Pet World: Siren-howling dog keeps owner up at night

Dear Cathy,

I have a howler, Roxy, a 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 three in the morning in the bedroom, 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

Dear Roxy,

There are a few ways to address this issue. First, you can get noise-reducing curtains for your windows (and walls) and a white sound machine to help mask outside noises. This may 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, snake-like sound, which gets their 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.

Dear Cathy,

I adopted a 40-pound (current weight) two-year-old beagle mix that had been starved he was so thin. I've been feeding him twice a day to put a few pounds on him, but now that he has put on the weight, I'm wondering just how much he should be fed. I called my vet but couldn't get an answer I understood. I searched the internet for an answer, but answers seem to be all over the board. Can you help? He gets walked two to three times a day for a total of one hour. I feed him two to three heaping tablespoons of Pedigree Choice Cuts in gravy with beef and two to three heaping tablespoons of Pedigree Chopped ground Chicken & Rice dinner both twice a day, along with a handful of dry food at each meal.

—Tom, Jamesport, New York

Dear Tom,

Your veterinarian can calculate exactly how much food your dog should eat based on the type of food you’re feeding him. So, don’t be afraid to call back and ask your vet to do the math for you. They know how to do it.

In the meantime, check the pet food feeding guide on your dog’s dry food bag or on the pet food company’s website. These feeding guides will recommend how much to feed your dog daily based on your dog’s weight and explains how to mix wet and dry food together.

For the Pedigree adult dry food, the website recommends feeding a 40-pound dog 2 1/4 cups (18 ounces) of food daily. It actually recommends 400 to 450 grams of food (which only makes things harder since that is not our country’s measuring system), but a quick gram to cup calculator online confirms it’s about 2 1/4 cups of food. Split that amount into two feedings, twice a day.

In your case, the recommended amount is a little over a cup of dry food at each meal. If you want to add wet food, just know that a ½ can of wet food is equivalent to ¾ dry food. Since you’re probably feeding about ¼ of a can of each of the wet foods (1/2 can), you would only need to add 1/4 cup of dry food to each meal. This is a guideline as every dog’s appetite and exercise are a little difference. You can adjust the dry food ¼ cup at a time based on his activity level and if you think he needs it.

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(Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)