Dog lovers, here’s your chance to tell a dog story.
We’ve probably all heard how sensitive is a dog’s sense of hearing. One hundred times better than a human; sensitive to ultra sound and so on.
I’ve had dogs all my life; but, never a German Shepherd Dog. Before Bonzo, a German line GSD, all my dogs were rather indifferent to my whistling and fluting.
I play Irish flute in D, Whistle in A and high and low D. Regardless of which wind I play; when he hears the first note; he drops what he’s doing and immediately comes to my side and sits.
He then lifts his head and begins a very wolfish low howl. This sound will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. He then slides this low note up to whatever pitch I am in and starts a “Cry of the Wild” kind of scat singing; sometimes dropping down to the low wolf howl.
I am thinking he likes whistles and flutes as I doubt he would come close to me if he didn’t like the sound. Of course, the possibilty arises that he may be trying to decide if he should bite me. Still …
I know canine singing along is not unusual; but I have to wonder how they tolerate the high notes.
We have a couple of Pembroke Welsh corgis. One of them will often come and “sing” along when I’m playing a high whistle, especially if I go well into the second octave. I’ve reached the same conclusion you have - if he didnt’ like it, he wouldn’t be coming closer and staying to participate.
Oddly he doesn’t seem to respond to lower whistles or alto or tenor recorders - and sometimes he ignores the whistles too. Our other corgi basically ignores all the musical activity in the house (which includes cello and celtic harp as well as recorders and whistles).
Our prior corgi (passed away in March) used to come and sit or lay very close to my wife whenever she played her harp and was rather jealous of his position there. He didn’t sing along or anything - he just appreciated the music very much. She still misses that (and we have hopes that one of the current ones will eventually become a “harp dog”).
I’m no dog behavior expert or anything, but I wonder if your shepard has a strong pack instinct. Mabey when he hears you play, he thinks you are “howling” and wants to do the “group howl thing” with you like a good pack dog. (By the way I’m sure it’s not your playing)
My dog Boomer doesn’t seem to mind if I play a softer whistle like a Dixon or such. Nor does fluting or low whistle. He doesn’t hang around for louder whistles like Copelands or Susatos though.
He does like when play my Uilleann Pipes. And if I play bodhran, he will sleep with his head right at the edge of the drum. Go figre.
Ezri definitely likes the whistles - especially low ones. She’ll come, sit at my feet, and sniff the whistle to see if she can figure out where the sound is coming from.
Which is only bad when one is playing an Overton Bass A and she prods the whistle with her nose - wham. Hard edge of mouthpiece in lip. Ah well… she didn’t mean it.
It’s hard to tell what will make a particular animal respond to a certain instrument, but I think it’s safe to say that when they do, it’s because we’re triggering a pack response. Even those animals that shun the sound may be exhibiting a pack behavior, as only certain members of the pack are allowed to participate, and they may consider themselves too low on the pecking order.
As a not-too-off-topic reply, I had a cat that simply could not resist the sound of the harmonica. She could ignor practically everything else, but the harmonica triggered an instinct in her. She had to respond as if she had no choice, which she probably didn’t.
ages ago, we had a mixed welsh corgi. my wife played the piano for him every day. he was in ecstacy. one time when she was sick, she didn’t play for him for a couple of days. while i was taking care of my wife, i sat down at the piano to play a song. he ran into the room like the rest of the house was on fire. he didn’t care who played as long as it was live music. the radio and stereo didn’t do it for him. he didn’t pay any mind to playing the guitar. he did watch tv. he mostly liked nature shows. he always let us know if it was real or fake dog barking on tv shows and movies. one time a bear was charging a cameraman. to him, it looked like we were being attacked and he jumped off the couch and kicked that bear’s ass. made it run away and everything.
we have a mixed dalmation now. my wife plays the keyboards for her daily. life doesn’t continue til she gets her concert. my keyboard playing doesn’t work with her. i learned how to play the harmonica, whistle, and flute while we had her. she did not like me learning the whistle. she hated the newbie squawking. whenever i picked up a whistle, she’s quietly move to the farthest corner of the house or ask to go outside. two years later, i don’t squawk anymore but she still picks up her head when i pick up a whistle. the guitar and harmonica and flute don’t matter at all to her.
a friend’s dog will sit on my feet when i play the flute. i haven’t played the whistle for this dog.
German Shepherds do indeed have a strong desire to be with their preferred human. Hubby had one as a boy that would try to chase the family car all the way to town. They lived a ways out in the country and would meet the dog on the way back–it would then chase the car toward home again. Charged his mother one day while she was in the act of tanning hubby’s little behind on the porch(all spankings had to be delivered inside after that!). Hubby has loved the breed ever since.
We have one now who considers son his chosen one. If I send Ben to my room to retrieve something for me, the dog watches him go–then jumps up to follow as soon as the boy is out of sight. If the boy goes to the mailbox the dog insists on going out into the fenced in yard to watch him go and return. Sleeps beside his bed every night…and began to get very protective at one point–growed at me when I would go in to wake Benup in the morning. Karl found out right quick that I outranked him! No more growling.
I’ll admit it’s off topic, but my ferret Liam likes to systematically knock my whistles off the shelf. Interestingly, a previous ferret I had liked my playing and would come over and lick my ankles if she was running around the room I was practicing. And that was when I had only a really crappy whistle…Maybe she was licking me in the hopes of getting my attention so I’d stop playing.
My dog rarely lifts his head when I whistle, but he did howl along with my trumpet a few years ago. I’m still trying to figure that out. As to whether or not key matters, maybe different breeds vocalize on different keys. My dog’s a mutt and he howls when I play a Bb instrument. If only I could get my hands on a Bb whistle…
You might be on to something. I just tried my key of A whistle and Bonzo ignored it. Plus, if I try the digital tuner while he accompanies me, he does howl (more or less) in the key of D; that’s D as in Dog. He starts in low D and pretty much uses it as a platform for his yodels.
We have a pack of coyotes near by. When they sound off, he responds in low D and will peak at about F#. Is he diatonic? Or is it learned behavior? Hmmm.
I have a Lhasa Apso, Buster, who waits for me to go to bed at night. Sometimes I practice the whistle before going to bed and he gives me an insulted look, and jumps off the bed. Could be my playing.
Ah well… she didn’t mean it. 