Howard McBride

Howard McBride is a supporting character in The Loud House.

Personality
Howard is cautious, and overly dramatic. He is more emotional and high-strung than his husband. Harold frequently needs to calm Howard down when he gets overemotional while watching Clyde grow up or when he feels overwhelmed by Lincoln's family. Howard's cell phone ringtone is a chorus singing "Hallelujah!"

Both Howard and Harold like to visit movie theaters, restaurants, and coffee shops together. They own a car that is spacious enough to fit both dads and all of the Loud children at once. One of Harold's nicknames for Howard is "Howie".

Howard can play the saxophone and sew clothing well. He always keeps a sewing needle and thread in his pocket.

Season 1
Howard is one of Clyde's dads. He is seen, mentioned and/or referenced in eleven episodes of the first season. He is first mentioned in "A Tale of Two Tables", in which Clyde does taxes with his parents while Lincoln talks to him. In "Overnight Success", Howard makes his first on-screen appearance. In the episode, he gives Clyde everything he needs for a sleepover at the Loud family's house. Howard is later mentioned in "Hand-Me-Downer", in which Clyde reveals that his dads own a tandem bicycle and enjoy shopping for antiques. In "The Green House", Clyde tells Mrs. Johnson that his parents use solar panels and try not to burn any fossil fuels.

Howard and Harold are prominently featured in the episode "Attention Deficit". In this episode, it is revealed that Howard was part of a band in college. They are also referenced in "Cover Girls", which is one of many episodes to show the mailbox with their family name on it. In "Lincoln Loud: Girl Guru", Clyde says that Howard and Harold call him a great hugger and always compliment his "million-dollar" smile. In "Roughin' It", Howard and Harold stay at a bed-and-breakfast while Clyde camps outside with Lincoln. They do not allow Clyde to leave their sightline, but when they fall asleep, the boys inadvertently fall into a river and end up in a cave. Clyde tells Lincoln that he really misses his dads, so they find their way back to Howard and Harold.

In "The Waiting Game", Howard and Harold make Clyde wear a hazmat suit to Chandler's sewage party. After Clyde falls off the Tunnel of Love ride in "A Fair to Remember", the carnival manager asks "the parents of a soggy boy" (Clyde) to come pick him up. Howard and Harold do not make a physical appearance, but this line indirectly references them. In "April Fools Rules", Clyde tells Lincoln that he and his dads have to keep their cat Cleopawtra in a crate when she gets "feisty."

Howard and Harold's tandem bicycle appears in "Butterfly Effect" without them. Their house and chairs can be seen in "One Flu Over the Loud House".

Season 2
Howard and Harold will appear in two of the first three episodes in the second season. They will be present in the holiday special "11 Louds a Leapin'" where they will be celebrating Christmas with the Loud family. They will be the focus of the episode "Baby Steps", in which Clyde thinks his dads are having another baby and Lincoln helps him learn how to be a good big brother.

Other
Howard also appears in the "Turn It Up Loud" music video alongside Luna. He serves dinner at the beginning of the Thanksgiving short "Dinner Party", although only his arms are shown. In a live stream from the Nickelodeon Animation Studio Facebook page, Miguel Puga drew the Dads.

Appearance
Howard has buck teeth, red hair, a long pointy nose, and an oval-shaped head. He wears brown slacks, white sneakers, and a red collared shirt, with rolled-up sleeves and four buttons.

Clyde
Howard deeply cares for Clyde. He tucks him in bed every night, unless Clyde is staying over at Lincoln's house. He has memorized everything Clyde needs (earplugs, an inhaler, and allergy medications, among other things). Both Howard and his son Clyde seem to faint very often. Clyde does it when he is around Lori and Howard does it when he is overwhelmed.

Harold
He is shown to get along with his husband very well. Harold usually has to calm Howard down when he gets too emotional. The two are shown to have similar hobbies and enjoy each other's company, rarely being seen without the other. They love each other dearly, as shown by their many pet names for each other and how Howard always looks to Harold when he needs help.

Loud Family
Howard is on friendly terms with the Louds, though having all eleven children over at once was overwhelming for him. When Lisa suggested they have a sleepover at his house, he and Harold drove them all back to their house and returned home, passing out from exhaustion soon after.

Lincoln
Although Howard is overprotective of Clyde, he trusts Lincoln and always lets him hang out with his son.

Lori
Lori appreciates Howard's widsom and looks to him for advice in "Attention Deficit". When she is taking a personality quiz and asks Howard if she is more like an Autumn or a Winter, he tells her, "You are definitely a Summer."

Leni
Howard knows that Leni is not very bright. When she visits the McBride house along with the Loud sisters, she asks where her bedroom is and Howard reminds her that she is not in her own house.

Luna
Howard and Luna share a fondness for music and can both play a variety of musical instruments.

Luan
Howard shares Luan's sense of humor and does not think her puns are bad. When she is seen telling him a joke ("And the woodpecker said, that why I tell knock-knock jokes!"), he plays a rimshot on his drum set and smiles.

Lucy
Howard and Lucy's relationship has not been explored very much. Lucy once staged a pretend funeral for Howard after he fainted.

Dr. Lopez
It is implied that Dr. Lopez has tried to help Howard learn to control his emotions.

Trivia

 * The colors and styles of clothing that the Loud and McBride parents wear correspond with each other. Howard and Rita both wear red button-up shirts with collars and rolled-up sleeves.
 * Howard is Michael McDonald's second voice role on a Nickelodeon show. He also provided the voice of Robodad, a recurring character on Invader Zim.
 * Howard has been featured in posts on the official show Twitter and the official show Instagram. The Facebook page for Nickelodeon Animation Studio has also featured him.
 * Whenever the Loud House social media accounts refer to Howard and Harold as Clyde's dads, "Dads" is capitalized like a proper noun.
 * In Lincoln's dream in "One of the Boys", every character's gender is swapped and there is a female version of Clyde. It can be inferred that Girl Clyde would have had two moms (female Howard and Harold).
 * In "11 Louds a Leapin'", Howard's hair is light brown instead of red.