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New to Border Collies and Board, Howling a bc trait?


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Hi, I am new to the board, and to Border Collie Ownership (or partnership is a better word). My first bc is a beautiful fluffy red merle from a shelter. I have watched bc's for a few years now, and I am so excited to finally have her. We have had her for about three months now.

I have been training dogs for years, and am quite familiar with dog body language, but she does something that I am not sure how to take, and am wondering if it is a bc trait. When I first come home, or when a guest comes over, she howls at them/me, wagging her tail and looking very happy (soft eyes, wiggling, relaxed body). But when I get on to her about something (ie to get off the table chair) she howls at me, looking straight into my eyes, and then grumbles. It really does look like she is saying (in a whiney voice) "but mooooommmm, I WANTED TOOOOOOO" grumble grumble grumble. haha. I do not know how to respond. I have never had a dog actually "talk back" to me. :P

Kenzie 3.bmp

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I had one that would sing when she was happy, when she first arrived she was real tense after her owner who was a hunting dog trainer used a e-collar on her, after about 90 days her and I started to bond and she began to relax, she would wiggle and sing to me, something that her owner had never heard. Another would grumble when I would give him attention, more like a dog purr. I have a female now that has a bark that does not sound like a bark, at least not a normal bark, the noise she makes sounds like what you expect from a dog that was debarked. No echo and it does not travel, it sounds more like a hiccup - "Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup". Her breeder thought something was wrong with her the first time he heard it.

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Soda is a grumbler. If I tell her to do something she doesn't want to do, she'll do it and grumble. Like if she's begging and I tell her to go lay down, she'll go and grumble and throw herself on the ground and give me stink eye. I think she's thinking "Stupid mom. Stupid floor. Stupid...everything. I'm just laying down cuz I want to. Hate you."

 

I just laugh and otherwise ignore it. If she does what I ask, that's all I care about. She can grumble if it makes her feel better.

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I have 6 dogs in kennels and if they hear a siren ( a rare occurence here) they will start to howl, sometimes they howl with the coyotes and they howl every morning when I leave for work. It's always Nell and her half brother Jaff that start things off and the others join in or don't depending on their moods I guess.

 

Kevin Brannon

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We've got quite a chorus. Shoshone used to vocalize a lot - she's had speak, shout, whisper and sing on command for a while. She's hard of hearing in her old age, and is a bit grumpy about performing on command, so I don't ask her to do much of it anymore.

 

Gibbs, now, Gibbs is a whole acappela choir unto himself. He only barks when he's concerned, the rest of the time it's rooo-rooo-rooo. The whole neighborhood knows him, because he sings every afternoon when we start our afternoon walk. It's pretty cute, he'll turn back to look at me, "rooooo!" I think that means 'I'm really excited - hurry up, will you?' in border collie.

 

Ruth

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We have a roo. My Gael "roos" when she's happy. She'll often stretch into a bow, then come up with an emphatic "ROOOOO!" straight into our faces. At a trial a couple weeks ago, she suddenly roo-ed just sitting beside my chair. First time she's ever roo-ed outside the house, so I think she was just telling me what a great weekend she was having. :P

 

A friend of mine has had 3 generations of border collies, each of which had a "roo." I love border collie roos. ;)

 

~ Gloria

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My ex-foster, Rhys bach had a beautiful AHHRrroooooooo which he used to signal that he was happy. I loved to see him do it; it wasn't the wide open coyote howl, his lips were rounded and he had an expression that I can only describe as a smirk.

 

My female, Senneca, is the grumbler. If she has alarm barked for something and I tell he enough, she stops her barking, but grumbles and complains.

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I feel like Jude missed out on this somehow. He's the quietest dog when he's inside. He only barks in the house when there is a threat, so when he does bark, we REALLY pay attention. But no singing or anything like that. But when he gets some raccoons in a tree, he goes crazy. But I think that might be the pointer in him :)

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I have 6 dogs in kennels and if they hear a siren ( a rare occurence here) they will start to howl, sometimes they howl with the coyotes and they howl every morning when I leave for work. Kevin Brannon

My dogs do the howling chorus thing when they hear sirens too. Farleigh starts it, they all join in (including sometimes the LGD), and someone always does the "yip, yip, yip" thing along with them (I think it might be Phoebe)--it's an eerie, cool sound when they do it.

 

J.

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OK, now who is willing to waste the most time -- to start a thread with YouTube clips of their dogs rooing, chirping, and other odd sounds?! Extra points for the ones where the humans are singing along!

