You know, those barking dogs. Probably bloody irritant, but there must be some reason why he barks. Does your dog barking mean nothing at all or does he want to make something clear to you? Barking can mean several things to a dog. Learn to understand your dog and find out what he wants when he barks.
What is the reason for dogs barking?
A dog is not just a thing that you buy and then put it somewhere quiet for display. A dog knows feelings and emotions. We humans often express our emotions by talking, screaming, or crying. A dog cannot just start talking, but what a dog can do is barking and barking can be a form of expressing an emotion. We humans often find that barking annoying and punish the dog for barking. Only that punishment is counterproductive. People don’t understand the dog and that leads to confusion on both sides.
A dog therefore barks to a large extent to express its emotion, but a dog can also bark through learned behavior. If a dog wants to go out and start barking, he probably barks because he knows his owner is getting up to open the door for him. That learned barking can be unlearned, but you must be able to tell the difference between learned barking and barking from an emotion. So it is important to understand the reason for the barking before correcting or ignoring it.
Understanding barking
If you want your dog to stop barking, you might as well get rid of your dog, but you can reduce the barking. You will first need to understand why your dog is barking, what is the situation and who / what is the dog barking at? A dog has many different types of bark:
- Glee bark, the barking often occurs in different moments and there is sometimes a kind of beeping sound in between.
- Be careful bark, the barking is sharp and heavy, sometimes the dog makes a slight growl.
- Frightened bark, the dog barks high and often for long moments, this barking can turn into howling.
- Protection bark, the dog growls low and a short barking can be heard.
- Frustration bark, the barking continues for a long time, is always the same height and the bark is lower than normal.
- Learned bark, the dog barks in moments of about three barks, barks in a normal tone, looks around and barks again.
- Playful bark, the dog stutters while barking and barks in a high tone.
Glee bark
The name says it all: the dog is cheerful and happy. They want to express their emotion, because that’s what we do when we’re happy. You may scream for joy, your dog may bark for joy, be enthusiastic and run in circles or run around the house. How can you punish your dog for being happy when you get home? You don’t have to punish him, but you can teach him step-by-step to bark a few times and then sit when you get home.
Be careful bark
The dog sees, smells or hears a danger and wants to let you know with his bark that you have to watch out. The dog will likely go to where it detects the danger. Be grateful that your dog sees danger and reward him or let him know with a pat or pat that you have seen the danger so that he has no reason to bark.
Frightened bark
No matter how tough and strong your dog is, he can always be afraid of something. If your dog is scared, he will also show it by barking. The dog will be restless and the body posture of the dog will be low and backward. Approach the dog calmly and let him know there is nothing to be afraid of and if there is, protect your dog.
Protection bark
Dogs can perceive people, animals, smells or other various things as a threat to themselves or their owner. With a protective bark, the dogs let them know that what constitutes the threat must be careful from him. He focuses his protection bark specifically on what poses the threat and will approach it quickly and with short steps.
Frustration bark
Dogs can be happy and express that, but dogs can also be frustrated. They can become frustrated when they are tied to a rope or when they are back in that too small kennel. The frustration bark is especially annoying for people, you can compare it to the crying of a child. You would also rather hear a child’s laughter than crying. The dog indicates that it is uncomfortable in this situation.
Learned bark
The dog barks for attention and often gets that from the owner. When a dog barks, you respond quickly. The dog interprets this again with the thought ‘if I bark I get attention from my owner’, ‘if I bark he opens the door for me’. Learned behavior can be stopped by ignoring it, because getting angry is also a reward for the dog; after all, he gets attention.
Playful bark
The dog sounds cheerful, you hear a high bark. The dog is focused on what is being played with. It can wag its tail and walk happily back and forth. Playing makes a dog happy and that can lead to the expression of emotions. That is why it is good for a dog to bark happily while playing.
So it’s important to find out the reason for your dog’s barking. You have to react differently to each bark to help him or to correct him. So what you shouldn’t do is punish your dog for barking. Teach him things so he can express his emotion differently or give him self-control by training with him.
Learn to understand your dog and it will work wonders when it comes to interacting with your dog.
