The Hound of Barkingmad

 

     Hound bays seem to shatter all decibel levels. Climbing into a barrel and setting off a firework isn't as bad as that sudden explosion of dog sound. Either way, your ears will ring.

A bay is not a howl (prolonged "WOOOO" that sometimes changes pitch at onset but is one continuous noise) or bark (a monotone "bark bark" or "woof woof". Yes, hounds are capable of both, but the bay is the classic "BAWOOWOOWOO!!!" warbling noise. The sound is often unique to the individual dog.

Trained hounds bay when hunting. That doesn't mean a couch potato hound won't also bay when he pursues and corners a cat, rat, or trash panda. The bay also erupts when the hound wants his annoyed people companions to come see something.

Like roofers next door.

The Hound of Barkingmad's bay exploded the morning silence the moment he saw a roofer walk through our neighbor's yard. From porch to fence, his noise was classic hound vocalization.

...Until the ladder came out and the man climbed on the roof. That practically scared the kibble out of him. He fled to the comfort of his spot on the porch before letting out more bays. These had changed in pitch, a plaintive noise imploring me to investigate some scary for him.

So why do hounds bay? As with much of the other things hounds do, they do it because they can. Welcome to hound ownership.