Dholes hunt in forest where visual contact breaks constantly. Their vocal repertoire is correspondingly rich, and the distinctive element is a repeated, tonal whistle used to re-establish contact and coordinate movement during a chase. It is quite unlike the howl of a wolf, and it travels well through vegetation.
The hunting style matches. Packs pursue chital, sambar and other deer over long distances, taking turns at the front and attacking the hindquarters rather than making a single throat hold. Kills of animals much larger than any individual dhole are routine. Unusually among carnivores, pups are allowed to feed first at a carcass.
Dholes are also anatomically odd: one fewer lower molar on each side than most canids, a correspondingly shortened jaw, and a lower carnassial reshaped for shearing meat. The African wild dog carries the same modification, and that is no coincidence. Genomic work places Cuon and Lycaon as close relatives within the wolf-like canids, so while the dhole is not a wolf, it is a near cousin of Africa's pack hunter rather than an unrelated look-alike. Its Endangered listing draws far less attention than either.