Howling

Fortunately I have not had a dog that howled, but an elderly relative of mine has a little dog that howls when the phone rings and occasionally when the other dogs start barking. She stops as soon as she is told but it keeps happening. In other respects she is a happy and well behaved dog, she was adopted from a re-homing centre about 2 years ago. Any suggestions for dealing with this please?

I don't have much experience of dogs howling. We once had a dog that howled if it heard anyone playing the bagpipes on television, but that seems like a reasonable reaction, bagpipes make me want to howl too! Have you tried changing the ring tone on the phone?

As long as she stops on command, I wouldn't worry about it.

I am not so sure about that Orrymain. A dog that howls when the phone rings would be a real pain. If the phone rang when the owners were out the dog could set the other dogs off and annoy the neighbours. It could cause a lot of problems.

Thanks, it may be worth changing the ring on the phone, I will suggest that to her. The howling is a concern because it could upset the neighbours if it happens when my relative is out.