Screaming

LosechLosech
edited July 2014 in Hokkaido Inu (北海道犬)
Is this, normal, for Hokkaido Ken? To scream? Katana's first reaction to EVERYTHING is to let out a horrid shriek. He starts out short and "quiet" but if I don't interrupt him, he'll ascend into a hellacious racket that echoes off the hills and can be heard on the road 1/3 mile away. Just about anything can set him off, but it is usually animals that walk past the fence (no surprise there). He does it when he sees other dogs, when he wants something, when left in the truck or tied, when he's treed game, etc.

As an example, this is the worst he's ever been, and was taken shortly after I got him a year ago. In this video I was never farther than 10 feet from the fence. He's better now and doesn't get as frantic...

Anyways, this is the sort of crap noise he makes. Do your Hokkaido do similar?

On a similar note...
I've tried hunting with him, he's not bad at it, but he SCREAMS! I will not hunt with a dog that doesn't bark when game is treed, and screaming sure as heck doesn't count as barking. I'd really like to keep hunting with him but if he won't stop screaming and start barking, that's not going to happen.
So pointers on getting a dog to bark instead of scream are welcome ;)

Comments

  • omgtainomgtain
    Does he break into screaming when you're with him / working with him? Are you able to get his attention or distract him ? Is he over threshold?

    To me he seemed very excited and kind of frustrated. Try using that energy in another venue?
  • LosechLosech
    That was just an example of the sound, he doesn't freak out as bad anymore. (He had some nasty separation anxiety, that is what the video is.)

    He screams all the time, it's his default reaction to things. I can be there or not, he can be over threshold or not. If I poke him hard enough I can distract him.
    He's like that kid on the playground who runs around screaming and won't quit no matter how many times Mom tells him to stop.
  • BradA1878BradA1878
    Yep, Genko totally does that. Especially at feeding time. I'll try to get a video of it for you.
  • TheWalrusTheWalrus
    This is why I will never own a Hokkaido. Pretty much every Hokkaido pup that has come through my house has been EXTREMELY vocal, and it's not a normal whine or bark. It's that Hokkaido vocalization every tme they're pushed over (their extremely low) excitement/stress threshold.
  • CrimsonO2CrimsonO2
    wow, that's almost nails-on-chalkboard ear-grating noise...
  • sukoshi_momsukoshi_mom
    It's a tossup as to whether this is worse than the proverbial "Shiba Scream"
  • LosechLosech
    @TheWalrus That's obnoxious. Seems like it's a breed trait then? Lame. I'm fine with talkative, I like that, but the screaming crap... No.

    @CrimsonO2 Yeah it's horrid. I absolutely hate it, especially when I'm trying to do something like take a nap or read, and all of a sudden HREEEE SCREEEEHREEE HREEEEROOOOREEEE!!!

    @sukoshi_mom Hands down Katana is worse. Having endured both, there is absolutely no contest between a Shiba scream and a Hokkaido scream.

  • violet_in_sevilleviolet_in_seville
    Hmmm...I don't know what this says about us, but the sound Katana makes is like a less pathetic sounding version of the noises Bear makes when we are coming home but aren't opening the door fast enough. Once we get inside he often continues for another minute or so. Come to think of it, Bear also tends to react with what we call crying before barking or any other sort of vocalizations.
  • LosechLosech
    @violet_in_seville Conker makes high-pitched screaming barks (that I also absolutely hate) when I come home if I make noise outside before I open the door. So I try to be all sneaky-like so he doesn't make stupid noises and piss me off before I can can even say hello. He's overly exited to see me, and it's not at all my fault (when I lived at home, siblings and Mom would encourage him freaking out when I'd come home from work, despite me telling them to KNOCK IT OFF!!!) and luckily, Katana does not do this. Or it would be hellacious when I come home.
  • WhoBitMeWhoBitMe
    Meitou does not do this. He's usually pretty quiet. When he does make noise he tends to grunt/moan, bark, or whine. But no screaming like Katana. I can try to get video of the vocalizations he makes when he gets excited for dinner, but it is nothing like Katana-screams. He did used to cry a lot when he was in his crate, but it wasn't like this. It was sad howling/crying.

    @TheWalrus I don't know if you remember, but was Meitou loud when he was with you?
  • TheWalrusTheWalrus
    @WhoBitMe Meitou was the quietest out of the bunch, mostly just followed his brother around. But yeah, feeding time, or anytime he wanted to get somewhere and there was a crate or fence in his way... When the 5 Hokka pups were playing in the yard, it always sounded like something was being killed.
  • shibamistressshibamistress
    Wow, that's.....impressive? *lol* Certainly got all my dogs' attention, especially Leo's, so I assured them that we will never get a Hokka (as much as I used to want one!)

