Some border collies bark when they are excited or anxious. This is called iodine. Other dogs may yodel when they see another Border Collie they know.
Border Collies also howl when they play. They may yodel while playing with their owner or another dog. So far, no one fully understands why these dogs exhibit this behavior.
Does your Border Collie rest to communicate?
Like wolves, your Border Collie would choose to howl as a form of communication. Your intelligent pup will use it to inform his mate of both his presence and location. And so the whining acts as their method of finding each other.
Your border collie may bark to communicate with his partner or friend or you. You can also think of this as a code that dogs communicate with each other. Since your energetic dog can’t talk to you, it’s likely that he’ll choose to bark to reveal himself.
Dogs bark in response to stimuli and bonding exercises
Dog barking can be a response to environmental influences. Common provocations are sirens from ambulances, police or fire engines. The sound of that noise was the only time my dog barked.
The distant sound of approaching sirens always made her sit up and join in the wailing. The reason remains uncertain, as she never barked at the sound of other dogs howling. Perhaps the pitch of the sirens awakened some otherwise dormant genetic memory.
Much of our research confirms that dog yelping occurs when certain sounds are perceived. The offers and triggers can be anything: music playing on the stereo at a party, popular TV theme songs, or the sound of musical instruments. People who enjoy barking at dogs even seem to encourage their dogs by barking themselves! It seems that one reason dogs whine is the experience of companionship or connection. Why do dogs bark at sirens? Why do dogs bark when you bark? Maybe it’s to join in and be part of the action.
Response to noise
Collies are very sensitive. As such, they will hear noises from a greater distance and howl in response. Human cries, alarms or sirens are common triggers.
In this case, although arbitrary, the collies feel obliged to join in the noise.
1: They Are Lonely
Wolves used howling to guide their family pack home. Your collie is doing the same and howling to encourage his human pack members home. This is more likely to happen when you leave the house and could be a sign of separation anxiety.