Its late at night, the full moon is shining brightly, and you hear the dogs in the neighborhood doing a chorus of howling. Why do dogs howl at the moon?
In actuality, dogs may appear to howl during a full moon, but it’s more likely that they are simply howling to communicate with each other. It may just be easier to notice that they’re howling on a night when the moon is in plain view. Dogs howl to signal location when they are hunting. They also howl when left alone for long periods and they are trying to signal to their family members. It’s also very contagious. One dog’s howl may set off a string of howls around the neighborhood.
