kelly is singing cause chickens are laying? to funny! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borderfreak Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Bo howls, too! The "roo-roo-roo" when he greets me or others or wants to play. And when he hears church bells he howls a whole song... and I live next to a church (bells 2 times a day, 3 times Sunday and additionally at special masses) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.