A study by researchers at Tufts University reveals that some Samoyeds alter the pitch of their howls in response to changes in music, suggesting an inherited vocal ability from wolf ancestors. The findings, published in Current Biology, indicate dogs can perceive and adapt to pitch without vocal learning. This may shed light on the evolutionary origins of human musicality.
Psychologist Aniruddh Patel at Tufts University in Massachusetts led a study examining whether dogs exhibit musicality by adjusting their howls to music. Inspired by observations of wolves, where howling involves long, sustained vocalizations and individuals hitting different tones to create a discordant chorus that intimidates predators, the researchers tested domestic dogs.
Patel noted, “Howling has some similarities to human singing, in that these are long, sustained vocalisation.” Previous theories suggested wolves pay attention to pitch, but testing this in the wild is challenging, so the team turned to pet owners. They recorded dogs' responses to a preferred track in its original key, transposed three semitones higher, and three semitones lower. The analysis focused on ancient breeds closer to wolves: Samoyeds and shiba inus. Each dog needed at least 30 howls, lasting at least one second, per version for reliability.
All four Samoyeds demonstrated sensitivity to pitch changes, adapting their vocalizations to the new key, though not matching it precisely. Patel explained, “They’re trying to have some relationship to what they’re hearing with their own voice; they’re not just being triggered to unleash some instinctive and inflexible response.” One participant, Luna, howled along to “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. In contrast, the two shiba inus showed no such adjustment, leading Patel to hypothesize, “It’s possible there’s some genetic variation within ancient breeds, making some more predisposed to howling.”
The study suggests dogs' pitch control, without speech-related learning, implies human singing's roots may predate language. Patel added, “It’s possible that our ability and desire to coordinate pitch with others when we sing has very ancient evolutionary roots, and may not just be a byproduct of our ability to imitate complex sounds.” Dogs appeared engaged, gazing intently, as if responding to a surrogate howl signal.
Buddhamas Pralle Kriengwatana at KU Leuven welcomed the findings but called for larger samples and breed comparisons. She remarked, “It would have been nice for them to have a comparison of ancient versus modern breeds,” and suggested discordant howling might help dogs hear themselves: “Who knows, maybe they want their voices to be heard, and to hear themselves singing.”
The research appears in Current Biology (DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.12.002).