    Yeah, that's crazy!
  • LosechLosech
    @shibamistress Yeah it's pretty insane. I do think Katana is on the extreme end of the Hokkaido screaming spectrum, but, I'm doubting that I want to get another Hokkaido if this is a trait. Don't get me wrong Katana is pretty a awesome dog, but, the screaming thing... I'm really not a fan.
  • mdokicmdokic
    edited August 2014
    LOL, @TheWalrus, when Jen came to visit us last, she brought Genko, Kishin and Hazuki...well, Genko made her typical Hokka noises every once in a while, and basically every neighbor that i didnt explain this too while Jen was there came up a day after and asked me what animal i had at my house (i live in a complex, so lots of neighbors in a tight space).... i lol'd. SO hard. :P

    I love love LOVE genko, but i don't think i'll ever be getting a hokka... she has the cutest personality though :)
  • Myabee09Myabee09
    @mdokic that made me laugh, and reminded me of when my chi was a tiny puppy. She screeched like I was killing her for everything, even walking too close to her. My neighbors could hear this and later told me they always said "Lauren must be petting Rosie again".
  • mdokicmdokic
    Lol @Myabee09! "Lauren must be letting Rosie again" , too funny :)
  • Myabee09Myabee09
    I'm so glad she's grown out of most of that. I was losing my mind!
    @Losech I feel your pain. I tripped over my own feet last night and my Chihuahua lost her mind. She screeched like a banshee.
  • WhoBitMeWhoBitMe
    Okay, so I had to whip out some super special meat to get him to make any noise. He sounds a little pathetic, lol. Normally there is more "waowr waowr waowr" noises and less crying.



    More like the noise at the beginning of this one... And note all the drool that goes flying while he has to wait. This happens all the time now.



    Neither of these illustrate him at his most vocal, but he it is hard to capture his loudest moments because I'm normally not home when he cries the most.
  • tim3308tim3308
    edited August 2014
    The Hokkaido specialized in hunting the dangerous Brown Bear, meaning a highly vocal and tenacious hunter
    Above from the Nihon Ken blog on the specific hunting styles of the different Japanese breeds:
    http://nihonken.blogspot.com/2014/03/hunting-and-nihon-ken.html
  • LosechLosech
    @tim3308 I'm well aware that the Hokkaido is a vocal dog, I was before I even got one. I have been around many other vocal breeds, none of which SCREAM like Katana does.
    That is specifically what I was referring to, not the general act of making noise.
  • tim3308tim3308
    Sorry @Losech, I didn't mean to imply at all a "duhh" slant by posting that... actually a supportive one (for lack of a better term) re: the breeds vocalness. Katana, like a line from Spinal Tap, "goes to 11".
  • shibamistressshibamistress
    edited August 2014
    I was not aware that the Hokka were so vocal, however. So now my fantasy of having one will remain strictly in the fantasy zone, because you know, they are quiet in my fantasies! *lol*

    I'm pretty noise sensitive so very vocal dogs drive me NUTS. Glad none of mine are. And it has also regulated another breed I love, Norwegian Elkhounds, to the fantasy zone. Had one as a family dog when I was a teen, and she was so very smart and so very barky.
  • sukoshi_momsukoshi_mom
    Another spitz type breed to avoid if you prefer quieter dogs: The American Eskimo ("Eskies"). They are vocal. They talk. They do whole paragraphs. My sister fostered one. Sweet dog, but vocal. Also something of an escape artist. Also subject to periods of high energy. Usually better in pairs (to keep each other amused).
  • jeffnkazukojeffnkazuko
    Yume used to make her "monkey noises" when she was a pup, but is a pretty quiet dog now that rarely barks. The only time she screams like in your video is when she gets close enough to smell a Bighorn sheep or sometimes an elk/moose when she is in the car. We got her close enough to smell a grizzly mama and her cub a few weeks back (Yes, in the car!), she was excited but stayed fairly quiet. We moved to a new house recently and she was barking a little more than usual for the first week, but has gone back to being fairly quiet. She does "talk" and vocalize, but it is not annoying or high pitched. I would say overall she is much quieter than a lot of other dogs. If there is a dog behind a fence going nuts barking Yume just watches and moves on and pretty much never barks back.
  • PonyfieldsPonyfields
    I can't decide if it says something about my mental state or is simply a reliable indicator that we own cockatiel, but I think that's a cute noise.

    Our Shikoku is very quiet, she makes her morning yawn, then will not make any noise unless a there is a cat, dog or person on our property to bark at.
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