Question about baying.... howling...

[Mozartcowgirl]

At any time of day.. with nothing in particular going on.. just regular routine... my dog.. who is 3 years old. a lab/chow mix.. very healthy.. very active.. will suddently.. out of the blue... bay, or gently howl.  
like.. arrrrrrooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

she is in no distress..

i often wonder if its because she is reminding us that we are a pack.. or that she is continuing to establish her bond with us. i am not sure.. but its VERY cute... and VERY neat. she wags her tail.. and gives lots of kisses.. and she has done it with me right there.. or.. she will do it.. if I am at the computer. kids running around.. normal day to day activities going on..
its a very soft... gentle arrroooooooooo where her head goes high.. like a howl. but much softer..

I dont have any history on her. ... we rescued her from the animal shelter about 1 and a half years ago... she doesnt bark though.. which we have always been wondering about.. the animal shelter told us that they found her in a place known for dumping animals. I cant believe someone would do that.. she is the best dog we could have ever asked for.   her baying like she does .. and the loving way she acts after.. is really endearing.. i was just wondering what you guys think why she is doing that.. we love her dearly. thank you so much!!

[dominosarah]

This post brought me both tears and a smile~~I had to put my precious girl down in January, she was a beagle.  I can still hear her sitting on the couch, nose in the air just baying away.   I sometimes think she liked to just hear herself or annoy the cat when he was trying to sleep!!  She was such a happy girl so i believe she was just talking to us in her language.  What i wouldnt do to hear that arroooooooooo again!!  Your pet sounds wonderful, keep enjoying her~~~~sara

[Margot49]

cute story.  Well, many dogs will howl or bay if they are in a pack, if they are distressed, crated and left alone. etc.  That being said, it sounds like Bella is just talking.  Chows can be known to howl.  The Beagle breed is probably the most known for baying.  We have dogs in the neighborhood that will howl when they hear sirens.  Like you, I had Doxies years ago and if I would howl, they would howl along with me.  I've had quite a few Greyhounds through here over the past few years (help with rescue and fostering or babysit).  We've had our rey for over 8 years and I've probably heard him bark a half dozen times, I kid you not.  I've had a couple of Greys here that would howl on occasion, usually to get someone's attention or they were on the other side of a gate of door.  :-)  I had one Grey that used to come here and he was a riot. He was a real talker. He would start with the slow roooooo rooooooo roooooooing then work up to a bark and a howl if you were ignoring him. Too funny. Well, not all the time cause his favorite time seemed to be when someone was on the phone. Hang up and he'd stop.  LOL!!!  I just think some dogs are talkers.  

[Mozartcowgirl]

She gets LOTS of exercise.. plenty... challenged? you bet!! I think her baying is joy.. she is a really happy girl.  we have 5 kids here at home... and she even partitions her sleep time to all the kids.... one night she will sleep in my daughters room.. the next  night shes in my room.. then the next night she is is my sons bed..lol... ect ect.. just a few days ago.. a neighboring dog got out of his fence and ran towards her.. my 3 year old was in between them... Bella went right for the other dog.. because i am sure she thought that the neighboring dog was going for my three year old.. Bella ran that dog off.. and made sure that my neighbors dogs jumped  back over the fence.!!! she is VERY protective.
when i was a child.. we had several dogs... my mother would start howling.. then the dogs would chime in... but Bella doesnt do that... its just out of the blue... and its not real loud.. anyway.. i hope someone knows why she is doing it.. just would be nice to know.. thakyou wolf for your input.

[BadW0lf]

Hello,

How often does your dog get exercise? Is she being challenged enough? I don't know a lot about the howling situation, except hat it can be anything from joy to anxiety. She seems happy though, so all I can think of is if she's getting the daily workout she needs.

[Mozartcowgirl]

PS sorry.. but... she IS spayed.. and i swear she knows english..lol