Siren-howling dog keeps her roommates up at night

Dear Cathy: I have a howler, Roxy, a normally gentle and mellow chow chow mix. Almost every time she hears a siren, she goes into howl mode. It’s not so bad when she’s outside, but when she makes this dreadful noise at 3 in the morning in the bedroom that she shares with me and a second dog, Joey, then it becomes a problem.

I can’t use anything that makes a sudden noise, like a shaker can, because I fear that it will punish Joey, who stays quiet. He howled once and I said a stern “No!” and he hasn’t howled indoors since.

Saying no does not work with Roxy about this particular thing. Neither does ignoring or distracting or a command to sit. She obeys me and sits and keeps right on howling.

I thought dogs weren’t supposed to be able to do two things at once! Help! — Eileen, Tucson, Arizona

There are a few ways to address this issue. First, you can get noise-reducing curtains for your windows (and walls) and a white-noise machine to help mask outside sounds. This might not remove the siren sound completely, but it should greatly reduce it.

The second thing is to try to shush her. When she starts to howl, say “Roxy, shhh.” The “shhh” should be a short, staccato but airy, snakelike sound, which gets a dog’s attention. By saying Roxy and then issuing this command, Joey will know you’re not correcting him.

If these things don’t work, the next step is training her to “leave it,” since you want her to “leave/ignore” the sound. Ask her to sit and drop a dog treat on the floor. If she bends down to sniff or eat it, say “leave it.”

She should respond by looking at you, at which time you can say a reward word, like “bingo,” and give her a treat. She will eventually learn that “leave it” means to leave things alone.

Once you’re sure she understands, try it on her when she wails at night to see if she stops.

Getty Images Dear Roxy: