For a long time, videos can be found on social networks showing dogs howling to music. Some users believe this is a random response to sound signals, while others suggest that it reflects some vocal abilities, possibly inherited from distant ancestors — wolves.
A group of researchers from the USA decided to find out whether domestic dogs can distinguish pitch and adjust their voice accordingly, or if it is merely an instinctive response to music, as reported by the media.
Biologists have long noted that the collective howl of wolves consists of diverse voices that differ in pitch and structure. This means that wolves do not howl in unison. Each of them has unique frequency characteristics, creating a polyphonic effect.
Some researchers have proposed that such behavior is not accidental but represents an evolutionary mechanism. The diversity of voices can create an illusion of a larger pack for the listener, which helps to deter predators and rivals.
Experts suggest that wolves consciously change the pitch of their voice in response to the sounds of their kin; however, there is currently no data to confirm this.
Since it is difficult to test the hypothesis in the wild, researchers turned to domestic dogs — the closest relatives of gray wolves (Canis lupus), whose behavior is easier to analyze. It is believed that dogs and gray wolves descended from a common ancestor, which explains their high percentage of DNA similarity (about 99 percent).
If dogs can change their pitch in response to sounds, it indicates that they have the ability for vocal adjustment.
The research group, led by Aniruddh Patel from Tufts University in Massachusetts, chose two ancient breeds for their experiment — four Samoyeds and two Shiba Inus. These breeds have retained common genetic traits with wolves longer than other dogs, such as shepherds or poodles.
Dog owners were invited to play their pets' favorite music and record their howls. First, the music was played in its original form, and then the researchers changed the pitch by three semitones up and down to explore the dogs' reactions to changes in pitch.
Data was considered valid if the dog howled at least 30 times, with each howl lasting at least one second. The researchers analyzed whether the dogs changed the pitch of their voice in response to changes in the music.
The results of the experiment showed a clear division: all four Samoyeds demonstrated musical sensitivity. They adjusted their howls depending on whether the pitch of the melody was rising or falling. Although the dogs were not perfect in copying notes, they attempted to hit higher notes when the music ascended and switched to lower ones when it descended.
Unfortunately, the two Shiba Inus showed no signs of musicality. They did not respond to changes in pitch and howled as usual. Patel suggested that this might be related to genetic differences — the ability to "listen" and mimic sounds can vary significantly even among ancient breeds. Perhaps if more Shiba Inus had participated in the experiment, there would have been musical individuals, but in this case, the Samoyeds prevailed.
The experiment demonstrated that Samoyeds are capable of perceiving pitch and adjusting their voice to the melody. This discovery may be of interest not only to dog breeders but also to anthropologists studying the origins of music and singing in humans.
Previously, many researchers believed that singing arose as a byproduct of speech development. However, the findings of Patel's team call this theory into question. Dogs do not have complex speech or the ability to memorize new sounds like parrots, but as the experiment showed, they can change their pitch in response to external stimuli.
The authors of the study suggest that if dogs can change their pitch without complex training, then such an ability may have developed in humans even before the emergence of speech. In other words, coordination of voices in a group may have arisen as an independent evolutionary mechanism to strengthen social bonds.
The researchers also attempted to answer the question of why dogs need such an ability by observing the animals' behavior during the experiment. They did not expect treats for the "concert"; on the contrary, they behaved differently: raising their heads and looking into the distance, as if communicating with someone invisible. According to the authors, music may serve the role of a wolf's howl, putting dogs into a special social state when it is necessary to maintain a connection with their kin. Thus, howling to music may serve a social function, contributing to the strengthening of group ties.
Nevertheless, the results of the study require caution in interpretation. First, the sample size was small — only four Samoyeds and two Shiba Inus. Second, it is impossible to conduct direct observations of wolf behavior, and conclusions about the ancient roots of "musicality" are made based on analogies with dogs. Another issue is that the Shiba Inus did not respond to the music, indicating that the results may depend on the individual characteristics of the dogs.
The scientific work is published in the journal Current Biology.
The article "Singing" dogs may help uncover the origins of vocal skills in humans was first published on the K-News website.
