Yes, Charlie howls and I love it. It’s a great sound. He has a very complex array of vocals – yips that truly do sound like some kind of language when he really gets going; single, communicative barks; and then of course the howl. He does not howl to other coyotes. He howls when I howl, and will bark, yip and howl to his dog friends (but not other dogs). He whimpers and whines to the cat, and howls when the cat meows.  You can hear recordings of Charlie on vimeo.com, just search for daily coyote!

Charlie stands 22 inches at the shoulder (fur height included). By sight, he matches the average border collie, but that’s due to his full coat and long legs. I’ve never weighed him, but he’s still so easy to pick up. I’d guess he weighs about 30 pounds.

At the moment, Charlie’s favorite toy is a roll of masking tape. He’s so weird. But it has been providing us hours of entertainment. I roll it across the floor, he tosses it it the air and catches the ring of it around his snout – it’s hilarious. He is also loving dried papaya spears. I gave him a piece last week and he’s been playing with it ever since, batting it around and slowly nibbling it. I highly recommend dried papaya for you dog owners – a google search deems it safe, and it’s way cheaper than rawhide.

Charlie is about three inches shy of full grown now, and still the sweetest thing ever. Still defers to the cat with total reverence, still has never clamped down on my body when we roughhouse – he plays with his mouth and though he can saw through a 1-inch-by-1/8-inch leather strap in four seconds (I timed it) he keeps it gentle with me.

We were up at MC’s one night and there was a ziplock of homemade jerky on the coffee table and of course Charlie grabbed the bag and made a run for it. MC ran to head him off and I followed behind Charlie to block a retreat and it was so funny, Charlie spotted MC in front of him and turned to go back the other way and saw me, and when he realized he was cornered, he just lowered his body down and reached out his neck to set the bag on the floor between us and just waited there. Good dog.

He’s still feisty enough to keep me on my toes, however. He has figured out how to open the refrigerator, and would eat everything in there until he burst if allowed the opportunity. I was barricading the refrigerator door for a week until I went to town and bought a door latch which I put on the fridge to lock it. And I have to be very careful what I keep in my coat pockets; he loves to stick his long snout in there and grab whatever I’ve got.