Why Do Dogs Bark?

Dogs bark for any number of reasons. They bark when someone approaches their territory, in response to other dogs, and sometimes in response to noises, such as sirens. They bark at squirrels and other potential prey. Some breeds are born to bark; it's in their nature. Often dogs bark in excitement, such as when they know they are going for a walk, taking a car ride, or getting their dinner. Occasionally, barking is stress related a sign of separation anxiety. Sometimes dogs bark just because they're bored.

Researchers have found that dogs almost always have a reason for barking. Barking is a complex means of close-range communication, and dogs make a number of basic vocal sounds. Their barks often express various emotions, such as loneliness, fear, distress, and pleasure. For instance, a stressed dog - say, one who's left home alone - has a high-pitched, atonal, repetitive bark. Noisy barks are usually defensive in nature, while harmonic barks occur in play and other social contexts.

Just as people in different parts of the world have different accents and languages, different dog breeds have subtle variations in their types of barks. These variations are believed to correspond to dialects. And even the sounds people use to describe dog barks vary from country to country, from woof-woof in English to jau-jau in Spanish to wung-wung in Chinese. Is this because our dogs are speaking different languages, or are we simply not paying careful attention to what they're saying?

If you pay close attention to your dog, you can learn to decipher her different barks. To get you started, here are some "translations" from canine ethologists (people who study dog behavior):

- A rapid string of three or four barks with pauses between each series means, "Let's get together. There's something we need to check out."

- Rapid barking at a midrange pitch is an alarm meant to alert other dogs or people. It usually occurs when a stranger enters the territory.

- Continuous barking at a slower pace and lower pitch than the alarm bark indicates an immediate threat.

- Bark and pause, bark and pause, bark and pause for a Ions period of time indicates a dog is lonely.

- One or two short, sharp barks is a typical canine greeting.

- A single loud bark means, "Knock it off!" Dogs often do this when they're awakened from a nice nap or their tail is tugged by a playful puppy.

- Puppies use insistent barks to get attention.

- Some dogs learn to call their owners when it's dinnertime or when they'd like to go outside. They usually do this with a single, purposeful bark.

- A dog whose bark rises in level of intensity is excited or having a good time.