 

I can't get Quinn's "happy howl" on cue. Apparently, he must feel the joy to share it with me. Of course since he shares that particular expression of joy at least two or three times a day, I could capture it and try to record, then post it. But I'd rather be earning his happy howls by doing something fun with him. :D

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We have a roo. My Gael "roos" when she's happy. She'll often stretch into a bow, then come up with an emphatic "ROOOOO!" straight into our faces. At a trial a couple weeks ago, she suddenly roo-ed just sitting beside my chair. First time she's ever roo-ed outside the house, so I think she was just telling me what a great weekend she was having. :P

 

A friend of mine has had 3 generations of border collies, each of which had a "roo." I love border collie roos. ;)

 

~ Gloria

 

There is nothing that makes one feel more loved, or appreciated than the sound of that "roo, roo, roo" upon one's arrival home. :). Like Gael, Robin is also a very enthusiastic "Roo-er", and Brodie often chimes in as well. I love it. Happy dogs, happy home.

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I searched for "howling" before adding this post http://www.bordercol...showtopic=30480 and came up empty.

 

Now it appears that the trait is very common to the BC ( and entertaining, amusing, desirable, etc, etc, etc.) In my experience with many breeds and mixed breeds over the years I've found this to be very uncommon. What can we attribute this to? ;)

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Soda is a grumbler. If I tell her to do something she doesn't want to do, she'll do it and grumble. Like if she's begging and I tell her to go lay down, she'll go and grumble and throw herself on the ground and give me stink eye. I think she's thinking "Stupid mom. Stupid floor. Stupid...everything. I'm just laying down cuz I want to. Hate you."

 

Hahaha, this is so what she looks like!!! So funny!

 

Yes the "rooing" is wonderful to come home to. I have not had any other dog do this before, (and as I do a lot of foster work, I have had a LOT of dogs through the years). People seem to know that it is a happy sound, as when she does it to strangers who are across the way, they turn and say "Well! Hello to you too!". :P

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Now it appears that the trait is very common to the BC ( and entertaining, amusing, desirable, etc, etc, etc.) In my experience with many breeds and mixed breeds over the years I've found this to be very uncommon. What can we attribute this to? ;)

 

There was a similar discussion in an ACD group not long ago: http://www.flickr.com/groups/acd/discuss/72157623978053601/ . I wonder if there's any correlation between how much the dog "talks" and how much their people talk to them.

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There was a similar discussion in an ACD group not long ago: http://www.flickr.com/groups/acd/discuss/72157623978053601/ . I wonder if there's any correlation between how much the dog "talks" and how much their people talk to them.

 

While there is no way to prove this, I do not think that this is the reason my girl talks so much. By her behavior, I am pretty sure that she was someone's backyard dog who did not get much interaction before she came to me. :( Although she is just so loving, it does seem like someone must have loved her in her past life...

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I searched for "howling" before adding this post http://www.bordercol...showtopic=30480 and came up empty.

 

Now it appears that the trait is very common to the BC ( and entertaining, amusing, desirable, etc, etc, etc.) In my experience with many breeds and mixed breeds over the years I've found this to be very uncommon. What can we attribute this to? ;)

 

I like to think it's because they really like to "talk" with you, but then that's just my fancy....we used to say our Lucky girl spoke three languages, she was so expressive. None of our other BCs have ever come close to matching her breadth of vocabulary. She would sing, and roo, and chirp, and grouse, chatter like a monkey...the three we have now combined are quiet as mice compared to our Lucky girl.

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All except Sugar exhibit vocalization. Genie is the whiner if she doesnt get what she wants she generally fusses. Dal is the loud woo woo er when he's happy and Maddie is the fusser if I make her mad. She will grumble.

 

All in all Dal vocalizes all the time.

 

My dogs howl in Unison at the fire siren and the train. The train can be a multi time a day occurrance and is about 300 yards from our house with a crossing at about 500 yards. The train makes it sound like I live with a pack of 10 dogs. The coyotes mostly get my dogs barking and growling since they are a real threat.

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My new little border collie mix will howl at a couple of the instruments. She loves the harp and piano, but the bowed psaltery and the higher notes of the hammered dulcimer prompt howling.

 

I had a Cardigan Corgi who did the "happy howl" upon greeting us or when thoroughly enjoying play. I loved his, "A-RooooRooo-Roo!" howl! So fun to read that some BCs do that too!

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After poking around a bit I've seen setters, pointers, spaniels and even greyhounds suggested as contributing to the makeup of the border collie. Many of the arguments being quite plausible. But none of these are known for being vocal in the way we're seeing.

 

There seem to be many stimulating factors involved, such as greetings, imitation and just plain BC joie de vivre, but the mystery to me is where it comes from. I'm still scratching my head over this. (And roo rooing right along with him.) :rolleyes:

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