Why do dogs bark?
The dog's wild ancestors, the wolves, do not bark or barely bark. This changed in the development from wolf to dog. Dogs bark in different ways, and the “language palette” is more extensive and varied these days. The reason for this is probably the animals' adaptation to living together with humans. Originally, dogs that barked very violently and often were preferred because they were best suited to loudly draw attention to danger. The dog has even changed anatomically compared to wild animals: the larynx had to enlarge over time to bark loudly.
Content: Why do dogs bark?
- Barking as a means of communication with a signaling effect
- Barking with excitement and joy
- Frustration and stress barking
- Barking to get attention or to encourage play
- Constant barking when lonely or bored
- Aggressive barking as a warning or threat
- The dog barks: he is guarding a property, a toy or food
- Barking in fear or fright
- Can constant barking be pathological?
- Stop the dog from barking
- Conclusion
Barking as a means of communication with a signaling effect
Your dog wants to communicate something to you or his pack by barking. However, barking has a different meaning than our words and also provides information about your four-legged friend's emotional state.
Depending on the situation and motivation, the type and tone of the bark also changes. Some breeds of dogs naturally bark more often than others. These include, for example, dog breeds that were bred to herd or guard livestock or were used for hunting.
German Shepherds, Dachshunds , Terriers, but also Pugs and Pomeranians have strong territorial behavior and will attack when someone approaches. To understand why a dog exhibits a certain behavior, such as excessive barking, it is important to understand the dog's body language and signals.
Because then you can react appropriately to his behavior. What is important is the pitch, the number of barking sounds and the duration of the barking. You can also tell a lot from the dog's posture.
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Barking with excitement and joy
There are certainly many situations in which your dog is happy and positively excited: you come home, you have visitors and the doorbell rings, the four-legged friend is playing with his dog friend, the leash is shown to go for a walk... the more excited or happy the dog is, the more likely it is to start barking.
This bark is shrill, high pitched and follows in quick succession. Sometimes it is also interrupted by whining. In addition to barking, the dog shows a great need to move, running in circles, jumping, etc.
The aim of his behavior is to “vent” joy or excitement, to reduce tension and to get attention. You should tolerate some barking in such situations.
Frustration and stress barking
Stress and frustration are also a form of excitement and this barking sounds correspondingly high and shrill. From a purely acoustic point of view, it is initially very difficult to distinguish it from a joyful bark. If the stress increases, the pauses disappear completely and the barking turns into intense, outright screaming.
Barking to get attention or to encourage play
When your dog wants to play or when you are in a conversation with other people, he may bark to draw attention to himself. If the dog wants to be noticed by you, his pack or another dog, he only barks a few times and then there is a pause.
He then barks three to four times again. The barking seems demanding, the pitch usually does not differ from “normal” barking, it can possibly be a little higher. It may also be that your dog is “annoying”; for example, he runs. B. impatiently and repeatedly touches you with his snout.
To make sure that he is successful, your four-legged friend keeps looking over at you questioningly. Sometimes certain barking behavior is learned because you have - perhaps unconsciously - always paid attention to your dog as soon as he makes a sound. Your four-legged friend's further behavior depends on your reaction.
Constant barking when lonely or bored
If your dog is bored, there is a risk that he will develop bad habits. Some dogs start chewing on furniture, others pass the time by barking. As pack animals, many dogs simply don't like to be alone and express their displeasure by barking.
He then shows the typical “yapping”. This means that the dog barks without a period or comma, often for hours without interruption. The barking sounds high and shrill and can turn into a howl or be interrupted by howls.
In order to stop this behavior, it is important that the dog has been properly kept busy before being left alone and that the times of being alone increase very slowly. Your dog must have the security and trust that his owner will return sooner or later - and only open the door when no barking can be heard inside.
Aggressive barking as a warning or threat
If the dog feels disturbed, threatened or doesn't like someone, it wants to scare that person or other dog away with a short, sharp bark and keep it at a distance in order to avoid a conflict.
If his warning is ignored, this turns into prolonged growling and barking, and the dog can even become aggressive and attack. The barking then sounds very deep and throaty and the dog often only barks a few times and stops barking just before it really attacks.
The dog's posture is forward, the animal moves in the direction of the threat.
The dog barks: he is guarding a property, a toy or food
If the dog is at home, i.e. in the house or garden, he first tells his “pack” that he has spotted something suspicious with a quiet warning whistle and requests assistance.
The dog tries to protect itself, its owner, its territory, toys or food. The woofing is followed by a monotonous barking, which consists of several short barks and may be interrupted again and again by a warning growl.
If the situation does not resolve, your dog's behavior may become aggressive.
Barking in fear or fright
If your dog gets scared, e.g. B. during the fireworks at the turn of the year or if a stranger approaches him threateningly, he barks alarmingly in a long series of barks in a very high pitch.
The tones sound very shrill and there are fewer and fewer pauses as the fear increases. In the next phase, there are two options for barking: If the threat comes too close and the dog cannot avoid it, the barking can either turn into screaming or become deeper and more threatening.
Sometimes the barking ends with whining. The dog's body is facing backwards, he may tuck his tail and just want to get away from what he is afraid of. The posture is often crouched, your dog is in pure stress. That's why he'll probably be restless, running back and forth or even scratching at the door.
Can constant barking be pathological?
If your dog hardly barks at all, but starts barking all of a sudden and without any obvious reason, this could actually be a symptom of illness. The yapping is then an expression of pain or an indication of a neurological problem.
In addition, constant barking can cause laryngitis. In this case, take your four-legged friend to the vet to rule out physical causes.
Stop the dog from barking
If you are clear about why your dog barks, you can begin to break the habit. When dogs bark non-stop for a long period of time, it is usually barking for attention or to ward off danger. In both cases, the dog demands attention: it wants to show you something, ask you to do something, or is in a conflict situation.
However, your dog's annoying barking can also become a real problem, not only for you, but also for your neighborhood. According to German case law, constant barking is considered a nuisance. Even injunctions and the imposition of fines are possible. Your dog probably won't understand why he's only allowed to bark at set times. That's why you should stop your four-legged friend from barking inappropriately loudly.
When your dog barks, he is trying to tell you something. If you want to stop the barking, don't ignore him! Show yourself to him, touch him, or respond to his barking with an acoustic signal, such as a whistle. This tells the dog that you have acknowledged him and that there is no longer any reason to sound the alarm. Praise and reward your dog when he stops barking. There is no point in scolding when you bark because your dog will not understand the connection between his need to communicate with you and your annoyance.
However, it can be quite difficult to break your dog's habit of unwanted behavior. If you can't do it on your own, it's best to contact a dog behavior therapist or a professional dog trainer. Don't be afraid to get help.
Conclusion
Dogs bark in many situations, but not always in the same way. Depending on the emotional state and the context in which the four-legged friend is located, the characteristics of barking vary: barking when playing or being alone usually has a high-pitched sound, while barking when a stranger appears is usually deep, longer and at shorter intervals becomes.
It's not entirely clear whether dogs intentionally change the characteristics of their barking to convey different messages. What is certain, however, is that a dog communicates something by barking and that it can be a great help if you listen carefully to what his bark sounds like and observe what other signals he sends out and in what context he barks. This is how you learn to understand him. The better you know your loyal companion, the better you will be able to classify his barking and respond accordingly.
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